Morales Not One to Be Sidetracked

Standing on the sideline after a rugged practice Tuesday at the Coliseum, sweating under the unusually hot December sun, Purdue sophomore wide receiver Seth Morales grinned sheepishly. As his teammates trooped off the field, most stopped to ask if he felt OK, patting him on the shoulder or back when he answered affirmatively.

“I went out for a pass and someone hit me in the ribs,” Morales said, pointing to his right side. “I lost my wind for a minute. It’s nothing. It’s just football.”

Having come this far, he’s not about to let a little rib-rattling hit keep him out of the Rose Bowl.

A slight 5 feet 10 and 171 pounds, Morales wasn’t recruited by the Boilermakers--or anyone else. And when he declared he wanted to transfer to Purdue after a year at Division I-AA Butler, the response was a resounding silence.

Even Purdue Coach Joe Tiller tried to discourage him.

“My initial response was he should stay at Butler, and for two reasons,” Tiller said. “I don’t believe young people should transfer; they sometimes give up early. So just out of principle, I encouraged him to stay, and recognizing the huge difference between [Division I-AA] football and what we’re playing in the Big Ten.

“He insisted on it, and once it became apparent he was going to transfer, I said, ‘Let’s give it a try.’ He redshirted and he made some plays against the varsity, and I said, ‘Maybe he’ll be a better player than we thought he would be.’ ”

Morales has been a key member of a deep and diverse corps of receivers. After earning a scholarship during preseason practice, he started every game for the 14th-ranked Boilermakers and caught 33 passes for 532 yards, fourth on the team in both categories. He also scored two touchdowns, averaging a team-high 16.1 yards a catch.

“I always had a dream and I always believed in myself,” he said. “No one else did--not my coaches, parents, friends or fans. I just thought I could play at this level. It’s really a story about beating the odds. . . .

“I was elated when I got the scholarship. I’ve got a brother and sister who are in college, so it takes a heavy load off my parents.”

Playing with quarterback Drew Brees “is a treat,” Morales said. “I think he’s the best quarterback in the country. Chris Weinke [of Florida State] is good, but Drew is so good at finding the open man. He doesn’t have a favorite receiver. If you’re the third option and you’re wide open, he’s going to go to you.”

Playing in the Rose Bowl is more than he dared dream. “This is pretty much the icing on the cake,” said Morales, an Academic All-Big Ten selection. “Winning would be a cherry on top.

“I used to play in front of 3,000 or 4,000 people in college. Now I’m going to play in front of 100,000--that’s a pretty good deal.”

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Offensive coordinator Jim Chaney is back in familiar territory: He spent 8 1/2 years as an assistant coach at Cal State Fullerton before the school dropped football.

Chaney landed a job at Wyoming and met Tiller, “and I’ve been hanging out with him since,” Chaney said. “We have a lot of fun.”

The Boilermaker offense, which ranks fourth in the nation at 471.2 yards a game, revolves around Brees. However, there’s more to it. “Any time an offense is successful, it’s because of the people,” Chaney said. “There are those who might say it’s the system, but we would argue it works because the people are so good.”

Chaney plans to see former Fullerton coach Gene Murphy today, but Tuesday he and his 3-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, had a date with Mickey Mouse at Disneyland. “We’re spoiling her to death,” Chaney said.

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Tiller was far more pleased with Tuesday’s practice than Sunday’s, his team’s first in California.

“We got some work done today. We’re going a little bit longer than we’d probably like, but it’s for the right reasons,” he said. “We’re putting a little more emphasis on the kicking game, and that doesn’t involve the whole team. . . . I think we’ll stay with the two-hour deal the next couple of days.”

He also said continued hot weather shouldn’t be a problem.

“I don’t think heat has affected our performance since we were on this very field for the Pigskin Classic,” he said of Purdue’s 27-17 loss to USC on Aug. 30, 1998. “It was 120 degrees, and the most vivid memory I have is the gurneys [carrying out] members of the band. There had to be 20 IVs.”