An off-field at the end of last year will cost Purdue’s defensive secondary at the beginning of this season.
Second-year head coach Darrell Hazell confirmed to the Indianapolis Star recently that Taylor Richards (no relation) will be suspended for the first two games of the 2014 season. Taylor was arrested last December and charged with operating while intoxicated (a vehicle, not on a patient) and underage consumption of alcohol.
The incident occurred after the postseason-less Boilermakers put the finishing touches on a one-win season.
Taylor has started 27 consecutive games at safety, so the loss of his veteran experience will certainly be a steep price to pay for both the player and the team. He will miss, incidentally, the opener against Western Michigan and the following week versus Central Michigan.
Additionally, fellow safety starter Landon Feichter will miss the first half of the opener. In the season finale against Indiana, he was flagged for targeting in the second half of the loss.
Feichter has started 25 straight games for the Boilermakers.