Perhaps the only good news to come out of West Lafayette yesterday was the landing of a new football commitment, our first in almost two months. Kyle Shortridge, a 6'2" 273 pound defensive tackle from Loxahatchee, Florida gave his commitment to Purdue. Perhaps he saw Kawann Short and knows he needed replacing. Perhaps he saw that our defensive line was getting absolutely manhandled by a mediocre (by Wisconsin standards) offensive line and knew he could start from day 1. I don't know, but Shortridge is now on board as Purdue's 12th commitment.
Recruiting Service Rankings:
Rivals: No. 39 Nationally at his position, No. 93 overall in Florida 
247 Sports: No. 32 Nationally at his position, No. 55 overall in Florida
ESPN: No. 54 Nationally at his position, No. 133 overall in Florida
As you can see, he is a solid pickup that isn't extremely highly rated, but he is still a good player. He is very similarly rated to Kawann Short when he came out of East Chicago. His final choices were between Purdue and Wake Forest, with Nebraska and Boise State also offering. The comparisons with Short don't end with their star ratings. Shortridge supposedly has a nice 32 inch vertical, good for blocking passes and kicks.
Another benefit of getting Shortridge is that he is a high school teammate of 6'3" 196 pound linebacker Rayfield Dixon, whom Purdue is also recruiting. Since we need help at linebacker it would be nice to get the two as a package deal.
Here are some highlights for Shortridge:
Overall this is a good pickup. It is never a bad idea to have a big, strong defensive tackle in the Big Ten, especially if he can have a bit of a mean streak. Right now there is some depth at the position with Brandon Taylor, Ryan Isaac, Bruce Gaston, and Michael Rouse III all returning next season, but if Shortridge is a redshirt candidate he could be in line to be a four-year starter beginning in 2014.