WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A secondary filled with “old heads” was the end result of defensive backs coach Charles Clark and Purdue football’s portal shopping this off-season. That push for experienced vets has given the Boilermakers an abundance of game-ready defensive backs as the season approaches in West Lafayette. “We definitely have a lot of, […]
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A secondary filled with “old heads” was the end result of defensive backs coach Charles Clark and Purdue football’s portal shopping this off-season. That push for experienced vets has given the Boilermakers an abundance of game-ready defensive backs as the season approaches in West Lafayette.
“We definitely have a lot of, I would say, old heads in our room. Definitely, years under their belt, playing time that knows the defense, because football has a lot of IQ in it, and we a lot of old heads that have a lot of IQ,” cornerback Tony Grimes said on Tuesday.
The sixth-year senior and UNLV transfer is among the most senior members of Purdue’s secondary, which features four sixth-year players in An’Darius Coffey, Hershey McLaurin, Crew Wakley and Grimes, as well as four fifth-year seniors in Myles Slusher, Tahj Ra-El, Richard Toney and T.D. Williams. Four of which, Coffey, Slusher, Ra-El and Grimes have been mainstays with the first-team defense this fall. That’s a lot of snaps under the secondary umbrella for Charles Clark and defensive coordinator Mike Scherer.
Having so much experience on the back end of the defense, along with player-led summer workouts, has allowed for the Boilermakers to quickly mesh and dive deeper into what they want to do as a unit.
“It’s nice, it’s competitive, and it kind of allows us to, I don’t want to say skip a lot of the early stuff, because, the basics are always what’s going to lead to success. But it’s not as much of learning as it is, reiterating stuff and make sure we’re all on the same page,” Wakley said. “It allows us to just get into little nuances, little more focus on the details.”
Purdue’s defensive backs have given Tony Grimes the title of “old head”, being in his sixth year of college football, but the 25-year old Crew Wakley is the oldest member of the secondary, and the team for that matter. The former BYU standout and ex-solar panel salesman is just one of the vets vying for a starting spot for the Boilermakers in 2025.
The competition in West Lafayette has been aplenty across the board, but the wiggle room of each first-teamer in the secondary is slim.
“I love the fact that it’s just true competition, day in and day out. You know, one guy is hot one day, the next day, you know, another guy go out and make a play,” Clark said. “You don’t have clearcut starters right now and those guys that are above everybody else. It’s actually true competition and moving around the depth chart each and every day.”
Purdue has seen a number of starters interchange through ten fall camp practices, with every spot having a fresh face rotate in at some point, particularly at cornerback. Grimes is seemingly locked into the CB1 role, but Ryan Turner, Tre Wright, Chalil Cummings, T.D. Williams and Hudauri Hines have all had a crack at earning the second open slot.
Both Wakley and Grimes tabbed this collection of defensive backs as the best they’ve been a part of during their collegiate careers, which means a lot coming from Grimes, who has spent time at North Carolina, Texas A&M, UNLV and now Purdue. With his well-traveled career to date, Grimes has come in and solidified himself as the leader of Charles Clark’s unit dating back to the spring.
“I love our room. I love the people that we got in our room. Definitely one of the best rooms I’ve been in, like everybody can play the first team, second team, third team, and so forth and so forth,” Grimes said.
“I think his leadership,” Clark said of Grimes. The guys consider him one of the veterans in the group and look up to him, and I think, I lean on him to spread the message of what we want to get done and get across, and how we want to play defense.”
With all of the competition happening, the finer details, and some basics, will be key in determining who the Boilermakers trot out onto the field first against Ball State on August 30th, according to Clark.
“It’s just about execution. You know, the communication starts with that, and alignment, assignment, and then guys going out and execute the plays, and then effort plays a part in that as well. So, you know, just kind of grade the guys on those bases and go from there,” Clark said.
The group has gotten off to a stellar start to the fall, but continuing to build on that progress is the next step for the defensive back room in West Lafayette, something Grimes sees happening throughout the duration of camp.
“We still got a lot to prove and we still got some pieces to put together, but as of right now, what I see, I see a lot of competitors, see a lot of dogs, I see a lot of people that are willing to work, willing to fight. So as long as camp keeps going, we’re gonna keep getting better,” Grimes said.
Category: General Sports
