Welcome to the Fold: Recruit Tracking Update

I have been slacking on this update lately, mostly because I have been busy with the launch of SBNation: Indiana and such. Also, we aren't going to have a very big recruiting class this year with so few seniors on the roster. So far we have seven commitments, all three stars except for Randy Gregory. Gregory is unrated, but he has performed well enough so far to earn three stars once his listing comes through. I actually had a chance to see him play this weekend and I was left impressed. His Hamilton Southeastern team is quite stout defensively. They would have had a shutout in Lucas Oil Stadium if not for a blocked punt and a long pass.

The good news is that with a small recruiting class so far I have more room to hit some Boilermakings Notes as well.

A.J. King - WR - Seffner, FL (Armwood HS) - King is our newest commitment, having officially announced his intentions just today. According to the Tamp Tribune, King had 29 catches for 499 yards last year, showing he is a big play threat. He is currently missing some time due to a knee injury, but it doesn't seem to be too serious. Last year he established a new school single game record when he had eight catches for 178 yards and two touchdowns. At 6' 155 pounds he seems more like a speed slot receiver in our offense. The Tampa Tribune has a page dedicated to him, so point your browsers here for further info as the season progresses. Just imagine if D.J. Donley had ended up at Purdue. We could conceivably have a receiving lineup of O.J Ross, T.J. Barbarette, A.J. King, and D.J. Donley.

As a final note on King, here is some video:

Russell Bellomy - QB - Arlington, TX (Martin HS) - Bellomy is going to come in next year and likely redshirt, but he could battle for the starting job in 2012 with Rob Henry and Sean Robinson. ESPN has called him one of the top quarterbacks in all of Texas, which is something we're a little familiar with. So far he has Martin high off to a 1-2 start, but he is 26 of 49 for 281 yards and a touchdown against an interception. He has also rushed for 253 yards and four touchdowns in the run based offense. 210 of those yards came in Friday's 58-48 win over Flower Mound.

Brandon Cottom - ATH - Newton, PA (Council Rock North HS) - This injury theme has got to stop. Council rock North opened its season on September 3rd, but Cottom left with an injury very early in the game. In fact, it came on the second play from scrimmage. He is supposed to be out for 2-3 weeks.

Randy Gregory - DE - Fishers, IN (Hamilton Southeastern HS) - While I don't remember many individual plays for Gregory from Saturday, he has been the centerpiece of a good HSE defense. The Royals are 3-1 on the season so far and knocked off a tough Zionsville squad with a late comeback Saturday afternoon. On offense he has two catches for 72 yards and a touchdown. HSE does not publish defensive stats, but the Royals are only giving up 15 points per game. MaxPreps lists him as averaging a sack per game and 14.7 tackles per contest.

Robert Kugler - TE - Pittsburgh, PA (N. Allegheny HS) - As mentioned before, Kugler is the son of a Steelers assistant, so this is his first season playing in Pennsylvania. He had seven tackles with a sack in the second game win over Butler High. On offense he caught one pass for 14 yards. He had no stats in the season opener against State College (Jack DeBoef's old High School).

Taylor Richards - DB - Lake Mary, FL (Lake Mary HS) - I am only able to find some video on Taylor, but he is solid in his commitment as he talks about it. Here is more video of him in action.  

Michael Rouse III - DT - Flossmoor HS (Homewood Flossmoor HS) - H-W is off to a 1-1 start on the season, but they haven't posted any stats yet. He is listed as one of ten players to watch in the Chicago area this fall.

More Boilermakings Notes:

The News Dispatch > Archives > Sports > Wolves return to Ames
There is a pretty cool mention of Robbie Hummel's little brother here.

Kickoff times/TV plans for Sept. 25 games - Big Ten Blog - ESPN
I know this will surprise everyone, but the Toledo game is a noon kickoff.

Initial Liberty Thoughts " Over The Pylon
Naturally, Ball State is a little upset at losing to a 1-AA team.

Purdue Week… Bring it Boilers " Over The Pylon
The Ball State blog Over the Pylon has an early preview of Purdue up already. I'll have mine up tomorrow, and I am scheduled to podcast with them on Wednesday evening.

Purdue receiver out for Ball State game | The Journal Gazette | Fort Wayne, IN
Keith Smith is officially out for the Ball State game.

Former Maconaquah player Otto excited to begin new NFL season " Sports " Kokomo Tribune; Kokomo, Indiana
Mike Otto doesn’t get recognized often when he’s out and about in Nashville, Tenn.He likes it that way.