As promised, today begins the countdown until our kickoff of football season. In 98 days we travel to Notre Dame in order to piss on Brian Kelly's parade as the new savior of Notre Dame football. Think about how glorious this could be. With one Purdue victory the entire Irish fanbase will likely go into meltdown mode, as will ESPN. It's going to be glorious. J Money even tweeted this yesterday in the following exchange:
BoiledSports How fast do you think UND alums/fans turn on B Kelly if they lose home opener to Purdue?
BoiledSports hey-yo! RT @KatsTMill: @BoiledSports I'd say they turn on him faster than Kelvin Sampson's rollover minutes.
That is 98 days away. In the meantime, today is the first day in a series counting down to that day. As I have seen on other sites, I will be counting down the roster from 98 to 1 (We currently don't have a #99) with the introduction of the player wearing that day's number. Today's player is Eric McDaniel
Eric McDaniel - R-Fr.
Hometown: Calhoun, GA (Calhoun High)
Defensive Tackle
6'2", 295 pounds
2010 Projection: possible rotation at defensive tackle
McDaniel has yet to see the field at Purdue after redshirting last season, but he was one of the highest rated players in Danny's Hope first recruiting class. He is a Rivals 3-star recruit and was one of the top 40 defensive tackles in the class of 2009.In high school, he was Honorable Mention All-state in Georgia class AA as Calhoun advanced to the state championship game. According to his MySpace page, he likes to be called "Big E". As a junior he was also a seventh place finisher in the state discus championships in class AA.
While McDaniel has yet to see the field for Purdue, he had a fairly decorated career at Calhoun. Calhoun lost in the state championship game to Buford High 45-21, but still finished 12-3. He was viewed as an up and coming talent out of high school, so he could have an impact along the defensive line this season. He is primarily a run-stuffer, which is exactly what we need. He had 80 total tackles as a senior in high school. With no more redshirt years the time is now for him to make an impact in the rotation.