It is rare at Purdue that a true freshman is expected to start from day 1. We've only had a handful of true freshman contribute a lot of late. Ken Plue was one. Carson Wiggs, Al-Terek McBurse, and Chris Carlino are others. One of today's player is one that fits that mold. The other is a redshirt freshman that may start at defensive tackle.
Cody Webster - Fr.
Hometown: Harrisburg, PA (Central Dauphin East HS)
Punter
6'2", 190 pounds
2010 Projection: Starter at Punter
Webster with former Purdue great Ed Kelly.
With Chris Summers' graduation we needed a punter, and Cody Webster is likely going to be THE guy from day one. His mom was kind enough to e-mail me on signing day with a picture of him meeting former Purdue player Ed Kelly. He comes in with plenty of experience. Central Dauphin East had a terrible season this year and Webster was forced to both punt and play defensive back, quarterback, and wide receiver. Since I am always thinking about trick plays I like that he was athletic enough to be a receiver.
Webster was named to the first team All-Conference for all four years he was in high school. He had punts of 69 and 72 yards in high school, so he certainly has the leg to play at the D-1 level. Since Summers struggled last season I am excited to see if Webster is an improvement. That's not a knock on Chris, who is a good kid. He just didn't have it at times.
Kevin Pamphile - Fr. (RS)
Hometown: Miami, FL (Miami Central HS)
Defensive Tackle
6'5" 277 pounds
2010 Projection: Starter at Defensive Tackle
Pamphile could have a huge impact this season.
We may be witnessing a meteoric rise with Pamphile. A spot was open along the defensive line after Mike Neal was drafted by the Packers. Pamphile, who has only played football for his senior year of high school and his redshirt year last year, has already taken the #1 spot there on the depth chart. At 6'5" 277 He is a large gentleman whose friends call him "Big Kev". He's majoring in Communications (Oh no!) and made quite a jump with 12 sacks in his first year. If he can do that as a raw player imagine what he is capable of with some polish.
He is athletic given that he averaged a double-double for Miami Central's basketball team. In fact, he originally thought he was going to get a basketball scholarship before football. Ryan Kerrigan was impressed with him after workouts this summer. Let's hope these rumors are true, because we could have a kickass defensive line if they are.
Boilermakings Note:
Big Ten workout warriors for 2010 - Big Ten Blog - ESPN
This is great news for Nick Mondek and Albert Evans. They are at positions of need and seem to be taking control.