4 Days To Purdue Football: Taylor Richards and Keith Byars II

Only four days left until kickoff, and we have a player that is the second generation of a long-time NFL player and a player getting his second chance.

Taylor Richards - Sr.

Lake Mary, FL (Lake Mary HS)

5'10", 196 pounds

Safety

2014 Projection: Starter at Safety

It looked like Richards' career could have been over after he racked up a post-season DUI in January, but he has managed to get back into the good graces of Coach Hazell. He will still sit for the first two games of 2014 as penance, but Purdue gets a very experienced player back in its secondary for the game at Lucas Oil Stadium against Notre Dame.

Last season Richards had 64 tackles in starting all 12 games. He also had an interception and a fumble recovery. It was his second season as a starter, as he had 51 tackles as a sophomore in 2012. After he comes back he will possibly be Purdue's best player in the secondary. No one has his experience and he has shown a lot of talent in his two years as a starter.

Keith Byars II - Fr. (RS)

Boca Raton, FL (Boca Raton HS)

5'10", 204 pounds

Running Back

2014 Projection: Reserve at running back

Byars is way down on the depth chart, but he has the genes to be a pretty good player in time. His dad was Ohio State legend Keith Byars, who went on to a successful 13-year career in the NFL. The younger Byars has taken a longer road to Purdue. After rushing for 655 yards and nine touchdowns as senior in high school in 2011 he took a prep year at Milford Academy in New England. Now he is coming out of his redshirt year at Purdue.

Unfortunately, Byars is way down the depth chart. His bigger contributions could be a year or two away.