Purdue Football: Gold Beats Black 14-3 As Carson Wiggs Shines

Purdue's 2010 football season did not go as planned, with Ralph Bolden missing the entire season with a torn ACL after rushing for nearly 1,000 yards in 2009. Quarterback Robert Marve tore his ACL in the season's fourth game, while leading receiver Keith Smith tore his in game #2. The result was a dismal 4-8 season that saw Purdue start four different quarterbacks because of injuries.

Many of those injuries are healing now, meaning Purdue has some promise heading into its spring Black and Gold game tomorrow at Ross-Ade Stadium. The offense has plenty of question marks that may be answered tomorrow:

Quarterback - Marve continues to rehab his ACL, Meaning redshirt sophomore Rob Henry has taken most of the snaps with the first team. Henry saw action in all 12 game last year, starting six of them as a redshirt freshman. he showed some promise before a gruesome finger injury sustained at Ohio State limited his throwing ability. Sean Robinson started at Illinois as a true freshman, while Caleb TerBush returns for his junior season after an academic suspension last year. The starting job is expected to come down to Henry and Marve, with TerBush being the #3 guy and Robinson taking this year as a redshirt after being forced into action last year as a true freshman. Henry threw for 996 yards and eight touchdowns against seven interceptions.

Running Back - Purdue's running game was severely limited by injuries last year, so much so that Henry led the team with 547 yards and four touchdowns. Dan Dierking and Keith Carlos both graduated, while Al-Terek McBurse,a  promising four-star recruit in 2009, has left the program. Bolden is still rehabbing his injury sustained last spring, so the bulk of the running game will fall on JuCo transfer Akeem Shavers and sophomore Reggie Pegram. Jared Crank has made strides at fullback after carrying 22 times for 76 yards and a score last year.

Wide Receiver - Cortez Smith is gone to graduation and Keith Smith's appeal for a 6th year was denied, leaving Antavian Edison (32 catches, 316 yards, 4 touchdowns) as the leading receiver back. O.J. Ross (11-149-1) also comes back with a lot of promise, but Purdue expects several players who have been around for a few years to contribute. Gary Bush (11-95-1) has made strides. JuCo tight end Sterling Carter is expected to take over for Kyle Adams. Sophomore Gabe Holmes will also likely see his playing time increase, as he is a very promising tight end from Florida power St. Thomas Aquinas.

Defensive End - Unanimous All-American and likely first round pick Ryan Kerrigan is gone, so Purdue must find a way to replace his pass rushing ability. Gerald Gooden returns at the other end position, but Robert Maci, Ryan Russell, and Ryan Isaac will try to replace part of Kerrigan's massive production.