Oklahoma State's Joseph Randle still dodging NFL Draft talk

GUNDY IMPRESSED BY KAWANN SHORT, RANDLE ‘NOT WORRIED'

Gundy was very complimentary of Purdue All-American defensive tackle Kawann Short, praising his size, athleticism and conditioning.

But when Randle was asked about Short, he didn't seem terribly concerned.

“I'm not worried about him at all,” Randle said. “We're going to run the ball. We're going to do what we do.

“We've been playing against good, quality defensive linemen all year long. We get them tired, get them breathing hard and then we do what we want to do.”

PATRICK HIGGINS' PREGAME SPEECH

Purdue interim coach Patrick Higgins joked Monday about how the last time he was a college head coach — at William Penn University in Oskaloosa, Iowa in 1992 — a “press conference” consisted of him chatting with one reporter.

But what will his pregame speech to the Boilermakers be?

“Just go out and have fun and win,” he said. “What are we here for? Pregame speeches last for how long? From the time you close your mouth to the time the last guy walks out of the locker room.

“Our kids, that's the pregame speech, and it's for them. So that's about it.”

HOPE FLOATS

Purdue is without head coach Danny Hope, who was fired after the regular season.

“I don't really know what Danny's going to do,” Higgins said. “I know he wants to coach again. He's just going to take a little time and weigh his options.”

Hope spent 1995 as Howard Schnellenberger's offensive line coach at Oklahoma.

“We miss Danny,” Higgins said. “He did a great job here at Purdue.”