Purdue: Stuck in the Middle
Purdue is returning 20 starters, the most ever in head coach Joe Tiller's tenure, but the Boilermakers' concerns are mounting at middle linebacker. It's bad enough that touted juco recruit Brian Ellis failed to meet the academic requirements to suit up in West Lafayette, but now senior Dan Bick is not responding to treatment for a neck injury.
Tiller was concerned about the linebacker position in the spring, when he assumed Bick's injury would heal before the fall.
"We don't have a lot of options there," Tiller told the Journal and Courier in April. "I think our front-line guys are fine, but we're really looking for who that next group of linebackers are going to be."
With those front-line guys now questionable, Purdue's defense is in trouble.
Bick is receiving injections in his vertebrae and neck to treat a swollen disc that is not subsiding as it should. Trainer Denny Miller may allow Bick to participate in parts of preseason practices, but certainly not go full-throttle.
Even if Bick returns to action for the season, missing all of spring ball and much of fall camp is a huge blow. Starting all 14 games as a junior, the 6-1, 225-pound linebacker led the team in tackles last season with 95, including 3.5 for a loss and recorded a sack. He also recovered two fumbles, forced another and picked off a pass.
Junior Jason Werner has been on the radar as a promising linebacker since arriving at Purdue, but has had only limited participation due to back pain. He is coming off of surgery and has been given what Miller calls a lime green light - he will be practicing, but under strict supervision.
That middle linebacker spot is a crucial one on a team whose defense allowed an average of just 0.7 more points per game than its offense scored (26 points scored per game versus 26.7 points allowed per game). A healthy middle linebacker can be that 0.7 point-per-game difference that separates the Boilermakers between another 8-6 season and a push up the rankings.
