1 Team 1 Season: Purdue Football James Shepherd

Last week Purdue played Minnesota and improved to 4-0. I predicted that Purdue would beat Minnesota by 2. ESPN experts expressed opposite views when discussing this game, however the consensus was a close game. Purdue rose to the occasion and beat Minnesota 45-31. After yet again predicting a game and being shown up by the Boilermakers I decided this week to ask freshman James Shepherd to give me a short explanation of why the football team has had such success and provide us all with an inside view of the Boilermakers.
James Shepherd
Class: Freshman
Hometown: Crofton, Ky.
High School: Christian County
Height/6-6 Weight/ 309
Position: Offensive Tackle

The Mind: On paper Purdue v. Minnesota should have been a close game. However Purdue made sure it wasn’t. Like many others I predicted Purdue by two. What is it that we can’t quantify, and you can tell us about Purdue, that allows them to continue to drive everyone into the turf?

James: We have a lot of experience on both sides of the ball this year. We returned 18 starters from last year’s team and that always helps. But another big thing in football is turnovers. We take care of the ball for the most part and we have created a lot of turnovers with our defense this year.

The Mind: What superstitions do you and Purdue have that help prepare for a game?

James: I wouldn’t say that we have superstitions, but one thing Coach Tiller always tells us is that we can’t take any opponent lightly and we have to prepare the same way every week. Having a routine is a big part of preparation.

The Mind: On game day Saturday what is the basic routine?

James: We wake up and eat. Then we have our last position meetings before the game. We go over what we might see in the game and just take care of the final mental preparations. Then we go to the stadium and get ready for warm ups.

The Mind: I would like to talk about Painter a little. What is Painter’s attitude and work ethics like?

James: He’s a hard worker. He’s just one of those guys that just comes in everyday and does what’s expected of him. He’s definitely one of the leaders of this team and he leads by example.

The Mind: What was Painter’s reaction to tying Brees’ record? How did the locker room react?
James: I don’t think anyone really realized that it happened until after the fact but as soon as we did know everyone was happy because he is a good player and he deserves it.

The Mind: Who is the biggest trash talker in your looker room?

James: Well nobody talks trash on game day because we feel that that’s not how you play the game. But when were just hanging out in the locker room or at practice I think that Stanford Kegler and Dustin Keller are always vocal about something.

The Mind: You were heavily recruited by Kentucky, University of Tennessee, Wake Forest, Indiana, and Purdue- what made you choose the Boilermakers?

James: Great Education and the chance to play in the Big Ten. When I was making my decision I took football out of the equation and decided based on that. Then I added football and I just decided that Purdue offered me a lot of opportunities.

The Mind: As a freshman out of high school what has been the biggest change for you on the field?

James: You have to work hard every play. You are never good enough, even in practice, to just go half speed or use bad technique and expect to do well. You have to come in and work hard at a high tempo.

The Mind: Let’s look ahead at the end of this season. What do you see for Purdue this year? Can you give us a prediction for the final record? If you predict a loss, who hands it to you?

James: It’s hard to predict because it’s a long season and so many things can happen. We just want to take it one week at a time. Don’t overlook anyone. Our goal is to go to the Rose Bowl and its going to take a lot of hard work. I think that everyone on the team is working to achieve the lofty goal that we’ve set for ourselves.

The Mind: To avoid any bias I will remove Purdue from the mix, which two teams play for the BCS title this year and who wins?

James: It’s tough to say. There are a lot of really good teams out there. I think that a few different teams could end up there. USC is always good, so they could be there. Oklahoma’s offense looks pretty impressive this year so it wouldn’t surprise me if they made it. West Virginia looks really good this year on offense but I don’t know if their defense can hold up. LSU, though, has been the most impressive team to me overall. I mean their defense is great and they have some amazing athletes on the offensive side of the ball.

The Mind: Thank you for taking the time to meet with me and please let Purdue know that I thank them for their cooperation. I would like to put it out for the readers that Purdue’s PR team has been incredible and has approved this interview. James, good luck this season and I look forward to talking with you again.

This week Purdue takes on Notre Dame at what will likely be the largest home crowd they have ever seen. I disagree 100% with ESPN’s Lee Corso’s comment on College GameDay last week. Lee stated ‘Notre Dame’s losing streak ends at Purdue’. Lee think about this: Notre Dame lost to the team who lost to Appalachian state!
The Mind’s Pick: Purdue over Notre Dame