Nappanee Advance-News, Volume 120, Number 32, Nappanee, Elkhart County, 20 August 1997 — Page 41

New PU coach sees academic success as key to victory on the field

WEST LAFAYETTE (AP) Smart players make good players, says new Purdue coach Joe Tiller, hoping to reverse more than a decade of Boilermaker mediocrity in football by emphasizing classroom success. Purdue’s academic casualties have paralleled its decline on the field in recent years, a situation that shocked the new coach when he arrived last winter from Wyoming. “I’m not used to this stuff,’’ Tiller said Wednesday at Purdue's annual football media day. “I’m not comfortable with it. We have to address that No. 1. ... Make the players more accountable.” The latest departures are defensive backs Derrick Brown and Jamel Coleman, both seniors with a combined 45 starts over their careers. Brown already has made plans to go to a junior college for what would be a redshirt season at Purdue and could possibly return to the Boilermakers next year. Coleman hasn’t even spoken to Tiller, and as far as the coach is concerned, “He’s history.” Tiller received some good news, however, when senior Brian Alford, the team’s most valuable player and an AllBig Ten receiver last year, had his acad-

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emic eligibility restored. Alford went to Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College for the spring semester and returned to Purdue for summer classes. “The reason why I did flunk out of school was basically just a loss of focus," said Alford, who considered making himself eligible for the NFL draft before deciding to try to come back to Purdue. “Since I’ve regained my focus ... I’ve had A’s and B’s, so that’s kind of telling the story there.” It’s a story Tiller likes to hear. “Smart football players help you win games,” he said. “They don’t make that poor error in judgment. The best thing we can do is to excel academically. Asa result, we’re not going to beat ourselves.” Excluding a 5-4-2 record in 1994 when a loss to Michigan State was turned into a forfeit victory in the record book Purdue’s last winning season was in 1984. Jim Colletto, now an assistant at Notre Dame, quit as Purdue’s head coach last winter after a 3-8 season. Tiller, 10-2 last year and 39-30-1 in six years at Wyoming, inherited a dozen returning starters at Purdue. “It is exciting,” he said of his new

job. “We’re going to learn a lot about each other. That alone is exciting to use. But we’re also looking forward to having fun and doing some things Purdue hasn’t done in awhile. I’m kind of anxious to see how this team is going to respond.” One thing Tiller won’t have is a quarterback controversy. Senior John Reeves, who started five games at midseason last year, won the

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starting assignment over Billy Dicken. “It really is a relief,” Reeves said getting the nod from the beginning. “Coming out of spring practice, he wanted a true starter. With me knowing I’m the starter, I think that will help me going into the season, because I’ll feel more comfortable with the offense. “Knowing I’m the starter, the true starter, means I can just go out apd have fun.”

Good Luck To All The Teams!

Football Ibb, 1997