Nathan Baird

Journal & Courier

WEST LAFAYETTE – Improvement all over the field will be a theme throughout the spring for Purdue football.

Yesterday we considered four questions the Boilermakers face entering the spring. Today we look at six players whose continued development could be tied to Purdue's success in 2016.

Robert Gregory, safety

There's no other way to say it. Right now, safeties look like they'll have to carry the secondary early on. There's no significant returning experience at cornerback, and some of the more intriguing prospects at the position won't be on campus until the fall.

Leroy Clark led Purdue in tackles and passes broken up and defended last season. Gregory, who converted from running back in 2014, saw his first extended game time at safety last season. Will that year of familiarity and experience be a springboard to a higher level of performance as a senior?

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Antoine Miles/Gelen Robinson, rush end

Considering those issues in the secondary, Purdue must summon more of a pass rush this season. The Boilermakers averaged fewer than two sacks per game last season and ranked next-to-last among Big Ten Conference teams in opponents' third down percentage. We also don't yet know defensive tackle Ra'Zhan Howard's status with the program going forward.

Miles and Evan Panfil, who also returns as a defensive end starter, shared the team lead with four sacks last season. Robinson recorded 1.5 sacks among his nine tackles for loss. The more pressure those players put on opposing quarterbacks, the more pressure they take off of their own defensive backs.

Martesse Patterson, offensive line

Patterson started three games last season as a redshirt freshman due to injuries ahead of him at both tackle spots. One assumes he's in line to succeed David Hedelin as a starting tackle opposite Cameron Cermin.

However, there are plenty of other question marks up front right now, beginning with Cermin's health after shoulder surgery. Jordan Roos and Jason King are returning starters at the guard spots, but that unit as a whole must be better. None of that addresses who will replace Robert Kugler as the starting center.

The 6-foot-3, 345-pound Patterson stepping up as a reliable option would help stabilize things going into summer camp.

Spring 2016 questions for Purdue football

Elijah Sindelar, quarterback

Purdue needs at least one of its two scholarship quarterbacks to emerge from the spring as a strong choice, not just an acceptable one. In each of the past three seasons, with no obvious No. 1, the coaching staff made a selection only to end up switching later due to poor performance.

Yet the Boilermakers also benefit from strong competition at the position. Sindelar sat out as a redshirt after coming in as Kentucky's Mr. Football. While it gave him a chance to learn from observation, it also allowed extra time to recover from knee surgery from his senior year of high school.

DeAngelo Yancey, wide receiver

The Atlanta native showed tremendous promise as a freshman, then disappeared as a sophomore. Last season he returned as a big-play threat, leading the Boilermakers in receiving yards (700) and touchdown catches (five) on 48 receptions.

He enters 2016 as the clear No. 1 option in the passing game. Yet is there growth in his game? If Blough maintains the quarterback job, can the duo build on any connection that started last season? If Purdue can run the ball as well as it hopes, that presumably opens up downfield shots. However, the opposite of that also holds true.

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