Veteran Sports Scribe Shares Notes From Purdue, IU, Big Ten and NFL
The Purdue ACL curse has now expanded into Boilermaker alumni in the NFL.
All-American wide receiver Rondale Moore of the Atlanta Falcons was lost for the season when he suffered a non-contact right knee injury during a joint practice Aug. 7 with the Miami Dolphins. Moore’s injury led to the Falcons calling off the rest of practice.
Moore, acquired from Arizona in the offseason, had been practicing with the first team when he was injured. Moore also was slated to be a significant player in the return game.
Moore is one of 16 former Purdue players on NFL rosters as of Aug. 14. Indiana has 14 alumni competing for roster spots.
Rookie running back Tyrone Tracy of Purdue avoided serious injury when he went down with a low ankle sprain during a New York Giants practice Aug. 13. Tracy was off to a good start in the preseason, rushing for 26 yards on five carries in a victory against Detroit.
“A lot of potential. It’s been great,” starting running back Devin Singletary said of Tracy to Athlon Sports. “Coming in as a rookie, playing the way he’s been playing. I would say he hasn’t really been playing like a rookie. He’s been like a second- or third-year player, the way he’s been performing. Of course, he still has room to grow, but he’s off to a good start.”
A similar story took place in Cincinnati Bengals camp when second-year wide receiver Charlie Jones banged knees with a teammate during practice last week. Bengals coach Zac Taylor told USA Today that the injury wasn’t serious and that the former Purdue first-team All-Big Ten receiver’s status would be week to week.
Another ex-Boilermaker battling injury is Tampa Bay second-year tight end Payne Durham. Sports Illustrated Purdue writer Dustin Schutte reports that the severity of the knee injury suffered during practice Wednesday was unknown when this column was submitted.
Second-year quarterback Aidan O’Connell is battling former Colts QB Gardner Minshew for the starting job with the Oakland Raiders. Coach Antonio Pierce hopes to decide on a starter following Saturday’s preseason game against Dallas.
Cornerback Cory Trice Jr. is on the comeback trail with the Pittsburgh Steelers after his rookie season ended with a torn ACL in 2023. The fifth member of Purdue’s 2023 NFL Draft class, linebacker Jalen Graham, is back in camp with San Francisco.
Rookie Sanoussi Kane of the Baltimore Ravens was listed third on the depth chart at strong safety.
Miami running back Raheem Mostert is the elder of Purdue’s NFL alumni, entering his 10th season with career totals of 3,513 rushing yards and 32 TDs.
Second on the experience list is Carolina cornerback Anthony Brown, who is attempting to complete a comeback from an Achilles injury suffered during the 2022 season.
New England linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley enters his seventh season with 66 starts, 497 tackles and 10 sacks to his credit. Fellow linebacker Derrick Barnes is coming off his best season with Detroit, collecting 80 tackles and a sack in 13 starts.
Markus Bailey is set to begin his fifth NFL season with a new team. The linebacker / special teams player moved to Arizona after four seasons in Cincinnati. Bailey made four starts and collected 73 tackles during his time with the Bengals.
Kansas City defensive end George Karlaftis seeks to earn a third Super Bowl ring in as many NFL seasons. Karlaftis already has 16.5 career sacks in 31 regular season starts.
Karlaftis’ former teammate and fellow All-American David Bell is still seeking to establish himself at wide receiver with the Cleveland Browns. Bell has six career starts with 38 receptions for 381 yards and three touchdowns.
The long shot of the Purdue (and Indiana) alumni is cornerback Reese Taylor. Cut a year ago as a rookie by Kansas City, Taylor is getting a second chance with the Denver Broncos.
Preseason honors
Sophomore safety Dillon Thieneman is on the watch list for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, given to the national defensive player of the year.
The Westfield graduate earned the Football Writers Association of America Defensive Freshman of the Year award as well as third-team All-America honors in 2023. Thieneman set Purdue freshman records for interceptions (6) and tackles (74).
ESPN, Walter Camp, Athlon Sports and Phil Steele are among the outlets listing Thieneman as a preseason Second-Team All-American.
Three-peat?
Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports and College Hoops Today projects Purdue to win its third consecutive Big Ten men’s basketball championship in 2024.
First-team All-Big Ten guard Braden Smith of Westfield returns to the starting lineup alongside fellow junior guard Fletcher Loyer and junior center Trey Kaufman-Renn. Rothstein predicts they’ll be joined in the starting five by sophomores Myles Colvin and Cam Heide, a forecast that I agree with.
Smith also is Rothstein’s choice for Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year honors. Kaufman-Renn is among Rothstein’s 10 choices for breakout player of the year. Do not be surprised if the former Indiana Gatorade Player of the Year becomes Purdue’s leading scorer in 2024-25.
Indiana gets Rothstein’s nod for second place, predicting transfers Myles Rice, Kanaan Carlyle and Oumar Ballo will join forwards Mackenzie Mgbako and Malik Reneau in the starting lineup. I’ll disagree slightly in that I think veteran guard Trey Galloway is going to be difficult to displace.
Joining Smith on Rothstein’s Preseason All-Big Ten first team are Ballo, Lafayette Jeff graduate Brooks Barnhizer of Northwestern, Bruce Thornton of Ohio State and Payton Sandfort of Iowa.
Rothstein’s 15 Impact Big Ten freshmen includes 7-4 Purdue center Daniel Jacobsen and Indiana’s Bryson Tucker. Illinois has four freshmen on the list: Will Riley, Kasparas Jakucionis, Tomislav Ivisic and Morez Johnson. The favorite for Big Ten Freshman of the Year is probably five-star recruits Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey of Rutgers.
Kenny Thompson is the former sports editor for the Lafayette Journal & Courier and an award-winning journalist. He has covered Purdue athletics for many years.