By Paul Trembacki
Sports Editor

At the Purdue football team's full-contact scrimmage Saturday afternoon at Ross-Ade Stadium, there were several players making big plays, but no one stood out as much as Steve Ennis.

The sophomore running back caught several passes, shook more than a few defenders and broke several big runs, including a touchdown run of about 30 yards.

Ennis liked his performance but insisted that it was just an example of how he intends to help the team this season.

"You always want to try to break something and try to make the team better," said Ennis. "You always want to do your part."

Ennis, a sophomore from Flower Mound, Texas, was doing his part Saturday, taking reps with the first team — a rare occurrence; Ennis is listed as the third running back on Purdue's depth chart.

First-stringer Montrell Lowe scrimmaged early, but he sat out after someone stepped on his hand, causing it to swell. The second-string running back, junior Sedrick Brown, would have played the position but he was unable to play also.

"Brown had a headache (Saturday) so he didn't practice," said Tiller. "That opened the door for Ennis and, to his credit, he took advantage of it."

Ennis was determined to capitalize on his opportunity and not let the coaches down. He followed his blockers well and didn't let people tackle him easily. On most of his runs, Ennis refused to go down on first contact and often had to be brought down by multiple defenders.

"You never want to quit on anything; you always want to finish things," said Ennis. "Coach Tiller always tells us to finish everything we start, and that's what we want to do."

Ennis doesn't want to just finish every play strong either. He wants to finish the spring and the fall healthy — something he wasn't able to do last fall.

After a redshirt season in 1998, Ennis came into last season with plenty of promise. But a sprained ankle caused him to see limited action on special teams in eight of Purdue's 12 games. And when senior J. Crabtree was benched during the middle of the season, Ennis could have played. But the ankle injury occurred at about the same point in the season and Lowe, also a redshirt freshman at the time, took the bulk of the carries for the remainder of the season, rushing for 841 yards and five touchdowns. Ennis didn't have any carries last season.

"(Ennis) was right in the thick of it when he got hurt last fall," said Tiller. "Who's to say whether it might have been him or Montrell Lowe that would have played so much as a freshman?"

Ennis said the pain in his ankle wasn't the only suffering he endured.

"Last year was real rough for me mentally and physically," said Ennis. "I got hurt early, and I could never get back into it. I hope the good Lord can keep me healthy and I can contribute to my team."

Ennis said the lost opportunities from last year don't bother him anymore.

"I used to (think about it)," said Ennis. "But I don't want to think about that anymore because now I'm getting back in the swing of things, and I just want to think about the future."