WEST LAFAYETTE – Mention Maryland and Cory Trice’s face lights up.

“I’ve been thinking about it,” Purdue’s talented cornerback said.

Three years ago at Ross-Ade Stadium with Trice and the Boilermakers wearing moon-themed helmets along with white jerseys and pants, the Kentucky native enjoyed a coming-out party against the Terrapins.

A pick-six. Another interception. All of this three weeks after Trice was moved from safety to cornerback, a spot he’s stayed since 2019.

As the Boilermakers prepare to face Maryland again, this time in College Park on Saturday, Trice is returning to his elite level of play in the secondary. Although Trice didn’t have any tackles or create a takeaway, he played his best game of the season in the victory at Minnesota.

He challenged routes. He forced poor throws by quarterback Tanner Morgan based on his coverage. He blanketed receivers. He was in a position to intercept three passes. He made a big impact during the 10-point victory but didn’t have a lot of numbers to back up his solid game.

Trice also looked more comfortable than at any point in the previous four games. He’s coming off ACL surgery and was wearing a knee brace since preseason practices started in August. He wasn’t smooth in his technique. It wasn’t the Trice we’ve seen since making the move to cornerback.

The team's athletic trainers encouraged him to remove his knee brace earlier in the season. He finally did it last week.

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“Tuesday's practice, I took it off to see how I felt. Wednesday, I felt good, and I started taking it day-by-day,” Trice said. “The trainers wanted me to take it off the whole time.”

It takes time, not only physically but mentally, to jump back into action. Trice had to overcome the mental hurdle more than the physical one to return to the player that flashes an NFL skill set with his long and athletic frame when fully healthy.

Initially, he didn’t believe the brace was holding him back. And now?

“Now that I’ve played without it, I realize it was the whole time,” Trice said.

Prior to Purdue playing Minnesota, co-defensive coordinator Ron English acknowledged Trice wasn’t as “sticky as he was and not as sudden as he was.” But Trice had to work through his recovery while also playing a lot of snaps since the cornerback position lacks depth.

Trice and cornerback Jamari Brown played every snap in the win over Florida Atlantic, a situation that changed last week with the return of Reese Taylor.

“It’s a shame for me because my projections for him – and not to say he’s not going to get there because he is going to get there – but it’s when he gets there. I hate the fact that he has to climb back to where he was and beyond,” English said.

Based on last week’s performance, Trice has taken a gigantic step forward.

It comes at a good time since the Boilermakers face the pass-happy Terrapins and their deep and talented group of receivers, who will put pressure on the secondary all day.

“I don’t have to worry about that side of the field,” said safety Cam Allen, who earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after two interceptions against the Gophers. “He’s got it locked down. Veteran guy. Good work habits. He worked all season to get that knee right. Every week, he’s getting better and better and more confident in his abilities.”

Before the knee injury, Trice suffered a high ankle sprain forcing him to miss three games. He was in uniform when the Boilermakers played Minnesota last season but didn’t play. The next week in practice, Trice suffered an ACL injury.

He called the rehabilitation process “a rollercoaster,” dealing with good days and bad days. There were setbacks and roadblocks, slowing his recovery timeline. The only thing that mattered was Trice playing in the first game against Penn State.

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“I knew at the end of the day, I knew I was going to get healthy, but I didn’t know when,” Trice said. “I was ready for the first game, and everything has worked out.”

Trice leaned on his faith, family, coaches and teammates to guide him through the process and reach the point where he appears to have turned the corner after the performance against Minnesota.  

That should be good news for Trice and the Boilermakers for the rest of the season.  

“I felt more like me. That was a good start. I just had to take the next step and that was the next step,” Trice said.

Mike Carmin covers Purdue sports for the Journal & Courier and USA Today Sports Network. Email mcarmin@gannett.com and follow on Twitter and Instagram @carmin_jc