PURDUE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 25, 2024

Ryan Walters

Press Conference

Q. When you analyze assistant coach performance, what factor is most important to you?

RYAN WALTERS: Obviously their production from their players on the field. That's the main evaluating factor, like how well did your guys play, how well did they produce, how consistent do they play. Those are all main criteria.

Q. If it's a pie chart, how big of a piece is recruiting in that?

RYAN WALTERS: Recruiting is huge, too. I thought you were talking about evaluating...

Q. The whole thing.

RYAN WALTERS: There's a lot to go into it. Can you get your guys to go play the right way, play consistent, play winning football. Usually those type of players are also good players, right?

You got to be able to recruit and develop relationships. How does your room respond to you. Can you hold them accountable. How well do they receive coaching and are you a great teacher. You also got to be a good evaluator in that recruiting process.

Those are all things you look at from an assistant coach standpoint.

Q. Has the relative weight of those factors shifted at all for you over these two years because of what Purdue needs specifically from just being in the chair?

RYAN WALTERS: Yeah, I think now that you've gone two years, I think the weight shifts more toward how are your guys playing on game day. Especially with like the recruiting world nowadays with revenue share happening, with NIL, with transfer portal, all those things, there's a lot of different hats and a lot of different ways to get guys into the building.

It's not all relationships and laying out the red carpet on a recruiting visit. You know what I mean? Your development of the players in the building and how they practice, how they perform, those are huge evaluating factors.

Q. Where do you think Marcos Davila is now in his development? What do you see as his potential to have a big impact next season?

RYAN WALTERS: He's a true freshman that's getting redshirted. He obviously has a ton of arm talent. I think he's a bright individual that gets what we're doing schematically. He's improved his physique and his athleticism through our strength and conditioning program. The spring will be huge for him.

I definitely think he's got a shot to compete just by the nature of who he is and the type of arm he has.

Q. How have you grown as a coach the last couple weeks, as an offensive coach, having experienced that part of the equation?

RYAN WALTERS: Yeah, I've grown a lot as a coach. Obviously being on the offensive side, it opens your eyes up to a different lens and a different perspective. You kind of see the game in its totality.

The conversations with the O-line coach, the tight ends and protections, route trees, what they're looking for in terms of reading the defense and how they adjust based on the shell or the coverage they're getting. I've grown a lot because of that. I think that will be really advantageous moving forward.

Honestly, you get two years as a head coach, sitting in this chair for the first time, you learn a lot.

Q. When you look back at the Michigan State game, the three drops in the fourth quarter were pivotal. Did you sense a common thread in them?

RYAN WALTERS: I think it's just something that happened. Some of them were routine plays. You know what I mean? You've seen guys make them. I know Jahmal Edrine is still sick right now on the double move. We've seen him make that play. Made it in the Illinois game. Tibbs has pretty steady hands. Routine pitch and catch.

I don't know if it's the moment that was too big, lack of focus or whatever the case may be. Those are all things that we can learn from.

I know those guys were hurting in the moment. They're looking forward get to getting back out on the grass and practicing and having another opportunity on Saturday.

Q. You mentioned the revenue sharing coming into play. There's some things to be sorted out. How are you talking to recruits about that right now? Are you recruiting to that model?

RYAN WALTERS: We have a pretty good idea what the model is going to look like. We're not, like, offering out deals to high school kids yet. I think those conversations are more within your own current roster right now.

Obviously when the portal opens, those will be big talking points, trying to fill needs.

Q. You mentioned there's a lot of different ways to get guys in your program now. Has Indiana shown that is a model that's quickly effective and you can turn a program around basically overnight?

RYAN WALTERS: There are a lot of programs that have used that model. You look at Colorado, what Coach Prime has been able to do there. Shoot, Ohio State took a lot of transfers this past season, so...

You definitely got to get the right guys to fit your needs. It is possible to flip a program pretty rapidly because of the landscape and the rules in recruiting and transfer windows in college football now.

Q. You look forward to Saturday. This being the last one, how much maybe are you not looking forward to Sunday and some tough conversations that have to happen with players and staff members?

RYAN WALTERS: I mean, I'm looking forward to Saturday. That is what I'm focused on right now. Those are the things that are right in front of us right now. Then after Saturday, I'll look forward to the next wave of things.

Q. What is the biggest difference you've seen from Indiana to what you've seen on film this year?

RYAN WALTERS: I mean, obviously a completely different roster, right? Very experienced team that's played a lot of football. They've got good schemes offensively and defensively. Those guys, they run it to a T. It's a well-oiled machine. They don't make a ton of mistakes. They make the plays they're supposed to make.

Those guys, they force you to try to beat them on all three phases. You can tell they've played a lot of ball. A lot of those guys have played a lot of ball together. They're playing extremely confident right now.

We've had a lot of crossover games. I've been able to watch a lot of tape. It's the same theme throughout the season. They get off to really fast starts on offense and defense. Teams sort of hang around and midway through the third quarter, seems like they tend to pull away and the game ends up looking a lot more lopsided than it was through the meat of the game.

Well-coached team. Talented team that plays tough and physical. They play smart football.

Q. I think the motivation for a trophy game is built in. The opportunity to play spoilers, is that something you think can add to the motivation for Saturday?

RYAN WALTERS: Yeah, the guys are excited and looking forward to the challenge. Anytime you have a trophy game, an in-state rival, playing against one of the top-ranked opponents, it's easy to get up for those.

We had a really good meeting yesterday. Guys have already been through the building to get scouting reports today. Looking forward to tomorrow's practice.

Q. How do you go about pulling off a big upset? You're a heavy underdog here. What is your formula to shock the world?

RYAN WALTERS: We have to execute for four quarters. We've done it in spurts. We got to put two full halves together on offense and defense. Obviously can't do things to put ourselves behind the eight ball, sort of give them opportunities. When we have opportunities, we got to take advantage of 'em.

Momentum is really good for 18- to 22-year-olds. It builds confidence, it reenergizes and gets the sideline excited.

We got to come out fast to have a really good start and build off of some momentum and execute at a high level.

Q. What do you think maybe the most surprising thing is you learned this season?

RYAN WALTERS: Most surprising thing? What I've been surprised with in terms of our entire program, players, coaches alike, is just the ability to put blinders on, block out the noise, and focus on the task at hand. Work at it. Go play, put forth your best effort, then whatever the results are they are. Sort of reset and do it again.

That can be tough in today's world with social media and sort of everybody having a voice. So for those 18- to 22-year-olds to be able to come to work and show up every day with a positive attitude and still dive into their craft, trying to get better and going through the process, I've been surprised with sort of their resolve and their resiliency that way.

Q. How do you stay in the moment and not look to the future?

RYAN WALTERS: It's pretty easy. Like, I'm a routine-oriented person. So when you have a Saturday game, you have your weekly routine. I just dive into the job and the task at hand and put forth your energy and time into those tasks.

Hasn't really been that difficult.

Q. Kevin said it's easy to deal with criticism online from us, from wherever. The hardest thing is talking to his kids. How challenging has that been, that side of things?

RYAN WALTERS: You talking, like, your players or your family kids?

Q. Your family, being a father. Obviously they want to see their dad succeed.

RYAN WALTERS: Yeah, I mean, my kid's got it pretty good, right? I think these are lessons that will pay dividends for them growing into a man, right?

In order to be a well-rounded individual and to maximize who you can be as an individual, you have to go through some struggles. Life isn't always sunshine and rainbows and success. They're learning real-life lessons, learning how to deal with criticism from their peers, as well. You know what I mean?

You still got to remind them that the people that you know and that you care about, like, that's whose opinion matters. There are lessons learned through adversity, how you carry yourself, how you have poise when you get angry or you disagree. Those are all things that a 10- and an eight-year-old sort of need.

If this season has provided them with sort of those life-applicable lessons, then it's all good. You know what I mean? As long as you're learning from some of the struggles, then you're moving forward and becoming better as an individual.

Q. On the health, C.J. Smith, Cole Brevard, Demarjhe. Do you anticipate any key guys being out?

RYAN WALTERS: We'll find out more in today's staff meeting. I know Cole Brevard is trending in the right direction to be available, as well as Chops. Still waiting to hear on C.J.