Purdue's season started off on the right foot Saturday, dominating Indiana State 49-0 to open the year 1-0. The Boilermakers controlled the game from the opening kickoff to the final whistle.
Following Saturday's blowout victory, Ryan Walters spoke to reporters about the performance. Here's everythng he had to say after the big win over the Sycamores.
On the biggest takeaways from the Week 1 victory ...
Walters: "I felt like we expected this type of outcome, so nobody was surprised by it. I feel like we just did what we were supposed to do. We've been harping on — especially in the first game, everyone is pressing to make plays — just doing your job. And that's what's gotten you to playing efficient up to this point. I thought they did that — offense, defense, special teams, for the most part.
"Taking care of the football was the other thing we were harping on. Obviously, we put one on the ground early, but we recovered from that. I thought the defense answered the bell when that happened and taking away their momentum.
"The third thing was just respecting the game. We've been harping on, no matter who our opponent is, we're not worried about logos or who they are. It's a nameless, faceless opponent. Just playing our brand of football, regardless of what the score is or who the opponent is. Respect in the preparation, respect in the way you study and watch film, respect in the way you practice and ultimately coming out here on game day and respecting your opponent by playing as hard as you can. I feel like we played really hard for four quarters."
On Hudson Card's record-breaking performance ...
Walters: "I'm not surprised because he's been doing this, really since spring ball. I've been talking about how much more comfortable he is, how much more confident he is. Not only in the scheme and knowing what we're doing on offense, but as a leader and embracing his role as the leader as the quarterback of this team.
"I anticipated a big jump from Year 1 to Year 2. It's only one game, but I've seen that type of jump in spring ball and in fall camp. I was proud of the offensive line for protecting him. We had seven different guys score touchdowns today, the ball was spread around a lot to a lot of different receivers, tight ends and running backs. So, I thought all of those guys did a good job of doing their job."
On younger players having big impacts ...
Walters: "It is what I've expected. It's different for you guys (media) because you haven't seen the team since the IU game last year, right? We've seen a majority of the roster since January, so the things that they're doing, it's not unique to them anymore. So, I think you can expect the guys who played well today continue to play well. They approach their craft the right way and they play football the right way.
"Hopefully this is a sign of things that continue to come."
On the helmet communication ...
Walters: "It went OK today. There were some technical difficulties throughout with guys being able to hear and not hear. I thought Indiana State did a good job of huddling on offense and waiting until it's past that 15-second mark to break the huddle.
"You still have to be able to signal and operate the way you want to operate on offense and defense. I thought Graham did a good job of communicating with the quarterbacks pre-snap and giving them clues on what to look for. We'll continue to massage it and improve and use it efficiently as the season goes on."
On the growth of OL Joey Tanona ...
Walters: "Really proud of Joey. You talk about resiliency, he embodies that. When we got him here in January, you could tell he hadn't played football in a long time. He was really down in his weight, he would get sore through workouts. But he's a resilient guy who really loves football and he has put his head down, gone to work and hasn't complained about anything. Which is why he's 300-plus pounds now and being able to give us some quality, significant minutes.
"He's got a lot of ball left to play. He's still a young guy, so I'm happy as hell he's in our locker room."
On which side of the ball impressed him most ...
Walters: "I don't know which side impressed me most, because there were still areas of the game where it got sloppy. You look at the stat sheet, we had 11 penalties today — that can't happen if we want to continue to have success on game days.
"I thought some of them were judgment calls that could have gone either way. Some of them weren't. Some of them were just the result of bad technique and being lazy. We'll correct that."
On his plans for the off week ...
Walters: "We had a couple guys that had a little (injury) — it's football, right? Especially anytime you're going live, you're going to have some bumps and bruises. But I am happy that we have a bye week next week.
"No. 1, to continue to improve on some of our technique and fundamentals and learn from some of the mistakes we made today. Also, to get back healthy and add some guys that were out today, so we can really get going. The season is here for real for real now.
"From a scheduling standpoint, we'll get in (Sunday) and watch the tape and put the game to bed. Guys will work out. We'll make some corrections. Monday, they'll have off. Tuesday, they'll work out, we'll probably do some good-on-good just to continue to work on speed of the game. Get some early downs on Notre Dame.
"Wednesday will be a more Notre Dame-centric practice, while still getting some good-on-good work. Thursday will be a lighter day, but all Notre Dame. Friday and Saturday will be off. Then Sunday, we'll have a Tuesday-type practice. Off Monday and then on to game week."
On the play of freshmen Tarrion Grant and Shamar Rigby ...
Walters: "Like I said earlier about all the guys — I saw what I've been seeing in fall camp. We got both of those guys here in June and both of them physically don't look like freshmen. They don't play or practice like freshmen, either. That's from both a physical and mental standpoint.
"(If) You can be a starter Game 1 as a true freshman, that means you are fully comfortable with the game plan, fully comfortable with the adjustments within the game plan. That's hard to do. Especially when we didn't have them in the spring. That's just a testament to No. 1, how much of an affinity they have for learning and No. 2 how our staff has prepared them, knowing they're in the best 11 from a talent standpoint. Getting them up to speed so we're not hindered in what we can call on game day.
"We saw both of those guys play really well. I thought Shamar also blocked really well on the perimeter. I thought Tarrion played tough and physical. He got beat on the angle route early, and they tried to run it again — he was all over it. It's a testament to the type of learner he is.
"The sky is the limit for both of those guys and I'm glad that they play for us."
On the play of recever Leland Smith ...
Walters: "We had been recruiting him for awhile, he just didn't graduate until later. He's 6-foot-4, 220 and is probably one of the top-five fastest guys on the team. He's been doing that kind of stuff in fall camp. Anytime you have a bigger guy and have a corner pressed up, you check a fade, odds are in your favor. Especially when (Hudson) is throwing the ball the way he's throwing it.
"Was happy he was able to get out there. He had a blocked punt today. It's funny because Coach (Chris) Petrilli said to them last night. 'I've seen it, Leland, you're going to block a punt. I don't know if it's tomorrow or when it's going to be, but you're going to block a punt.' It sure was today. I'm going to start calling Coach Petrilli 'The Prophet.'"
On his overall impressions of special teams ...
Walters: "I've got to go back and look at the kickoff return they had late and see the issue. But, I thought we were clean from a substitution standpoint. Spencer (Porath) didn't have the opportunity to kick a field goal, but I thought the ball was coming off his foot on the PATs well. I thought Ben Freehill did a nice job putting most (kickoffs) through the end zone. I thought Keelan (Crimmins) did a good job as the punter today, giving us good hangtime and ball locations. I thought we protected him well. I think we have the best special teams coordinator in the country. Those guys play hard for him."
On the recruitment of Hudson Card ...
Walters: "It helps that he's from Austin and so is Drew Brees. So, there was kind of an understanding of the history here at that position. It's our job to try to make him part of that crew, that tradition here. So, good start."
On who will kick field goals ...
Walters: "Spencer would've handled the field goals and Ben, right now, is handling the kickoffs."
Coach Walters closing statement ...
Walters: "I've got to shoutout Ross-Ade again. This was the largest season-opening crowd since 2005. They continue to blow me away. I don't know how many schools across the country come out after a 4-8 year, playing an FCS opponent, would have that type of crowd. We appreciate you guys, we're working our tail off for you guys. Boiler up!"
HUDSON CARD MAKES HISTORY: Hudson Card tied an FBS record on Saturday, completing 96% of his passes. It tied the highest completion rate for any FBS quarterback. CLICK HERE
QUICK THOUGHTS ON PURDUE'S WIN: Purdue started the 2024 season off on the right foot, taking down Indiana State 42-0 in the season opener at Ross-Ade Stadium on Saturday.CLICK HERE
