WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue Football took the field for the second time this week on Thursday morning.
While most position groups had turnover under head coach Barry Odom, running backs coach Lamar Conard was retained and took Thursday's media availability alongside Antonio Harris and Devin Mockobee.
"I got to stay home," said Conard. "I have a great sense of pride in this institution. I've been walking around this campus since 1991 as a freshman in high school … This place has given so much to me and I am grateful to give back to it. Every day I wake up with a smile on my face."
The retainment of Conard came with 4-of-6 running backs on the current roster returning after last season. The group features returners Harris, Addai Lewellen, Jaheim Merriweather and Mockobee along with transfer Malachi Thomas and freshman Ziaire Stevens.
"I feel really good about the top half of the room," said Conard. "The back half of the room are progressing, and they're going to help us in some capacity whether that's on offense or special teams."
Mockobee headlines the returners and is the longest tenured Boilermaker on the roster. He sits top 10 in program history with eight 100-yard rushing games (sixth), 2,466 rushing yards (ninth), 505 rushing attempts (10th) and 19 rushing touchdowns (10th).
Purdue's prestigious engineering degrees and passion for the football program made it easy for Mockobee to return for a fifth season.
"My engineering degree is something I hold very close to me, having put so many years of work in," said Mockobee. "The other part is I just love being here, I love Purdue. It was my dream school out of high school."
Harris, a sophomore, appeared in seven games last season and contributed mostly on special teams. He discussed aspects of his game that have improved during his collegiate experience.
"I picked up a bunch of weight, gaining 20-25 pounds since I got here," said Harris. "I feel like my knowledge of the game has grown this offseason – understanding defenses, understanding who is doing what on each play and improvement in pass protection."
Purdue concludes its third week of spring ball on Friday morning.
While most position groups had turnover under head coach Barry Odom, running backs coach Lamar Conard was retained and took Thursday's media availability alongside Antonio Harris and Devin Mockobee.
"I got to stay home," said Conard. "I have a great sense of pride in this institution. I've been walking around this campus since 1991 as a freshman in high school … This place has given so much to me and I am grateful to give back to it. Every day I wake up with a smile on my face."
The retainment of Conard came with 4-of-6 running backs on the current roster returning after last season. The group features returners Harris, Addai Lewellen, Jaheim Merriweather and Mockobee along with transfer Malachi Thomas and freshman Ziaire Stevens.
"I feel really good about the top half of the room," said Conard. "The back half of the room are progressing, and they're going to help us in some capacity whether that's on offense or special teams."
Mockobee headlines the returners and is the longest tenured Boilermaker on the roster. He sits top 10 in program history with eight 100-yard rushing games (sixth), 2,466 rushing yards (ninth), 505 rushing attempts (10th) and 19 rushing touchdowns (10th).
Purdue's prestigious engineering degrees and passion for the football program made it easy for Mockobee to return for a fifth season.
"My engineering degree is something I hold very close to me, having put so many years of work in," said Mockobee. "The other part is I just love being here, I love Purdue. It was my dream school out of high school."
Harris, a sophomore, appeared in seven games last season and contributed mostly on special teams. He discussed aspects of his game that have improved during his collegiate experience.
"I picked up a bunch of weight, gaining 20-25 pounds since I got here," said Harris. "I feel like my knowledge of the game has grown this offseason – understanding defenses, understanding who is doing what on each play and improvement in pass protection."
Purdue concludes its third week of spring ball on Friday morning.