Rondale Moore – Noteworthy
Less than two months after Purdue was thrashed by Auburn in the Music City Bowl, the Boilermakers return to the field today for the start of spring practice. The Boilers will have 14 practices, open to the media and the public, leading up to the annual spring game April 6 at Ross-Ade Stadium. After going 13-13 in their first two seasons under coach Jeff Brohm – a marked improvement from the 5-19 mark the team posted in the two previous seasons – Purdue today begins trying to take the next step: from respectable competitor to Big Ten title contender.
What can Rondale Moore do for an encore? Moore, the painfully shy, baby-faced 18-year-old, turned in one of the best true freshman seasons in recent memory, leading the nation with 114 catches, scoring 14 touchdowns and setting a Purdue record for all-purpose yards in his first college football game. Moore won Big Ten Freshman of the Year and Receiver of the Year for his efforts and will on the short list for the Heisman Trophy when the Boilermakers take the field again Aug. 31. All of that will be enough to make him the focal point of any defensive game plan and he will likely face bracket coverage and straight double-teams at all times next season, all while playing with a new quarterback. We’ll find out starting today where he felt he had room to improve. – Fort Wayne Journal Gazette