Big plays fuel offense in Purdue football scrimmage

Missing from Purdue's offense during Darrell Hazell's first two seasons were big plays.

Granted, one small sample size from Saturday's jersey scrimmage doesn't make the Boilermakers a juggernaut. However, it's a step.

Using a modified scoring system, the offense cruised to a 111-45 victory at Ross-Ade Stadium. Consider this progress since the offense scored only 48 points in same jersey scrimmage a year ago.

"In the 11 practices, we've taken more shots down the field than we have the last two years," quarterback Austin Appleby said. "It's an emphasis and it's something we have to do. We've got the people to do it, we've got the scheme to do it and we're balanced the way we need to be balanced with the run game to open up those big plays."

The offense produced 12 plays of 20 yards or more with five resulting in touchdowns.

Here are five takeaways:

Tempo

More plays at a faster pace helps wear down a defense. This isn't Oregon's tempo, but the offense plans to feature more no-huddle looks.

It had an impact on the defense, which was ahead of the offense during the first four weeks of spring practice. Coach Darrell Hazell said the ball was being snapped 7 to 10 seconds after the 40-second clock started.

"I thought we got a lot accomplished in one of our packages – our fast package," coach Darrell Hazell said. "If you can get the ball snapped (quickly) that puts a lot of pressure on the defense."

The uptempo style is nothing new to the defensive players – they've faced it throughout practice. However, it took time to adjust.

"It's a different ballgame when you get out there on this field. At first, it caught us offguard a little bit," cornerback Anthony Brown said.

Appleby said the defense was gassed by the end, allowing the running game to chew up yardage on the ground.

"If could get that first down and then get into plays four, five, six, seven, eight, that's when we're really going to wear teams out down the stretch," he said. "We just handed it off and our offensive line had our way and we're good enough to do it. It's going to be huge for us."

Backfield shuffle

Sophomore D.J. Knox, who has emerged near the top of the depth chart, was held out Saturday after an injury 10 days ago. The offense then lost Keith Byars II to a shoulder injury during the scrimmage.

Up stepped freshman Markell Jones, who gained 159 yards on 19 carries and scored two touchdowns.

"It's important to be ready – next guy up," Jones said.

Last year's Indiana Mr. Football from Columbus East had a 28-yard touchdown run on his second carry. He also produced runs of 46 and 34 yards.

"I was able to display a little bit of what I could do and it's clear to me that I'm starting to really understand the importance of the playbook," he said. "In practice a couple of weeks ago, I would've been struggling to figure out a lot of that stuff."

Down the field

Every quarterback and receiver vows the passing game will stretch the field during the 2015 season. They did Saturday.

Appleby, Danny Etling and David Blough had touchdown passes covering 49, 30 and 62 yards, respectively, during the first 24 plays. These were not short passes and just watch the receivers run. The three quarterbacks went deep and DeAngelo Yancey, Anthony Mahoungou and Dan Monteroso made plays.

"That's got to be a staple of ours," Hazell said.

Appleby called it being "able to blow the top off." On the third play, the junior found Yancey down the sideline and the Georgia native waltzed into the end zone.

"That's what we need," Appleby said. "We need to be able to start fast and go up 7-0 on the first drive of the game. What that does for a stadium, what that does for our team, that's going to be huge for us."

Defense struggles

The belief before Saturday was the defense was ahead of the offense.

"That's a fair assessment," Hazell said.

The offense, though, forged ahead on this day. Will it last when practice resumes Monday? The defensive players were disappointed, especially allowing numerous big plays.

"We didn't do our job consistently enough," linebacker Danny Ezechukwu said. "Coaches expect the guys they put out there to do their job all the time. When you don't' do that, you get the results we got today."

Shades of gray

The Boilermakers showcased their alternate anthracite gray uniform Saturday. Brown was the only player in the new color.

"Coach just came to me said, 'you're going to be in a different uniform,' " Brown said. "I didn't even know I was wearing this. I'm about winning games. We can have all the uniforms we want, but if we don't win it don't mean nothing."

Purdue plans to wear the uniforms in one home game this season.

UNOFFICIAL STATISTICS

Rushing—Markell Jones 19-159, 2 TDs; Keyante Green 15-62, 2 TDs; David Blough 11-47; David Yancey 9-42; Danny Etling 6-22; Trae Hart 2-19, Keith Byars II 1-6, Austin Appleby 4-2.

Passing—Blough 24-32, 275, 1 TD; Etling 14-24, 206, 2 TDs; Appleby 12-14, 183, 1 TD.

Receiving—Dan Monteroso 7-161, 1 TD; DeAngelo Yancey 6-94, 1 TD; Shane Mikesky 3-75, 1 TD; Hart 8-52; Cole Herdman 1-45; Anthony Mahoungou 2-41, 1 TD; Myles Norwood 4-39; Jordan Jurasevich 2-30, David Yancey 2-25, Alex Higler 3-23; Keenan Schon 2-20, Bilal Marshall 3-17; Gregory Phillips 2-16; Jones 1-9; Byars II 1-7; Green 2-6, Jonathan Curry 1-4