There are now only 29 glorious, yet agonizing days until the start of some awesome Purdue football action this year. And today in the Kickoff Countdown, we have quite the luxury of looking at two players are featured.
They couldn't be more different. One is an in-state true freshman, the other a senior from Florida. One experienced great heights at the end of his high school career. The other guy suffered a devastating low to end his.
Well, I don't want to give much more away, but I am very happy to examine both of these specimens. Without wasting anymore time, today we look at the two guys who will wear the #29 jersey for Purdue in 2012. They are freshman linebacker Jimmy Herman and senior safety Chris Quinn.
Chris Quinn - Sr.
Hometown: Miami, FL (Miami Southwest HS)
Safety
5'11", 191 pounds
2012 Projection: Backup at Safety, contributor on special teams
Chris Quinn is one of those guys who never really caught on, and I'm not sure way. He was a standout player at Miami Southwest High School, where he had a very promising junior season before he suffered a torn meniscus and a shortened season in his senior campaign the next year.
Unfortunately, it seems that this injury severely hurt Quinn's recruiting opportunities. He was rated a two star prospect as a defensive back for the Class of 2009 by multiple sites, but the only two schools to give him offers were Purdue and Central Michigan.
Yet, even though he began his college career at Purdue on the road to recovery from a horrendous injury, many expected Chris to shine at some point for the Boilermakers. I mean, the guy is quick. He has a huge asset in his legs, and he showed it as a star sprinter in high school. And he also displayed very good tackling and coverage skills in high school ball.
But, once he was healthy again at the start of his sophomore year at Purdue, Quinn lost a position battle at Safety to Logan Link, who never looked back as he lined up alongside Albert Evans in his junior and senior seasons.
Come this season, it seemed that Chris would finally earn a starting spot at Safety, with both Evans and Link gone. But he surely has his hands full in earning that starting role. Over the next few weeks, Quinn will have to work very hard to fight off some very talented underclassmen who the coaches might feel a bit partial to. They include sophomores Taylor Richards, E.J. Johnson and Landon Feichter.
So while it would appear that the time has come for Chris Quinn to show his stuff at Purdue, he may have to suffer through another year of reserve and special teams play like his first three years in West Lafayette. As I said before, I'm not sure why he hasn't earned his stripes yet in college football. He seems like he is talented enough for that. But, nonetheless, that doesn't seem to be in the cards for him in 2012.
Jimmy Herman - Fr.
Hometown: Carmel, IN (Carmel HS)
Linebacker
6'4", 215 pounds
2012 Projection: Likely redshirt
Jimmy Herman is a fresh, new face this year for Purdue Football. And many should be very excited about the stuff he can bring to the table in a few years time. Herman was a three star recruit at linebacker last year. For the curious, his Scout and Rivals recruiting pages can be found here and here, respectively.
Herman was a standout linebacker at Carmel High School near Indianapolis. In his senior season last year, he posted 95 total tackles and four interceptions en route to an All-State selection and a 5A state championship for Carmel.
Clearly, the guy is big, talented and athletic. I can't wait to see what this kid can do for us over the next few seasons. He also has great intellect to his credit. Herman was a 4.0 student and a National Honor Society member in high school.
Despite his many assets, however, Jimmy will likely get redshirted this year. Purdue already has an abundance of talent at the linebacker position, so ruling him out for 2012 seems to be the best move as it saves him for an extra year instead of wasting one standing on the sideline.
Nevertheless, I am pumped about this kid. Hopefully he can put some mass on his 6'4", 215 frame in the weight room and learn as much as he can about the Purdue D and the linebacker responsibilities this year.
While Chris Quinn doesn't have a Twitter account, Jimmy Herman does. So, give the guy a follow at @HermGerm29, because who knows? He might be a stud in a few years.