Purdue cornerbacks coach Ashton Youboty thrilled to be back in Big Ten

WEST LAFAYETTE – What we learned from Purdue cornerbacks coach Ashton Youboty following Friday’s spring practice. No players were made available to the media.

Why the Boilermakers

Youboty came to Purdue after two seasons at Youngstown State. The former NFL cornerback played at Ohio State under Jim Tressel.

“It’s Big Ten football,” Youboty said. “I know the Big Ten and this is an opportunity to continue to grow in the industry. For the guys that are coming back, it’s an opportunity to help them grow in their craft. I always look to help guys improve whether it's on the field or off the field. Coach (Jeff Brohm) called me, and I was excited to be a part of it.”

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Before landing at Youngstown State, Youboty spent three seasons at Wisconsin in a variety of roles. He was named first-team All-Big Ten in 2005 with the Buckeyes and was a third-round selection in the NFL Draft by Buffalo.

Coaching start

After his NFL playing career was over, Youboty attended graduate school at Miami (Fla.) and spent the 2016 season as a volunteer in the recruiting department. He had planned to take a job in Texas before jumping into coaching.

“One of my old teammates, Jim Leonhard, called me to gauge my interest and I was helping with recruiting at Miami,” Youboty said. “I didn't want to regret that at 45 and saying I wish I would’ve. It's just been a great experience.”

Youboty doesn't have any regrets about going down the coaching path.  

“Long hours but it all works out when you see guys grow,” he said. “I went to grad school and I was all about entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship is seeing businesses grow. Now I'm seeing young guys grow into men, and it's still the same rewarding feeling.”

Limited bodies

This hasn’t been a normal spring practice for the cornerbacks.

Several are out due to injuries and won’t return until this summer or closer to when preseason practices start in late July or early August. The list includes projected starters Cory Trice and Jamari Brown along with Tee Denson, a transfer from Kansas State, Brandon Calloway and Ricky Smith.

A pair of transfers – Reese Taylor and Bryce Hampton – are receiving a bulk of the practice time.

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“Those guys are big effort guys. That's why we brought them in here,” Youboty said about Taylor and Hampton. “They're doing a good job learning the scheme, adjusting to our terminology.

“We’re three weeks in and they've done a good job showing they know what to do. They bring that quickness and aggressiveness that we need in the secondary.”

QBs helping out

With the limited numbers at cornerback, Youboty is using a handful of walk-on quarterbacks to manage the rest of spring practice.

Youboty said he has buzzwords for the quarterbacks whether their assignment is inside, outside, cover 3, or man. The quarterbacks also went through individual drills with the remaining cornerbacks.

“It's been a fun experience,” Youboty said. “Honestly, it’s getting us ready for the next guy up. How are we going to react? How fast can we learn? How fast can we install stuff the next week to get guys ready? It's a good experience for the coaches and the players.”

Are there any future cornerbacks among the quarterbacks?

“We’ll let them throw the ball for now,” Youboty said, laughing. 

Mike Carmin covers Purdue sports for the Journal & Courier. Email mcarmin@gannett.com and follow on Twitter and Instagram @carmin_jc