Purd ue t ight end Payne Durham took a beating throughout the 2021 season. He sustained injuries to his knee, ankle and ribs, on top of suffering a concussion during the year.
Durham missed three games due to injury, but he always managed to eventually make it back to the field, even if he wasn't quite at full strength.
"I was banged up," Durham put it simply.
The time he spent sidelined paved the way for Garrett Miller to step in and earn quality playing time for the Boilermakers. However, Miller also went through his fair share of injuries, and he would also miss two games.
But as the year went on, the duo were part of a steady rotation that helped keep each other healthy down the stretch. They played their roles in what ended up being a 9-4 season for the program that culminated in a victory in the Music City Bowl.
Durham and Miller are looking to maintain their health during the team's spring practices in order to create a dynamic one-two punch at tight end for Purdue football in 2022.
"I think we're two different styles of players, but we do a lot of things together well," Durham said. "Us rolling for each other definitely keeps us fresh. Towards the end of the season, that was huge for both of us."
Durham compared himself and Miller to the likes of former Purdue tight ends Brycen Hopkins and Cole Herdman. Together, they are a pair that is versatile in both the run and pass game, yet their individual strengths and weaknesses complement each other.
"Me and him, we really have each other's backs," Miller said. "I mean, if I'm tired, or he's tired, we really just go in for each other, give each other a breather and get each other fresh so we can perform the best we can. I would say I block a little bit better than him, but he's also been catching a lot more balls than me."
Miller is a tenacious blocker at the tight end spot, which sometimes got him into trouble on the field. The junior from Round Rock, Texas, earned a handful of unnecessary roughness calls last season and will look to clean up his technique during spring practices and the offseason.
As for Durham, who enters his senior season and his third year as a starter, he continues to take charge of the group. He is not only a voice of leadership for the tight ends, but someone who the entire team looks to as well.
"The thing that makes him excel is the fact that he's got an infectious personality, he's a great leader, he plays with a great energy," Purdue tight ends and assistant offensive line coach Ryan Wallace said of Durham. "But he also takes things to heart, and he wants to be really good at everything."
Durham has steadily improved in each and every season with Purdue, and he now has a chance to prove himself as one of the top tight ends in the Big Ten. Last year, he caught a career-high 45 passes for 467 yards and six touchdowns.
The 6-foot-5 senior went over 100 yards twice in 2021 and closed the year with two touchdown receptions in the team's 48-45 overtime victory against Tennessee in the Music City Bowl.
And with Miller backing him, Purdue can expect plenty of production from the tight end position next season.
"Having two guys like Payne and Garrett is tremendous for us," Wallace said. "Because I think even the last four games of the year, those two guys were able to play off each other and rotate in and keep each other fresh to where they're coming out of games and they're not beat up.
"And I think that's going to allow us as a team — as an offense — to prolong our season and be more successful."
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