Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
There are going to be new expectations on the Purdue Boilermakers in 2013 after making a bowl game last season. There will be a new running back out there for Purdue when the season begins in Akeem Hunt and it is going to be up to him to try and lead the Boilermakers to another bowl appearance. It will be a tough task with the team’s schedule but Hunt showed last year that he can be a big-play running back.
Hunt rushed for 335 yards on just 42 carries while catching 11 passes for 204 yards. I really like those averages a lot and I bet the coaching staff feels the same about it. I don’t believe Hunt is a player that we will be seeing running between the tackles a ton with his 5-9 frame. I would hope that the Boilermakers have a plan to get Hunt to the outside a bunch this season which will spread the defense out. Hunt should have running lanes to get through if that were to happen.
The workload on Hunt wasn’t much last season since he only carried the ball more than five times just twice. It is something that will obviously change with the departure of Akeem Shavers in the backfield.
This year’s Purdue schedule isn’t one that will build a ton of confidence in the idea of an eight or nine-win season but if the Boilermakers can just get to six wins again, it will be an accomplishment. I think we will be seeing a big season out of Hunt which should include around 1,000 yards rushing.
Andy Schmidt is a columnist/writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter @ASchmidtSports, like his Facebook page or add him to your network on Google.
