Last year, this squad was on the verge of doing something great in the Big Ten before the team got hit with injuries. In the first 6 games of ’10, Purdue went 4-2; however, the second-half was pretty abysmal as the Boilermakers dropped the last six of its games. I believe the return of QB Robert Marve should bolster the Boilermakers offense. The Florida native has dealt with adversity before in the past but the senior is still waiting to make his mark in college football. He was a prized recruit back in 2007 and I still believe Marve has all the intangibles to be an elite player in the Big Ten next season. RB Ralph Bolden also returns to West Lafayette. The junior exploded onto the scene in 2009, rushing for nearly 1000 yards during his sophomore season before being sidelined by knee surgery. You’ll definitely want to keep your eyes glued on those two guys this fall. The Boilermakers will miss not having the services of All-American edge rusher Ryan Kerrigan but new stars will emerge. But even with such a loss, the defense is still pretty stacked as the team welcomes back a Big-Ten best 9 returning starters. If this team can just stay healthy then maybe this will be the season head coach Dan Hope envisioned for Purdue when he arrived two seasons ago.
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