One of the early mysteries of the Big Ten football season thus far is the status of Purdue standout wide receiver Rondale Moore.

In the Boilermakers’ opening win against Iowa, Moore was ruled out for an undisclosed reason. On Tuesday, Purdue wide receiver coach and co-offensive coordinator JaMarcus Shephard provided us with some more insight into what’s happening with Moore.

On Monday, Purdue coach Jeff Brohm was asked about Moore’s status. Like they had done all weekend, the Boilermaker program refused to give a specific reason for Moore’s absence.

Other than giving no reason, Brohm’s only other comment on the matter is that he’s always hopeful when it comes to whether Moore would play on Saturday when Purdue takes on Illinois in Champagne.

Moore caught the eye of the college football world in 2018 with a 12-touchdown freshman campaign. Ever since then, he’s been a major talking point when it comes to the Boilermaker offense.

But in the opener, it was David Bell who received the attention as he caught three touchdown passes in a winning effort. Bell is obviously an effective player at wide receiver for Purdue. But imagine how effective he could be opposite of Moore?