Keyante Green Finally Sees the Field for Purdue

Sep 20, 2014; West Lafayette, IN, USA; Purdue Boilermakers running back Keyante Green (23) runs as Southern Illinois Salukis linebacker Jordan Poole (22) hangs on in the second half at Ross Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sandra Dukes-USA TODAY Sports

The Purdue Boilermakers were able to defeat the Southern Illinois Salukis by a final score of 35-13 yesterday afternoon, and they saw quite a bit of potential and talent from some of their young players. Freshman running back Keyante Green finally saw the field, and he was able to show the type of talent that he is capable of bringing to the offense. He was recruited to become the running back of the future, and there is no question that he has the potential to be just that.

Green carried the football 13 times for 71 yards in his debut, which rounds out to 5.5 yards per carry. The Boilermakers’ offense has been extremely inconsistent over the past few seasons, and their rushing attack has been a major issue. With the performance that he put on this past week, Green certainly should see more time on the field for the remainder of the season.

Obviously he is still a very young player, and as a freshman will still have a lot of experience to learn over the next year or two. That being said, the Boilermakers need to play him as much as possible this season to get him ready to come back even stronger next year. Purdue simply isn’t ready to compete for a bowl appearance this year, and they need to focus on bringing the youth along.

It’s going to be very interesting to see how Green continues to grow now that he is finally seeing some time on the field. He is a hard worker is has more potential in the backfield than most running backs that Purdue has had recently. Don’t be surprised to see him be a dominant force to be reckoned with this season, and to have some good games against good Big Ten teams.

He may not end up being a superstar college running back, but he does have the work ethic and potential to get there. It will all come down to how hard he is willing to work and what type of opportunity the Boilermakers give him. All of that being said, the future looks very bright for Green in West Lafayette.