14 Days to Purdue Football: Jonathan Linkenheimer

The biggest recruiting news of last year was the coup we pulled off at Daytona Mainland High School in Florida. WE got the trio of Chevin Davis, Ricardo Allen, and O.J. Ross all in one day. They became known as the Mainland trio, and both Ross and Allen are expected to play a lot as true freshmen. The trio was briefly a quartet when their kicker, Jonathan Linkenheimer, decided to join them before Davis missed out due to grades. They are now back down to a trio where all three may play as true freshmen two weeks from today. In fact. Linkenheimer may officially be the first Purdue player to touch a football in a game this year.

Jonathan Linkenheimer - Fr.

Hometown: Fleming Island, FL (Mainland HS)

Kicker

6'3", 215 pounds

2010 Projection: Kickoff specialist

We know that Carson Wiggs is going to be THE guy on placements. Barring injury, we can't do much better than him. Grabbing a player like Linkenheimer is a good idea though. He is a versatile player that can both punt and kick, but he will likely be used this season as a kickoff specialist. I suppose there is a chance he could kick an extra point or two if we're up big in a game, just to give him some experience for when Wiggs leaves.

Linkenheimer has a big leg on kickoffs, earning 79 touchbacks in his career with 49 coming last season. That could be very useful with the struggles we had on kickoff coverage last year. Having him boom them through the end zone will help great against teams with good returners like Michigan State. He also averaged 43 yards on punts and was 6 of 9 on field goals last year. He had a long of 52 yards in his career, so our kicking game should be in very good hands over the next few seasons.

The Orlando Sentinel was very impressed with Linkemheimer's kickoffs, giving him some rare ink for a high school kicker. He also had some interest from the U, meaning he is held in high esteem by Mrs. T-Mill. I leave you with a kicking reel of Jonathan, as we picked up a good one. If you're on facebook, give him some encouragement and welcome him to the Purdue family.

Boilermakings Notes:

2010 Indiana opponents, week 12: Purdue Boilermakers. - The Crimson Quarry
IU has played poorly against Purdue, especially at Purdue. Will that change in 2010?

Tea Leaves into Divisional alignment (Dave Brandon audio 08-20) | MVictors.com | Michigan Football Blog
Another profile of what the divisions may be.

Kyle Orton's extension might help Tim Tebow, Brady Quinn learning curve - ESPN
You know, 29-19 as a starter in the NFL with an elite receiver (Brandon Marshall) for only one year is pretty good. Of course, Kyle Orton only wins games. Why would that be important when you can put up big stats?

GreenwoodStar.com | Greenwood, Indiana, breaking news, photos, things to do | IndyStar.com | The Indianapolis Star
to quote Obi-Wan Kenobi, "Now that's a name I haven't heard in a long time."