It is set to be a brand new offensive line for Purdue in 2025, with all five starters from last year's group either heading to the NFL or transferring out of the program. That has put new offensive line coach Vance Vice in a position to mold his unit to his liking throughout the Boilermakers' spring practice.
Vice spoke to the progress of the offensive line, addressed potentially adding reinforcements via the transfer portal and dished on a handful of current Boilermakers on Friday morning.
Offensive line coming together through spring practice:
Vice will have five fresh bodies along the offensive line when the Boilermakers take on Ball State to start the 2025 campaign, which will come after months of working to build cohesion and chemistry within the unit.
The Boilermakers are looking for its starting five to be solidified as spring practice comes to a close, which has been Joey Tanona, Jalen St. John, Giordano Vaccaro, Ethan Trent and Bakyne Coly over the last couple of weeks. While that group has stood out among the rest, Vice stressed the importance of the entire unit coming together and finding the five that work best together, which does not necessarily reflect the best "player" at each spot.
"It's not necessarily every time, maybe physically, who your best five guys are. It's the five guys that can work best together and get communicated and get on the same page," Vice said.
In attempting to build chemistry within the group, Vice shared that the Purdue offensive linemen do everything together, including eating breakfast every single morning.
"I mean, we do everything together. We eat breakfast every morning together, and we don't eat till everybody's there. And just building that bond, it creates depth," Vice said.
Vice has started to see that bonding pay off for the Boilermakers, as they've continued to improve day by day throughout the month long spring practice slate.
"One thing about them, they've shown up every day this spring, and they work, and that's going to give us a chance, you know? Obviously, up front, you've got to have relationships, working relationships with each other, and just as many reps as we could take, we need, and we're trying to provide those opportunities for them right now," Vice said. "From day one to number 14, there's been quite a few improvements, and just meshing together."
