WEST LAFAYETTE – Danny Hope deemed Purdue’s secondary “much further along than I could ever have imagined.”

The second-year head coach said his offensive line, which includes three new full-time starters, has made a lot of progress.

Both units – perhaps the team’s two biggest unknowns – will be closely watched Saturday when Purdue opens its season against Notre Dame in South Bend.

Hope said he’s excited to see where his team is at.

“I like the potential of our football team,” Hope said Tuesday at his first weekly news conference of the season. “We have a lot of young, talented players that haven’t played a whole lot that are just going to get better and better.”

That certainly would seem to be true in the secondary and up front on offense.

On the depth chart released Tuesday, sophomore Josh Johnson and junior Charlton Williams are listed as the starting cornerbacks, former walk-on Logan Link is at strong safety and junior Albert Evans is at free safety. But expect newcomers Ricardo Allen, Mike Eargle and Max Charlot and sophomore Chris Quinn to get time as well.

Those eight haven’t started a game for Purdue. The backups have played in six games, all by Quinn.

And the Irish likely will have an up-tempo, pass-heavy attack in the opener.

“Someone’s going to get open: That’s the way it is when someone throws the ball a lot,” Hope said. “You don’t really stop the pass. You defend the pass. I think we can defend the pass. ... I like our secondary.

“I’ve been really pleased with them and think they’ve come the furthest of any group that have come along in a long time. They’ll give you all they’ve got. That will be good enough.”

Center Peters Drey, new to the position, and right tackle Nick Mondek, a converted defensive lineman, are plugged in as starters on offense.

They’re far from polished, but Hope said he and his coaches plan to keep it simple for both the newcomers up front.

Notre Dame plays a 3-4 defense, which Purdue doesn’t see much, and Hope said Drey’s responsibility is to “get the ball to the quarterback and then block the guy over the top of him. That’s the challenge. That’s enough.”

Hope said Mondek has made more progress in the last several practices than he did over the first 15 and deemed him a “talent.”

But he also said the team isn’t going to “ask him to do a whole lot from a tactical standpoint and assignment standpoint.”

In other words, Mondek is just one of the players with potential but little experience.

sclardie@jg.net