Long time reader, first time 'poster,' so please don't beat me up too much if you disagree with the following....

OK....somebody please help me out with this. In an article written by Mike Carmin of the J&C on 23Jul on going after PSU targets, our AD Morgan Burke was quoted as saying: "I have no idea who on that roster we may have recruited, and quite candidly, that's been the farthest thing from my mind right now. It's like the vulture flying over...I don't think that's who we are." He also said, "I don't want to be the beneficiary of something like that," according to the article.

Today, I came across an ESPN article, written by Mark Schlabach, which quoted Coach Danny Hope saying "The NCAA has established the rules and the quidelines and obviously because they're strong from an ethics standpoint, and as long as we're compliant, we're going to exercise every opportunity we can to enhance our own football team."

Now, this could be one of a few things:

1. AD Burke and Coach Hope are not on the same page and have not had a chance to talk on the topic (Highly unlikely - If so, this would be a failure on Burke's part, as he should know that Hope would have to answer this question at some point this week)

2. ESPN is sensationalizing yet another story, or taking Coach Hope out of context - perhaps Coach Hope said this in reference to PSU players that were actively approaching Purdue on their own accord (Entirely Possible based on ESPNs track record).

3. AD Burke may need to take an ethics class as he appears to be caught in a lie; all while we may not agree with the ethics of Coach Hope being a PSU vulture like Illinois, at least he has enough integrity to admit his recruiting intent based on the situation that has presented itself. (Entirely Possible as well).

I am torn as to whether #2 or #3, or a scenario that I may have not considered, is actually the case. Perhaps someone out there with some additional information can pick up on this and run to ground. Or, perhaps others could comment on the topic.

On a side note, I personally don't mind bringing PSU kids on-board if they reach out to us, but think we should take the high road. Either way, if we are going to be vultures, at least don't try to hide it. Although this is a small matter in comparison, isn't a lack of integrity on behalf of support to the football program what got the PSU coaches and administrators into their situation to begin with? (rhetorical - we all know the answer to that)

J&C Article: http://www.jconline.com/article/20120723/SPORTS020101/307230056/purdue-football-penn-state?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE&nclick_check=1

ESPN Article: http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/54069/b1g-coaches-talk-penn-state-recruiting