For the Big Ten's worst scoring defense a year ago, Purdue has more than enough to clean up if it is to improve on the defensive side of the ball this fall. Defensive coordinator Kevin Kane acknowledges changes are needed to raise the level of play from his group, which has been a focus for the Boilermakers this off-season and leading into fall camp.
Despite being near the top of the conference in tackles for loss and sacks, a backbreaking explosive play wound up negating the good work the defense did in key spots last season. Eliminating those big plays is the biggest key to turning a poor defense into a strength moving forward.
The secret to doing so? Being more precise when in position to make a play, says Kane.
"If we can eliminate explosive plays, I think that's obviously one of our Achilles heels from last year. You know, we had guys in positions that make plays. Now we just got to make them. That's going to be the key to success. If we make teams earn it down the field here, then, nine times out of 10 they're going to screw it up before we do," Kane said on Tuesday.
"You can't be bang or bust and that's the emphasis, right? We gotta line up and keep the ball in front of us, and the more we screw it up versus them, that's a problem. So every day it's talking about being physical, fast, and then precise. You know, we got to be precise in everything that we do," Kane said.
The physicality and intensity wasn't an issue last year and the same can be said through a week of fall camp in 2024, with no better indicator being the first day of practice in pads. There were a couple of instances where players got into it, which showed Kane the level of intensity his group brought, but reeling that in and using it to execute assignments will be a key for the unit.
"There was a couple scuffles early. But, you know, we've got to be disciplined. Just because you have pads on to, you can't forget to do your job. So it's good to get out there, day one of pads, and guys are flying around having fun. At the end of the day, it's a physical game, so we got to be physical," Kane said.
The lack of having to teach and coach effort has been music to Kane's ears, as it allows him and the rest of the defensive staff to prioritize getting into the finer details of Purdue's Air Strike defense.
"The more we can just coach them and not have to babysit these guys, it's kind of been a huge plus for us. They're taking a lot of ownership in this defense, and that's allowing us to coach the finer details and get better, which is fun," Kane said.
Along with liking what he's seen from an intangibles perspective, Kane has also enjoyed watching several new faces making plays for the Purdue defense, which includes a number of transfers that should find themselves in starting roles.
"Coming off of year one into year two, I think we've added some really great additions to this defense to give us a chance to have a lot of success," Kane said.
Perhaps no position group received a bigger boost this off-season than the secondary, who desperately needed it. The Boilermakers struggled containing opposing passing attacks, but reinforcements have made their way to West Lafayette and shown good signs early on.
The most notable additions were Nyland Green (Georgia) and Kyndrich Breedlove (Colorado), who are both expected to slide into starting roles this season, to go along with returning starting cornerback Markevious Brown and All-American safety Dillon Thieneman.
"I think on the back end, I would say we've added a lot more depth and I think guys that have the something we're looking for, to do what we do. Nyland Green and Breedlove and those guys, Markevious Brown's been having a great fall camp so far. Dillon Thieneman is still playing at a high level. And we're building depth within that room," Kane said.
The rush end spot also got a makeover this off-season, seeing all but one contributor from last year's group leave the program or, in Kydran Jenkins' case, move to inside linebacker. It is a unit ripe with opportunity, which Kane believes they will take full advantage of as a whole.
Rising sophom*ore Will Heldt is the lone returning member of Joe Dineen's group and is expected to make a large jump from year one to year two. Transfers CJ Madden and sh*tta Sillah have also done good things thus far during fall camp, while Jireh Ojata has been improving as well.
"We've got four or five guys up there that have the ability to go win. Now you got five or six one-on-ones," Kane said. "I do feel like overall, as as a pass rushing unit, we are better. We are better on the interior, we're better on the edge as a collective unit. So I think it's going to be a fun year for that."
Kydran Jenkins, who broke out as an edge rusher last year, will still have a role getting to the quarterback, but will now line up primarily as the Boilermakers' middle linebacker. He and returning starter Yanni Karlaftis are a 1-2 punch at linebacker that Kane is excited to see when the season begins later this month.
"KJ (Jenkins) and Yanni (Karlaftis) together, they kind of built a bond with each other. So those guys bring a certain intensity and nastiness to our defense," Kane said.
While the interior defensive line lost a pair of starters to graduation, it may be the group with the most returning continuity heading into 2024. Nose tackle Cole Brevard and key contributors Jeffrey M'Ba and Joe Anderson lead the group alongside Kentucky transfer Jamarius Dinkins and a host of young up-and-comers for Brick Haley.
Despite all of the new faces entering the mix this off-season, Yanni Karlaftis believes it is a matter of the talent playing together that will determine how good this version of Purdue's defense can be in 2024.
"Just playing together and being disciplined. You know, just last year and this year, there's a lot of new pieces coming in, but we're all really talented. So I feel like as long as we all work together, it will be just fine," Karlaftis said.
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