It was a very quiet day overall for Purdue football when it came to national signing day. We were involved in no hat dances, no ESPNU press conference, or no raids from a state to the north at the last minute. That's the way I like it. To me, if you're enough of a prima donna that you need ESPN at your press conference showing you signing a letter you're not going to amount to much because you're already used to being coddled.

We don't do it that way at Purdue, and we never have. Give me an actual quarterback that wants to prove himself for every Jimmy Powlus out there.

According to Rivals.com we have the No. 34 class in the nation, which is good enough for fourth in the Big Ten between Ohio State, Michigan, and Nebraska. This is skewed somewhat by sheer numbers, as a small class of 12 at Wisconsin is theoretically behind our large class of 24. Still, this is great improvement over being 12^th in the Big Ten last year (when we got dinged with the smaller class), 8^th in 2010, 12^th in 2009, and 10^th in 2008. these numbers do factor in Nebraska as a full Big Ten member.

As much as people rip on coach Hope, and some of it is warranted, it is hard to compete in a conference like the Big Ten when we're not even at the middle of recruiting. Yes, that point may sound like a contradiction to my hatred of the ESPNU prima donnas, but recruiting is really a balance of finding solid talent that still wants to prove itself.

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Signing day is here, and as part of my contractual obligations to bring massive page views to the network, this will be the center of all news regarding our Purdue Boilermakers. I'll be checking in throughout the day, adding news in the comments and treating this like an Open Thread.

I know the fans have turned against Danny Hope and Gary Nord, but we still are expecting out best recruiting class in several years. According to Rivals, We're rated No. 33 between Rutgers and Colorado. That's close to the top quarter of college football and good enough for fourth in the Big Ten behind Nebraska, Michigan and Ohio State some school that cannot be named because they don't exist this year according to the NCAA. Scout has us rated No. 48 and seventh in the Big Ten.

So sit back, relax, and discuss the incoming recruits. I'll have a final primer later in the day once I get home. This should be a good class with Carlos Carvajal and Ryan Watson as the next players trying to avoid the curse of four stars its highest rated players.

One of the greatest things about being in the Big Ten is that all the programs feel connected. Even Penn State and Nebraska, who have entered the conference within my lifetime, feel like extended family members now. Therefore, when Penn State and the college football community lost Joe Paterno this morning I feel like the conference as a whole will mourn.

The ending of his career was certainly the worst possible ending for a legend, but let's focus on the man. Here was someone that was humble and loved many he came in contact with. He never insisted on a Saban-esque contract extension or cult of personality around him. He gave millions back to Penn State instead of taking millions in return. He was everything that most of college football is not these days. In many ways, he was the grandfather of the entire Penn State community.

One of the coolest things I have been privileged to do because of this blog was meet JoePa last July. I never imagined when I started this place in August 2006 that I would be considered a competent member of the legitimate media. I wrote (and still write) as a starry-eyed fan given incredible access to these events. In July, Joe Pa was in his usual form: surrounded by the media spinning yarns like the grandfather-figure he was. It's hard to believe that everything that has happened in the six months hence has happened.

In October Mrs. T-Mill and I went to Happy Valley for the Purdue game and what would be one of JoePa's final games as coach. It was one of the most pleasant experiences of my sports fan life. Seeing it up close, you could tell that Penn State football was JoePa, and JoePa was Penn State football.

I honestly think this whole ordeal with Sandusky is what sent him over the edge. After all, he was an 85-year-old man. It doesn't take much to send someone over the edge when you reach that age. We may never know exactly what JoePa knew about an evil man such as Sandusky, but to me, the man died of a broken heart.

I'm honored that I got to be in the presence of a legend this past year, even if for a brief few minutes. It is my hope that the Sandusky scandal eventually clears his name so he can be remembered for the wonderful human being he was.

If you know a Penn State fan today, give them some comfort. I know a few, and they will be grieving bitterly today like they lost a family member. Thank you, JoePa, for the good you did for college football and the world.

It is way too damn early to rank teams for the 2012 season, but the makers of the blogpoll want to make this thing year-round, so here is your first 2012 preseason blogpoll ballot. Another will be up after signing day, but for now, here is a way too early projection for 2012:

Hammer & Rails Ballot - Week 17

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama Crimson Tide	2
2	LSU Tigers	--
3	USC Trojans	--
4	Oregon Ducks	--
5	Michigan Wolverines	5
6	Wisconsin Badgers	5
7	Arkansas Razorbacks	--
8	Oklahoma Sooners	12
9	Oklahoma St. Cowboys	-8
10	Georgia Bulldogs	9
11	Florida St. Seminoles	--
12	Kansas St. Wildcats	4
13	South Carolina Gamecocks	-4
14	Virginia Tech Hokies	4
15	West Virginia Mountaineers	--
16	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	--
17	Boise St. Broncos	-12
18	Stanford Cardinal	-10
19	Texas Longhorns	--
20	Nebraska Cornhuskers	--
21	Michigan St. Spartans	-7
22	Clemson Tigers	-5
23	Northern Illinois Huskies	-2
24	Washington Huskies	--
25	Miami Hurricanes	--
Dropouts: Houston Cougars, Baylor Bears, TCU Horned Frogs, Southern Miss. Golden Eagles, Cincinnati Bearcats, Ohio Bobcats, Purdue Boilermakers

SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings "

And a few explanations after the Jump:

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If our beloved Boilermakers are going to make a run to the 2012 Big Ten Championship game there are several factors that have already helped us out. First, we play in a division where Penn State and Illinois are in transition, Ohio State is ineligible, and Indiana is Indiana. Second, we have a boatload of returning players on both sides of the ball that bring experience. Third, we have our two toughest divisional games in Penn State and Wisconsin at home.

Much of that talent returns on the defense, where Kawann Short has announced a return, Ricardo Allen and Josh Johnson give us some talented corners, and Ryan Russell can make The Leap. Sure we have some gaps to fill, but I am excited to see what E.J. Johnson, Joe Gilliam, Armstead Williams, and Mike Lee can do when we plug them in.

We'll also have a new voice behind them, as Tim Tibesar will be the new defensive coordinator and third in four years after Brock Spack gave us more than a decade of stability at the position. Tibesar replaces Gary Emmanuel, who left the program, and Donn Landholm, who will stay as linebackers coach.

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You can take this as either a good thing or a bad thing. Robert Marve will return to the Purdue Boilermakers next year. The quarterback was granted his sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA. Marve has been bit by the injury bug both of his seasons at Purdue, but he should be healthy next season.

That raises an even more interesting question. Who exactly is going to play QB next season? We bring back Marve, Terbush and a healthy Rob Henry. Throw in Sean Robinson and we can play a quarterback each quarter of the game. Opponents will never see it coming!

I think that that Henry should win the job if he's healthy. I also wouldn't mind a possible transition to tight end for him, just to get his athleticism on the field. Either way, he's going to be a factor.

All in all, I want us to decide on one quarterback for the season. Keep it simple and keep it fun. Naming one guy as the go to QB allows chemistry to build for the entire offense. It's going to be an interesting off-season as we look to keep the progress from this season moving.

Warning, be prepared for what will be perceived as abusrdities, as this is the final blogpoll ballot of the 2011 college football season. Let's get on with it. As usual, the explanation of my madness will come after the jump:

Hammer & Rails Ballot - Week 16

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Oklahoma St. Cowboys	1
2	LSU Tigers	-1
3	Alabama Crimson Tide	--
4	Oregon Ducks	--
5	Boise St. Broncos	1
6	Houston Cougars	5
7	Arkansas Razorbacks	1
8	Stanford Cardinal	-3
9	South Carolina Gamecocks	8
10	Michigan Wolverines	--
11	Wisconsin Badgers	-4
12	Baylor Bears	2
13	TCU Horned Frogs	-4
14	Michigan St. Spartans	-2
15	West Virginia Mountaineers	--
16	Kansas St. Wildcats	3
17	Clemson Tigers	-4
18	Virginia Tech Hokies	-3
19	Georgia Bulldogs	-3
20	Oklahoma Sooners	-2
21	Northern Illinois Huskies	2
22	Southern Miss. Golden Eagles	-2
23	Cincinnati Bearcats	1
24	Ohio Bobcats	--
25	Purdue Boilermakers	--
Dropouts: Nebraska Cornhuskers, Arkansas St. Red Wolves, Penn St. Nittany Lions

SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings "

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Defense was supposed to be Purdue's strong suit in 2011 as the offense dealt with continued quarterback issues and relatively inexperienced receivers. We returned experienced at every position and some actual depth for once, but instead, the results were somewhat underwhelming. There were some good points, such as the Ohio State game and the first half of the Illinois game. For the most part, however, the defense was underwhelming. In fact, there were games where it was downright bad such as against Michigan and Wisconsin.

The truth is that we're not going to improve our standing in the conference until we can at least slow down teams like Wisconsin and Michigan. We had too many games this year where receivers were running wide opening as if there was no coverage at all. I can understand it happening once because of a great individual talent. But when Michael Floyd, Marvin McNutt Jr., and Jordan White are running rampant across the middle of the field with no coverage in sight, that is proof we have made the conscious decision to ignore some of the opposition's best players. We also have proof that we can stop good receivers, as we did a good job on A.J. Jenkins just weeks after he was torching secondaries and for once Roy Roundtree didn't make us his bitch.

The same was true with the running game. We slowed down some, but Montee Ball, Marcus Coker, and Fitzgerald Toussaint had little trouble going crazy against us. That is why I don't think it is a great loss that we're replacing defensive coordinator Gary Emanuel and linebackers coach Phil Elmassian.

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