PURDUE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 11, 2023

Ryan Walters

Press Conference

Q. Now that you've had over 24 hours to digest the film since we talked to you, any other observations good or bad from what happened Saturday night?

RYAN WALTERS: Yeah, there was a lot of positives, a lot of things that were cleaned up from week 1 to week 2. Just looked a lot cleaner on film. Still obviously some mistakes made. There will be every week.

But the good thing is that the mistakes we made are self-inflicted and easily correctable.

It'll be another week to improve, and like I've been saying, I only see this team improving as the year goes.

Q. What was the biggest thing you learned about your team?

RYAN WALTERS: Resiliency, how we would respond to adversity. That was really the only question I had going into the season was just when adversity struck is how we would respond with the new staff, new faces in the locker room, all of those things surrounding the program.

They responded the right way, and it started the week of preparation and practice and meetings, and trickled over to starting fast during the game and then headed into the locker room and relaxing but staying focused on the task at hand, fighting through them getting back into the game, and doing enough to pull it out on the road with a five-and-a-half-hour delay.

Q. I'm not privy to the game plan or what Virginia Tech was trying to do, but Deion Burks had just one catch and four targets. I was curious why he wasn't featured more.

RYAN WALTERS: Yeah, they did some things to make sure somebody was over the top of him, and just the way the game was called offensively, Hud reads the defense and puts the ball where it's supposed to go. So that was just a microcosm of those two different aspects: Virginia Tech trying to do things to make sure that we couldn't blow over the top of the defense with him specifically, and just the nature of the play call and finding the right receiver to get the ball to.

Q. Kind of just break down the plan, what the plan was for Hudson Card as far as running the football. What's the sweet spot there on called runs, and how much would you like to see him run moving forward?

RYAN WALTERS: Yeah, definitely there was an emphasis on having some designed runs for him, also some aspects of the run game where he's reading the defense and making the decision whether to pull it or hand it.

There were actually a couple times where I thought he could have pulled it, and we'd have got some big chunk yardage plays. But this is also new for him, playing this style of football.

But obviously you don't want to have him get him too many times, but you also want to trust him to go play football, because he is a good football player.

Q. Do you know Purdue is only one of two Big Ten teams without a turnover?

RYAN WALTERS: I did not know that, but I've been pleased with the ball security, and that was one of our goals going into the game was just to win the turnover margin. Anytime you're on the road in front of a hostile crowd like that, you don't want to give them momentum swings by not taking care of the football, and they've been doing an excellent job of that so far.

Q. Your depth chart shows Gus Hartwig atop the center spot. Can you talk about that and the likelihood he'll play Saturday?

RYAN WALTERS: I don't know if he will play or not Saturday. We've got to trust the docs and trust where he's at in the rehab process, but I can guarantee you when he's ready to play, he's going to play.

Q. I know that Colgate and Western Michigan aren't world beaters, but Syracuse clearly took care of business against those teams. How big of a challenge is this? You're facing a good football team.

RYAN WALTERS: Yeah, you guys have seen the schedule. Every week it's going to be a good opponent. You can't fault Syracuse for playing Western Michigan and Colgate; they did what they were supposed to do.

You watch film and you see both sides of the ball. Offensively they know what they're doing. With the new offensive coordinator that was on staff a year ago, they've changed a little bit, but how much of that is just the nature of the two opponents they played, and will they get back to doing what they were doing a year ago.

Then defensively, Rocky Long is highly respected in the defensive ranks of coaches in this profession, runs that 3-3 stack -- 3-3-5 defense and brings pressure 50 percent of the time and is always moving up front. So from a schematic standpoint, they do a really good job offensively and defensively, and we'll have to be on our P's and Q's going into Saturday.

Q. I know Max had a great game on Saturday, but how big was it for Garrett to go out there, get a catch on the second play and get in the flow a little bit?

RYAN WALTERS: It was huge. Man, I was so happy for him to see. He has been busting his butt trying to get back out there, and he has attacked the rehab process the way you would like somebody to attack it. For him to get out there and get some live reps, that was good to see.

Q. You've talked about your defense and the shut-out in the second half, but the importance of getting them into 3rd and longs, obviously that helps with the 3rd down conversion rate. How big was that? You still gave up some big plays but you had them in a lot of 3rd and longs, as well.

RYAN WALTERS: Yeah, I was proud of the staff's ability to adjust at halftime and also the players' ability to understand situational ball and where their help is schematically and what routes they can't get beat on and being more sound in our rush lanes. All of those things go together. So they as a result played well, especially in the second half.

Q. You've talked about the importance of the pass rush in this defense, but OC being in the middle of that, how valuable is it to have a veteran savvy football player there that can control everything?

RYAN WALTERS: Yeah, it's hugely valuable. He's an athletic linebacker that can get sideline to sideline, and that definitely helps. We were able to ignite him on a couple pressures to get penetration up the middle, and he made a bunch of plays for us.

Q. In the first game against Fresno State, it seemed like Tyrone Tracy stuck out in terms of the run game and not as much Dev Mockobee until he got that late touchdown. Against Virginia Tech, he got almost 100 rushing yards. What did you see in his difference from week 1 and week 2 and anything you attribute that development to?

RYAN WALTERS: Yeah, I think our offensive line played a lot better week 2 than they did week 1, just being on the same page and ID'ing who they were starting to get to the second level. So you give Mockobee and Tyrone space, they're very athletic and have great vision and are hard to bring down.

I think it was a combination of those guys just getting more opportunities and also our offensive line playing better.

Q. Was Saturday what you envisioned this defense looking like on a weekly basis?

RYAN WALTERS: Almost. You know, we're still not there yet. We've still got some work to do.

But you saw more of it. I thought we were a lot more consistent, made a lot more competitive plays, and played within the framework of the defense.

You saw guys playing selfless and being more team oriented. I thought Coach Kane did a good job of getting them in good situations and good spots with some of his play calls, so I think we're getting close to it looking like we all envision it defensively. We've just got to continue to keep working.

Q. Abdur has kind of flown under the radar for you guys with Deion and Max kind of getting to shine there, but he made a couple big plays, especially in the second half on Saturday. What does he bring to that receiver room?

RYAN WALTERS: Consistency. In practice, in fall camp, I don't know if I've seen him drop a ball. He's always in the right spot at the right time. He's been consistent and steady for Hud and a guy that we can really count on to make big catches in big moments.

Q. You showed a lot more offensively in week 2 than week 1. Was that changes during the week? Was that Deion's gravity? Was that simply having the ball more?

RYAN WALTERS: I definitely think having the ball more allows you to call more plays, so you have opportunities to have a little more variety. I also think Graham had a good plan going into the game and was able to get creative with some of his motions and formations to create favorable boxes both in the pass and the run game.

Q. We saw Garrett Miller for just a little bit. He caught a pass. What did you think of Garrett and what the plan was for him Saturday and what the plan is moving forward?

RYAN WALTERS: Yeah, we're just trying to ease him back into the lineup, back into the rotation to give him confidence. Anytime you go through a traumatic injury like he did, it's as much physical as it is -- it's as much mental, just getting over the hump and being confident and playing the way he knows how to play.

So we had a small package for him, and that's why you saw him when you saw him is just when that package was available to us offensively, and he will continue to get more reps as he feels comfortable, and I'm excited for his season and his career here.

Q. Has your path ever crossed with Dino Babers?

RYAN WALTERS: It has not.

Q. I'm curious, how much did your phone blow up after you got your first win? How many texts and phone calls did you get?

RYAN WALTERS: Almost as much as it blew up when I got the call from Mike that I was going to be the head coach. It was great to see the amount of support.

But even more just it was great to see the guys celebrate in the locker room. I didn't play a snap, for all those that watched the game. So it's all about the players. They pulled this one out, and they played well, and they prepared well all week, and I'm excited for this week and to see their improvement.

Q. Did you play "Enter Sandman" on the plane ride back?

RYAN WALTERS: No, we're done. We're done hearing that one, probably for a long time.

Q. Your first sellout and also first night game aside from the delay, kind of playing in the evening. What do you look the most forward to to that?

RYAN WALTERS: Just the atmosphere and the environment. I've heard from the guys in the locker room just how crazy Ross-Ade gets and how special night games are here in West Lafayette. To have an opponent like Syracuse and to play at night at home coming off of a win, I'm sure the energy is going to be electric, and our guys will be ready to play.

Q. How different is the mood this week so far compared to what it was last week coming off of that win?

RYAN WALTERS: You know, obviously the attitude, like the guys were upset last week, coaches and players alike. So you're happy, there's joy, because you just won a hard game that you have to overcome a lot.

From that aspect, it's different. But the focus and the preparation is the same, and it needs to be the same every week.

Q. What's the rule on the personal foul they called on Thieneman?

RYAN WALTERS: I was trying to get explanation during the game. I guess he -- maybe the target was a little bit too low or he arrived a little bit too late. KJ made a sack later in the game that was very similar, so I'm not sure.

Q. When is the last time you received a game ball after a game?

RYAN WALTERS: Never. It was my first.

Q. High school, nothing?

RYAN WALTERS: No, we didn't -- the places I've been, we didn't really hand out game balls. That was something I wanted to start doing here, and luckily Mike was in the locker room with us postgame.

Q. I know you want to win a lot more, but just to get that first one out of the way, do you feel like the monkey is off your back a little bit now and you can go out and prepare and play football?

RYAN WALTERS: No, the goal was never to get just the first one. It's to go get them every week.

I didn't put any added pressure going into week 2 with dropping week 1. It's just the preparation and the routine week in and week out is going to be the same, no matter who we're playing or what's at stake.

I think if you approach it that way, you can be consistent. You can be level-headed for your team. I don't want to be up and down or put too much into our too little into any opponent or any week.