Purdue football coach Ryan Walters on starting from the bottom
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Ryan Walters says the Boilermakers are coming into this season with a chip on their shoulders. Photo: James Black/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Heading into his second season as the Purdue Boilermakers' head football coach, Ryan Walters is aware that most pundits are already looking past his program, which went 4-8 last year.
Why it matters: Purdue football's 37th head coach is unbothered by the idea that his team won't be competitive in the newly expanded Big Ten and plans to use the doubt to shake up expectations.
- "Everyone in the building has a chip on their shoulder that grows by the day, and because of that I can't wait for the fall," Walters said.
Driving the news: Walters and his peers spent time chatting with Axios Indy and other reporters during last week's Big Ten Media Days at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Here's what the coach had to say on 2024 predictions, getting to know West Lafayette better and more.
📉 On being ranked last in media polls.
- "As much as you try not to read things and opinions of your program or yourself or your players, you still hear it," Walters said.
- "I'd be naive not to address it with the team and not talk about the elephant in the room. But I did mention a large chip on everybody's shoulder … 18 out of 18 is a large reason why."
💥 On the Big Ten expansion
- "Any time you add four teams like Oregon, USC, UCLA and Washington … it's just going to add the prestige and add to the strength of the Big Ten Conference," Walters said. "I'm looking forward to competing against them."
🤝 On welcoming 37 new players
- "27 of those were enrolled in January, which I thought was very important and strategic from the staff's standpoint … to get them inundated with the culture, the camaraderie of the locker room and getting to know each other. Hopefully that'll pay dividends this fall."
💡 On lessons learned last season
- "I've learned how much I love this university and the West Lafayette community. This is a fan base and support system that is unmatched," Walters said.
- "They show up and they show out unconditionally, and what that looks like is having the highest season ticket sales since 2007 up to this point already."
🍔 On trying the Duane Purvis All-American cheeseburger at Triple XXX Family Restaurant.
- "I have not had the peanut butter burger yet," he said. "It just doesn't add up in my mind on how that works together. But I have been there for breakfast on a couple of occasions and they do a great job."
What's next: Purdue starts its season at home against Indiana State on Aug. 31.
Go deeper: IU, Purdue and the new Big Ten Conference