Coach Speak(s) - Ryan Walters First Game Week Press Conference - Fresno State

Today Ryan Walters stepped in front of the media as Purdue football head coach for the first time during a game week. As the team and staff prepare for Fresno State it was Coach Walters turn to take questions from the assembled media. If you’ll recall in previous years under the Brohm regime the answers were all the same all the time. Everyone was a little dinged up and was working their way back. Our guys fought hard. Jeff Brohm needs to be more focused on calling the plays and staying focus on the run game. Etc. etc. etc..

It got old fast. There was a reason I called this article coach speak every week. Nothing of substance was ever said. Could Ryan Walters take these press conferences in a completely different direction? You can watch the entirety of his press conference below, but here are a few of the highlights in my opinion.

When asked about Hudson Card Walters said “he’s one of the best I’ve been around in person.” That speaks to the confidence that Walters has in the transfer that he brought in to lead his offense. Walters calls Deion Burks a “freak” and says he’s the fastest guy on the team and he can’t wait to see him out there. Says that Graham Harrell likes to spread the ball around and that “we won’t be as centric on one individual as they were here a year ago” in the receiving corps. That gives me some hope that we won’t be putting too much pressure on just one guy.

When asked if he had any burning questions hoping to get answered this week Walters simply answered “no”. Gotta love a guy who is confident. He got pressed on this later on and indicated that he knows his team and he watches every rep in practice. He said he was hoping to get some things confirmed which is a bit of a nitpick but as Willy Wonka says, confidence is key. Ultimately no decisions have been made on who is redshirting and who is playing and Walters notes that he has four games to make those choices. Dillon Thieneman is the exception as he was noted as the second fastest guy on the squad and is listed as a starter on the depth chart. When asked if there’s a pressure to play freshman because he wants to keep them around meaning the transfer portal. He says that he tells guys “your spot on the roster or your spot on the depth chart isn’t owned, it’s rented, and the rent is due every day.” I absolutely love that.

Regarding coordinators in the box or on the field Walters had a conversation with the coaches involved and determined who can be on a headset and who will be in the box.

No, Walters doesn’t know the official capacity of the new Ross-Ade Stadium either.