29 Days to Purdue Football: Jimmy Herman

Last year at this time T-Mill asked if Jimmy Herman was one of the answers at linebacker and it seems like that question has been answered with a definitive yes.

Jimmy Herman - Jr. (RS)

Carmel, IN (Carmel HS)

6'4", 230 pounds

Linebacker

2015 Projection: Starter at linebacker

Jimmy Herman really came into his own last year at the linebacker position. He's a Purdue special in the linebacking position. What do I mean by that? I mean he's not naturally a linebacker. In the grand Purdue tradition of converting safeties and quarterbacks into linebackers Jimmy Herman is a former safety. Herman has added quite a bit of weight in his time at Purdue and does have the body and build of a college linebacker at this point. His stats last season back that up.

Herman's breakout at the position helped to stabilize a position that had troubled Purdue for years. Herman played in 10 games for the Boilermakers last year and started eight of the those. The two games he missed last season he only missed due to injury. It's not as if he wasn't good enough to play. While on the field Herman racked up 56 tackles and three pass break-ups.  Herman isn't the most physically gifted linebacker the Boilers have, or even the most dominant on the field, but he's a consistent player who wraps up and is a solid tackler. He's exactly what Purdue needs.

Word on the internets is that Herman has bulked up a little bit in the offseason while maintaining his speed. Let's hope that's true because improvement from all three of Purdue's starting linebackers could go a long way to shoring up what could only be described as a suspect defense.