Danny Hope is an interesting guy. If you were to throw a cowboy hat on him he could easily star in an old western or in one of the Crocodile Dundee films. Many question his coaching methods; like his unusual timeout/non-timeout calling, why we are we using three quarterbacks, etc. But with Boilermaker fans questioning his tactics, the man has proven that over the years that he is a strong recruiter. Hope has brought in good talent over the past four years, and this new recruiting class looks to have some stand out players as well.
Purdue currently has eleven commitments for 2013 ranging from two starts to four. On paper, a few of these guys look really exciting. We're going to take a look at what the 2013 class has to offer us thus far starting from the top to the bottom.
Danny Etling: Quarterback
Hometown: Terre Haute, IN (Terre Haute South Vigo HS)
6'3" 200 pounds
Rivals Rating: Four Stars
This pro-style quarterback is the number 7th overall recruit in the state of Indiana. He's a big kid with a good arm, and great footwork. Etling has led The Braves to a 2-1 record and looks to pick up another victory at Carmel this Friday. In his first game of the season against Indian Creek HS, Etling threw for 4 touchdowns and 264 yards with a QB rating 101. He did throw two interceptions lost a fumble in this game.
The second game was a loss against Terre Haute North, where Etling had a pretty poor outing where he only threw for 84 yards with not touchdowns or interceptions. Etling bounced back last Friday when Vincennes Lincoln came to town. The senior finished the game with 204 passing yards, a passing touchdown and a thirteen yard bootleg run for a touchdown. Etling also threw a 38 yard TD that was called back. Etling looks like he is developing nice. Keep on eye out for this kid as he will progress throughout the high school season.
Austin Logan: Defensive Back
Hometown: Tallahassee, FL (Florida State University School HS)
6'1" 185 pounds
Rivals Rating: Three Stars
Hope has done a great job of finding talent in his home state. Logan looks to be another one of those Florida gems. One of the reasons why Logan chose Purdue is that he said West Lafayette reminds him a lot of Tallahassee. That is probably the first time in West Laf history where the city has been compared to anywhere in Florida. Regardless, Logan should have a good career with the Boilers.
Logan's team is currently 1-0, and he recorded six tackles and a sack. He had a great junior year where he racked up 38 total tackles, including 29 solo stops, nabbed two picks and took one to the house, caused five pass breakups, forced two fumbles and recovered two fumbles as well. It will be exciting to see what Logan does his senior year.
Keyante Green: Runningback
Hometown: McDonough, GA (Eagle's Landing Christian HS)
5'9" 190 pounds
Rivals Rating: Three Stars
Another player from the dirty south, Green has been listed as one of the top running backs out of Georgia. In his career at ELC, Green has rushed for over 3,000 yards and accumulated over 300 tackles. Seeing a kid like this play that aggressive on both ends of the field should make Boilermaker fans very excited.
This season The Chargers stand at 1-1 with another game coming up this weekend. I've looked for a while to find current stats on Green, but am not having any luck thus far. Green is a heavy kid at 5'9" and could be useful to have as a RB or FB when he arrives at Purdue.
Randy Gregory: Defensive End
Hometown: Yuma, AZ (Arizona Western J.C.)
6'6" 230 pounds
Rivals Rating: Three Stars
This is a guy that should get defensive coordinators drooling. Gregory is able to play but the outside linebacker and defensive end position. With a combination of speed and power he is an enormous handful for offensive linemen. In his team's first victory of the season Gregory already recorded a sack while also recording five total tackles. Seeing as we've had great success with defensive linemen I think Gregory will make a nice addition to the Boilermakers. If he can keep his sack per game average 1.0 the rest of the season, we'll we may be in for a real treat. (I realize that this is a pretty unrealistic thought)
Dwayne Johnson: Offensive Linemen
Hometown: Houston, TX (Bellaire HS)
6'6" 275 pounds
Rivals Rating: Three Stars
It's amazing to see a multi-sport athlete. But never have we ever seen a high school athlete also professionally wrestle while making hit movies like The Tooth Fairy as well! Oh shit, wrong Dwayne Johnson.
Anyway, Johnson loved what he saw in Purdue when he came to visit. He also enjoyed the fact that Purdue has a history of producing linemen, thus leading him to choose the Boilers over schools like Kansas, Washington State, and Colorado. Johnson is a huge prospect and will help fill our needs at o-line when he gets here. Currently his team is 0-1 after a tough out of conference loss to Alief Taylor, where they were steamrolled 30-9. Best of luck the rest of the season, Dwayne.
David Yancey: Athlete
Hometown: Saint John, IN (Lake Central HS)
5'11 200 pounds
Rivals Rating: Three Stars
After playing his first few seasons as a quarterback, this season marks Yancey's first as Lake Central's starting half-back. Yancey is a versatile athlete with great speed and is a threat as a running back, wide receiver, and quarterback. Lake Central is currently 3-0 and has scored 40 or more points in each game. In his most recent game against Portage high school Gregory finished with 221 yards on 17 carries and 4 touchdowns. Against East Chicago he finished with 49 receiving yards, 156 rushing yards, and 3 touchdown. The kid can score and will be a nice asset to this team.
Johnny Thompson: Linebacker
Hometown: Winder, GA (Apalachee HS)
6' 2" 210 pounds
Rivals Rating: Three Stars
Thompson may not be the biggest defender on the field, but his speed and ability to shoot the gap to make a tackle helps his stock as a defensive end/linebacker. Thompson's team is currently 1-0 and look to gain another victory this weekend. I have yet to find any statistics for Thompson.
Jake Replogle: Defensive End
Hometown: Centerville, OH (Centerville HS)
6'4" 230 pounds
Rivals Rating: Three Stars
Replogle is another big defensive end/linebacker who will give us some nice depth. What I love about Replogle is that he is the first of three brothers to come play for Purdue. His older brothers, Adam and Tyler, both played football at IU (booooooooo). It's good to see that Jake has his head on straight. Replogle is going to miss the first few weeks of the high school season due to a leg injury.
John Strauser: Athlete
Hometown: Champaign, IL (High School of St. Thomas More)
6'4" 235 pounds
Rivals Rating: Three Stars
This athletic defender has helped St. Thomas More to a 2-0 record so far. Strauser is a good prospect for a 3-4 linebacker/end. He is a big kid who has a history of Big Ten athletics; his mother ran track at Wisconsin while his father played football for the Badgers. There are currently no statistics for Strauser.
Myles Norwood: Widereceiver
Hometown: Arlington, TX (Grace Prep HS)
6'2" 175 pounds
Rivals Rating: Two Stars
Norwood is a great athlete who can play not only wideout, but cornerback and return kicks as well. Currently Norwood's team is at 0-1, and last season he hauled in 47 catches for 1,010 yards and 16 touchdowns. He is a deep threat and could help us down the stretch. There are currently no statistics for Norwood.
Parker Cothren: Defensive End
Hometown: Hazel Green, AL (Hazel Green HS)
6'5" 250 pounds
Rivals Rating: Two Stars
The last player of our recruiting class seems like an interesting guy. An article that we wrote about himself tells readers some of his athletic capabilities, like being being 250 and can dunk a basketball flatfooted. I'm his height and can barely grab rim and weigh 50 pounds less. So far Hazel Green is 1-0 and Cothren has recorded 4 tackles. In the article Cothren talks about how he is excited to be a Boilermaker; you've got to love guys like that.