52 Days to Purdue Football: Willie Lane

The new redshirt rule shave allowed coaches some flexibility when it comes to true freshmen, and today we profile one of those guys.

Willie Lane - Fr. (RS)

Winter Haven, FL (Winter Haven HS)

6’3”. 265

Defensive End

2019 Projection: Contributor at Defensive End

The new redshirt rules basically state you can play in up to three games and hold on to your redshirt. That came in handy last year for kicker J.D. Dellinger, who was redshirting, but had to come on in an emergency vs. Boston College for a sick Spencer Evans. Lane saw a little more action than that.

As a whole, Lane played in three games at defensive end. He was a reserve defensive end against Boston College, Missouri, and Michigan State, notching a single tackle against Boston College.

With Purdue looking for answers up front defensively, that gives Lane a slight edge going into this season. He is also still a freshman eligibility-wise, so we have a full four years to see him develop.