Purdue coach Danny Hope said kicker Jonathan Linkenheimer is “doubtful for a while” after the freshman suffered a knee injury during Thursday’s practice.
“Weeks at least,” Hope said. “You have to see if the swelling goes down, then you have to check it and check it again.”
Hope didn’t specify the nature of Linkenheimer’s injury and cited privacy laws when asked if the graduate of Daytona Mainland High School would have surgery.
“That’s kind of a privacy act thing again,” he said. “We talked about that the other day. Remember? Rules are rules. Rules haven’t changed.”
In the past, Hope has revealed the nature of a player’s injury.
Hope didn’t anticipate Linkenheimer, who was seen on crutches, being a factor in the season opener at Notre Dame. the second-year coach said freshman punter Cody Webster will back up Carson Wiggs.
“He kicked off in high school and did a very good job,” Hope said of the left-footed Webster. “He hasn’t got a whole lot of work the last couple of weeks.
“We’ll take Cody and get him ready to be a backup kicker as well.”
Situational work
The Boilermakers didn’t conduct a traditional scrimmage Saturday.
Hope put the team through a situational scrimmage, working on several scenarios.
“We came out and gave each other real good looks,” sixth-year linebacker Jason Werner said. “It was pretty even. the defensive scouts put together to play against the offense did a really good job at the end, putting pressure on the (offense).”
Execution has been the key word since practices started Aug. 7.
“Guys were flying around,” fifth-year receiver Keith Smith said. “We’re starting to get our legs back. we wanted to get out there today in a game-style situation, execute and get our plays out there.
“Just making sure we’re in the right place at the right time on every play. no mental errors. our bodies are coming back but we’re still tired. Right now, it’s mental and making sure we’re in the right place and get the job done.”
Smith was impressed with the play of safety Albert Evans, middle linebacker Dwayne Beckford and cornerback Charlton Williams.
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