{"id":63560,"date":"2024-08-01T02:51:45","date_gmt":"2024-08-01T07:51:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/?p=63560"},"modified":"2024-08-01T02:51:45","modified_gmt":"2024-08-01T07:51:45","slug":"purdue-footballs-slogan-for-2024-ryan-walters-isnt-saying-as-training-camp-begins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/purdue-footballs-slogan-for-2024-ryan-walters-isnt-saying-as-training-camp-begins\/","title":{"rendered":"Purdue football\u2019s slogan for 2024? Ryan Walters isn\u2019t saying as training camp begins"},"content":{"rendered":"

MORE: Deep Dive, practice No. 1<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Most football teams have a season slogan or a mantra. Purdue does for the 2024 season, but Ryan Walters<\/a><\/strong> isn\u2019t sharing it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s for the squad,\u201d he said after the Boilermakers\u2019 first camp practice today. \u201cWe had a couple of pointed conversations last night.\u201d<\/p>\n

What was the subject matter of his talk with the team?<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t wanna make any of you guys mad,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

No doubt, the slogan for 2024 likely involves proving people wrong\u2013specifically the media. The us-against-the world rallying cry is a tried-and-true motivational ploy for coaches. Everyone in the Kozuch Football Performance Complex has to be fueled by last-place forecasts by prognosticators. <\/p>\n

Walters wants to stoke those fires. Today was a first step for his second edition to prove doubters wrong.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a first practice, but it is great to be out here,\u201d said Walters, whose team was forced indoors about an hour into practice by a storm. \u201cThe guys have been working really hard all offseason, perfecting our craft, getting physically developed. It was good to get the first one out of the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Purdue will open its 2024 season a month from today at home, when FCS Indiana State visits. Things get more challenging from there, with a visit from Notre Dame followed by a trip to Oregon State in what\u2019s a daunting slate that includes the Big Ten\u2019s three top teams: Ohio State, Oregon and Penn State. But the focus now is on improving and developing.<\/p>\n

\u201cLooking back to where we were at this point a year ago, it\u2019s not close,\u201d said Walters. \u201cIt\u2019s night and day difference. Obviously, a lot of new faces, but even the guys returning, they look different. They\u2019re more confident, they\u2019re more comfortable. Staff understands what\u2019s expected, what the routine is. So, obviously, a lot smoother, a lot more recall. And a lot to build off of.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of those building blocks will be sophomore safety Dillon Thieneman<\/a><\/strong>, who is coming off a sensational debut that saw him earn myriad accolades. His All-American banner already hangs in the Mollenkopf indoor complex and he\u2019s appearing on numerous award watch lists for 2024. Is he feeling any pressure?<\/p>\n

\u201cA little bit,\u201d said Thieneman. \u201cBut, I put way more pressure on myself, so I\u2019m kinda used to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walters is folding in 37 new players, many of whom arrived in January. That early start for portal transfers and freshmen has allowed camaraderie and brotherhood to be developed.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though they\u2019re competing, they\u2019re also really tight knit,\u201d said Walters. \u201cThey go fishing all the time together. They hang out together. So, even though they\u2019re competing with one another, because of the amount of time that they spent with each other and how hard they\u2019re working, they\u2019ve gotten really close, as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

The offense looks to have few questions. One is an overhauled wideout unit. The other is a rebuilt line that is bigger and deeper.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really like our offensive line,\u201d said running back Devin Mockobee<\/a><\/strong>. \u201cWe got a lot of size and they\u2019re a bunch of really good guys that I think are gonna do really good for us.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were very limited in the amount of guys we had on the o-line last year, especially when we started getting injuries. Seeing the depth we have this year, I\u2019m not worried about that at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

The defense? It looks to have more to prove after ranking last in the Big Ten in points allowed per game (30.4 ppg) in 2023. What needs to improve?<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything,\u201d said Walters. \u201cObviously, I think we were disruptive and got sacks and takeaways and TFLs. We gave up too many yards, especially through the air, and too many explosive plays. So, we got to get better at everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

And that improvement for the defense\u2013and a program coming off a 4-8 season\u2013begins with a fostering of fellowship. It\u2019s Purdue vs. the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cTalking about team chemistry and guys genuinely having a relationship with one another as a brotherhood, it\u2019s night and day this year to last year,\u201d said Walters. \u201cSo, I think part of that reason is because most of the transfers we brought in except for one got here in January. So, they\u2019ve had a lot of time to sort of gel. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhereas, a year ago, most of the guys we brought in were in June and didn\u2019t have a lot of time to get to know each other. So, I think that definitely has been an added value for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The post Purdue football\u2019s slogan for 2024? Ryan Walters isn\u2019t saying as training camp begins<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MORE: Deep Dive, practice No. 1 Most football teams have a season slogan or a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-63560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63560"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63560\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63580,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63560\/revisions\/63580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}