If you missed the fourth quarter of Purdue’s game against the Southern Illinois Salukis then you missed watching redshirt freshman Keyante Green tear up the Salukis’ defense.
With the Boilermakers up 28-13, they looked to chew up as much of the clock as they could, while also keeping their main running backs, Raheem Mostert and Akeem Hunt, from getting hurt. So in came Green for the first carries of his college career, and he did not disappoint.
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Green’s first run came during Purdue’s second drive of the fourth quarter and it was a 14-yard burst that got the crowd on their feet. He ran 12 more times for a total of 71 yards, ending the game as the leading rusher.
Now Purdue’s head coach Darrell Hazell has added Green officially to the depth chart for next week’s homecoming matchup against the Iowa Hawkeyes.
RB Keyante Green added to #Purdue depth chart
— mike carmin (@mike_carmin) September 22, 2014
Green could see a good amount of playing time against the Hawkeyes if Mostert continues to struggle. He lost his second fumble of the season against the Salukis and has gained 147 in the last three games, one yard more than the 146 yards he had in Week 1.
Coach Hazell talked to Mike Carmin of the Journal Courier and had this to say about Mostert:
"“He hasn’t done bad,” Hazell said of the team’s leading rusher. “Those two turnovers are some things that you look at, but we’ve got to get more productivity out of every position.”"
Green is small at 5-foot-9, but at 210 pounds he’s a wrecking ball when running. Splitting carries between Mostert, Hunt and Green will give Purdue more variety in the running game. With Mostert and Hunt being speed backs, Green will give the Boilermakers an up-the-gut threat that they’ve been missing this season.
Purdue and Iowa kickoff at noon Saturday on the Big Ten Network.