Jaron Tibbs enters year two ready to break through
As 2023 wound down, Purdue saw a changing of the guard in its wide receiver room.
Before the Old Oaken Bucket game, TJ Sheffield announced he would enter the transfer portal. Soon after, Deion Burks and Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen joined him. Purdue’s three “opening day” starters at wide receiver all had departed.
While not a wide receiver, Garrett Miller led the tight ends in receiving before transferring to Texas A&M for his final season. Converted wide receiver Tyrone Tracy ran out of eligibility before getting drafted by the New York Giants.
Add it all up, and the Boilermakers will replace the bulk of their pass-catching production from 2023. The top four in receiving yards, and five of the top eight, departed, and Purdue lost 11 of its 15 touchdown catches from a season ago.
Purdue welcomed three receivers from the transfer portal in Georgia’s CJ Smith and De’Nylon Morrisette and UCLA’s Kam Brown, but it will also look for growth from its returning wideouts.
After turning some heads during fall camp, Jaron Tibbs began to see action in the latter half of his freshman campaign. He played in eight games as a true freshman, catching five passes for 42 yards. More importantly, he immediately gained valuable on-field experience, a rarity in modern college football.
“Since I’ve been in the system for a year, I understand the offense more,” Tibbs said. “It’s not [just] ‘what route do I have,’ it’s ‘what’s the whole concept, who’s trying to get open, what are we trying to accomplish with the play.'”
Purdue hopes familiarity will benefit the offense all around, beyond just Tibbs. The Boilermakers enter year two with Graham Harrell calling the plays and the second season with quarterback Hudson Card taking the snaps. Card, who battled through injuries in 2023, figures to play a critical role in determining Purdue’s success, or lack thereof, in 2024.
“The first year, we didn’t really talk a lot, because I was a freshman still trying to figure things out,” Tibbs said of his relationship with his signal caller. “We’ve definitely gotten a lot closer.”
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Standing 6-3, Tibbs offers valuable length in the passing game, but he’s versatile enough to line up at multiple spots on the outside. While he can certainly threaten defenses over the top, Purdue has also worked him out in the slot.
Among returning wide receivers, only Jayden Dixon-Veal caught more passes than Tibbs in 2023, but that doesn’t necessarily spell doom for the position group in 2024. While Deion Burks led the receiving corps a season ago, Tibbs believes a more balanced attack can lead to better results for the Boilermakers this fall.
“We don’t have to try to force it to one guy. We have seven, eight receivers that can play any position at any time,” said Tibbs.
Tibbs noted that one added benefit of increased positional versatility is that should an injury occur, Purdue can reshuffle the lineup without diving deep into the depth chart. Additionally, it gives the offense flexibility to exploit different areas of defense each week.
As Purdue looks to blend its returnees and newcomers on the outside, spring football provided an opportunity to build chemistry. Tibbs tied for the team lead with three snags in the spring game, where 16 different Boilermakers caught a pass.
