No spring game? Why Purdue is going with ‘Showcase’
Spring games are on the endangered list. Schools are doing away with them, or altering the format. And Purdue is one of them.
Instead of a traditional game, Purdue will conclude its 15th and final spring opportunity in Ross-Ade Stadium on April 12 with a spring “showcase” at noon ET. The event is open to the public, and admission is free.
“I want (fans) to see our coaches coach and teach,” Barry Odom. “It’ll be a big recruiting day for us. And then I want to see our players have the ability, even though we’ve got a number of people to come to practice now, I want them to perform in the arena, in either a scripted, 11-on-11 situation, or a live, put the ball down on the 5-yard line, see how good our offense can go score, and defense can hold them. So, it’ll be a different day. There’ll be practice elements and also, certainly, some scrimmaging.”
Purdue isn’t alone. Schools like Ohio State (Spring Showcase), Oklahoma (Crimson Combine) and Texas (Up & Adams Show), among others, are opting for an altered format to conclude spring drills.
With Purdue opting for a “showcase” over a traditional game, BTN is not televising the event–live, delayed or streaming. So, if you want to get a glimpse of Odom’s first Boilermaker squad, you’ll need to show up.
“The traditionalist in me is we’re gonna open the showcase up for fans, and I want them to be invested in a program,” said Odom.
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There are several reasons behind a growing trend that is putting the kibosh on spring games. Staffs want to avoid injury … rosters often times lack adequate depth … and some coaches think spring games are an opportunity for schools to scout their talent and subsequently poach it via the portal.
Why has Odom opted to go this route? Here is what GoldandBlack.com was told:
• “Showcase” helps focus on keeping the team healthy and limiting the chance of injuries
• Calling it a “showcase” gives Purdue flexibility as to how the day will operate
• The squad may be scrimmaging at times, but no score will be kept
• Purdue doesn’t want to call it a “game” and have people think it is playing four quarters and keeping score
“I think, for us, we’re going to move it a little bit more here, call it a spring ‘showcase,’ because it’s not just going to be a four quarter game,” said Odom. “We’re going to have practice elements. We’re going to do some individual drills. There’s some things that we have to, from just the number of reps that we want to get, maybe in a red zone, seven-on-seven.
“If we don’t use that day for some of those scripted things, then we’re going to come out of spring and not hit exactly the rep count that I need to hit. There’ll be some scrimmage situation that day as well.”
