![]() ![]() Brothers and defensive end Kydran Jenkins from a defense that gave up 367 yards and 27.3 points a game. On paper, Purdue’s defense returns five starters: safeties Cam Allen and Sanoussi Kane, cornerback Jamari Brown, linebacker O.C. More games are lost than they are won and so we are going to play attention to the things that can potentially get you beat like penalties, mental errors and turnovers.” We’re going to generate turnovers and limit explosive plays. “Defensively, we’re going to confuse and harass the quarterback. He put that in terms that definitely speaks to the way we think about offensive football here. We’re going to throw the ball to score points and we’re going to run the ball to win games. I’m going to piggyback what the new Colts coach said. (Offensive coordinator) Graham Harrell and his track record with developing quarterbacks and skill players speaks for itself. We’re going to throw the football around. “Offensively, we’re going to score points. “We’re going to be competitive, we’re going to be tough, we’re going to be disciplined. “You’re going to see a team that is going to be playing fanatically, playing fast, a team that loves to play the game and plays it the right way,” Walters said. With a nod to Purdue’s tradition of passing offenses, Walters also promises a similar defensive approach when asked what fans should expect to see from his first Boilermaker team. That Boilermaker defense had 11 future NFL players on the roster. That Boilermaker team missed a share of the Big Ten championship by virtue of a 24-24 tie at Wisconsin.Įven the best defense of the Joe Tiller era, the 2003 squad under coordinator Brock Spack, gave up 302 yards per game while allowing an average of 17.4 points. “The Junk Defense” created by Leon Burtnett and featuring Keena Turner, Kevin Motts, Rock Supan and Wayne Smith, gave up 282 yards and 10.8 points a game (including three shutouts) on its way to a 9-2-1 record. The numbers put up by Walters’ defense in 2022, most notably first in the country in scoring defense (12.3) and second in yards allowed per game (263.8), haven’t been approached at Purdue since 1978. The Tigers’ pass defense that season ranked eighth in passing yards allowed (179.3 per game) and 17th in scoring defense (19.4).Īt Illinois, Walters groomed cornerback Devon Witherspoon into the school’s first Jim Thorpe Award (top defensive back in college football) finalist. “This is something I had seen coming for a while.”Īt Missouri in 2019, Walters’ defense ranked 14th nationally and third in the SEC. “Ryan is a talented coach with a bright future,” Bielema said at the time of Walters’ hire at Purdue. Success as defensive coordinator in the SEC with the Tigers brought Walters to Bret Bielema’s attention when he was forming a staff at Illinois in 2021. Promoted to defensive backs coach for the Wildcats in 2011, Walters’ journey to Purdue also saw stops at Oklahoma, North Texas, Memphis and Missouri. Graduate assistant for his alma mater in 2009 and one year later at Arizona. The 37-year-old first-year Purdue coach, the fourth-youngest in major college football entering the 2023 season, worked for six schools in seven years once his playing days at Colorado concluded. I feel like I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing.” I enjoy the creativity and I enjoy the challenge and the pressure and the nature of this job. “I’ve always sort of been the youngest guy on the staff and have had a quick rise in this profession because one, I enjoy it. I don’t know if it was because I had the quarterback background prior to playing defense. For whatever reason, as a player the X’s and O’s made sense to me. “The coaches I had in college would always say you should think about getting into coaching when your playing days are done,” Walters said. Similar compliments have been paid by former colleagues of first-year Purdue football head coach Ryan Walters. “He eats it, sleeps it and wakes up in the middle of the night thinking about it.” “Ever since he was a player here, Matt has had one of the sharpest basketball minds I’ve ever been around,” Keady said in 2004, when it was announced that Painter would be his replacement on the Boilermaker bench. For years, Purdue Hall of Famer Gene Keady has told the story of how he knew Matt Painter would be a basketball coach someday. ![]()
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