2008 Purdue Boilermakers

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ESPN - Rittenberg: Big Ten notebook - College Football

The offensive line has become Purdue's most pressing concern in spring practice. Gone are guard Jordan Grimes and center Robbie Powell, and all three returning starters up front will miss spring practice with injuries, as will a promising reserve. Tackle Zach Jones (hip) and guard Zach Reckman (shoulder) underwent offseason surgeries, and tackle Sean Sester expects to have back surgery in the next few weeks.

Coach Joe Tiller thought he had a successor for Powell at center in Mike Chacksfield, but the freshman injured his knee shoveling snow back home in Cincinnati following a major storm in early March. Reserve linemen Eric Hedstrom and Garrett Miller both are coming off knee surgeries but will practice this spring.

ESPN - Tiller, Hope energized for Boilermakers' 2008 campaign - College Football

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Joe Tiller's subconscious doesn't bother him on the practice field. It knows that is sacred space.

Thoughts of an impending retirement don't infiltrate Tiller's mind as he puts Purdue through spring drills for the 12th and final time. He continues to coach at full throttle, and Boilermakers quarterback Curtis Painter has noticed a heightened enthusiasm in the 65-year-old.

It's not until after practice that Tiller realizes why he's walking away.

"I feel my energy level slipping a little bit," Tiller said Monday after Purdue's workout at the Mollenkopf Athletic Center. "I still feel like I have energy, and I look forward to these practices and coming out here, but I don't mind going home anymore. I used to want to stay up all night, watching tape. So if that's slipping, then that's me.

"That's part of it when you say, 'It's time.'"

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SI.com - NCAA Football - Purdue gets WR transfer Donley from Georgia Tech - Tuesday April 1, 2008 4:40PM

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) -- Wide receiver D.J. Donley will leave Georgia Tech and play for Purdue starting in 2009.

Donley intends to make the move this summer and will have three years of eligibility, Purdue said in a news release Tuesday.

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ESPN - Rittenberg: Big Ten notebook - College Football

Senior Jaycen Taylor has inched ahead of classmate Kory Sheets in their seemingly never-ending competition to become Purdue's starting running back. Boilermakers coach Joe Tiller gave Taylor "a slight edge" in the contest, calling him the more consistent back. Sheets has started more games (21-4) and scored more touchdowns (22-8) than Taylor the past two seasons, but he has been prone to fumbling. "He's a reckless ball carrier," Tiller told the (Lafayette) Journal and Courier. The Boilermakers added depth to their wide receiver corps last week with Georgia Tech transfer D.J. Donley, who caught eight passes for 101 yards as a freshman last fall.