Purdue trio confident offseason work pays dividends

Danny Anthrop, Robert Kugler and Frankie Williams represented Purdue at Big Ten media day in Chicago. They fielded a lot of questions, including these:

Question: What was the best thing about summer workouts?

Anthrop: Everybody gained muscle mass. I’m a solid 195 right now. That’s the heaviest I’ve been but I don’t feel that heavy – I feel light on my feet. The conditioning we had this summer was unbelievable. We ran more than I ever have in my life. It was brutal because I was coming off the injury. We were running so much. A lot of it was huge because we’re going to have the uptempo offense. It’s going to be a blast, maybe throwing the ball a little bit more.

Kugler: How the team came together. It was awesome and it was great to see that. It was sincere. It wasn’t guys trying to be rah-rah just to be like that.

Williams: We developed a warrior mentality and identity. We didn’t break down – we came together. We came to work and that’s what we did.

Q: Who’s your breakout player?

Anthrop: I think (running back) D.J. Knox will be the breakout player. I think we’re going to rely on him a lot. I don’t think he has a choice but to break out.”

Kugler: I don’t know about a player but I think our running backs. I think it will be all of them. I think people are going to be surprised how good they can be. I think they’re really natural running backs. They know how to hit the hole and coach (Jafar) Williams does a great job with those guys, teaching them to read the hole, make your cut and go. If you can only get five yards, get five yards. Raheem (Mostert) and Akeem (Hunt) were great last year and people think there’s no way we can match that. It’s going to look different. We don’t have guys who run 4.3 (40-yard dash) anymore, and to have two of those guys is unbelievable but I think we’ve got some guys who can run people over.

Q: What’s the one significant change in the program since the end of last season?

Anthrop: Just the expectation and the consistent work that people have put in. People are up at 6 in the morning catching passes and it’s every day. It’s consistent. Everybody’s been out there, everybody has been doing it. It’s been good to see.”

Kugler: Accountability has really increased. Coach made an effort to improve our accountability. We as players made an effort to improve accountability. We’re all still working to make it better but it’s gotten better. That’s the kind of thing that can make a huge difference.

Williams: The mesh between players. The mesh and the mindset is definitely night and day. The decision is made. Every morning you wake up, are you going to be average or are you going to excel? We made our decision.”

Q: Other than the players that are here, what teammates would you have brought to media day?

Anthrop: I probably would’ve picked (cornerback) Anthony Brown. (Kicker) Paul Griggs wanted to come. I think Anthony Brown is a guy that doesn’t talk a lot and isn’t an outspoken leader but he’s a guy you’ll never see doing anything wrong. That’s more valuable than a guy who talks a lot.

Kugler: You’ve got to bring Paul because he’s done a great job for us. I know him and Austin (Appleby) were doing their own little Twitter Q&A. I’ll make fun of them when I get back. I would’ve liked to bring (tight end) Jordan Jurasevich because people don’t know who he is and he’s going to be a helluva player for us. He would be a great guy to bring here because he’s worked so hard to get where he is. He earned his scholarship. Guys like that are people you want representing your program.”

Williams: I think we could’ve carpooled the whole team. Everybody deserved to be here. We were the three guys that were chosen to represent the team. I think the team believes in us three guys, but we’re all ready for the spotlight. Not just one person wants the spotlight – we all feel like we deserved it.

Q: How does the season end?

Anthrop: With a bowl game.

Kugler: Better. It’s going to be better. It’s going to be exciting. It’s going to be more fun for the fans and for us as a team. I just think it’s going to be a better season.

Williams: Winners.