55 Days to Purdue Football: Ryan DeBusk and Michael Mendez

It is the first DOUBLE PLAYER DAY! We have two No. 55's on the roster, with a walk-on defensive lineman and a redshirt freshman offensive lineman.

Ryan DeBusk -€” Sr. (5)

Atascadero, CA (Atascadero HS)

6'1", 274 pounds

Rush End

2016 Projection: Reserve at Rush End

DeBusk has earned things the hard way. He is a four year walk-on entering his fifth and final season. To my knowledge he hasn't even seen the field yet, but he has a nice highlight reel from his HS days:

DEBusk has contributed quite a bit in practice, however. Hopefully we will beat eastern Kentucky by enough that he sees the field in the fourth quarter.

Michael Mendez -€” Fr. (RS)

Los Fresnos, TX (Los Fresnos HS)

6'4", 302 pounds

Offensive Line

2016 Projection: Reserve on Offensive Line

I think Mendez is a very promising prospect at guard going forward, especially with two seniors starting in 2016. He brings good size and was a little bit of an overlooked recruit coming out of the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. He even enrolled early so this past year was his second spring within the program. He should be a player to watch for 2017 and beyond.