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In the treatise I wrote last week I noted that Purdue needed help at safety. Logan Link, Landon Feichter, and Frank Duong are good guys and tough players, but when your starting safety is a walk-on more often than not your defense is going to struggle in the Big Ten.
Enter Purdue's newest recruit. Last night, as I was flying home, Darrell Hazell picked up his ninth commit for the 2014 class in defensive back Tim Cason. This afternoon it looks like he got commitment No. 10 with Simmie Cobbs getting offered a scholarship and likely committing according to GBI:
"I'm going to talk with my family when I get home," Cobbs said, "but I think I will."
First, here are the composite rankings of Purdue's class as it stands right now:
|
Player |
Rivals |
ESPN |
Scout |
|
Kirk Barron - OL |
2-star |
3-star |
3-star |
|
David Blough - QB |
3-star |
3-star |
3-star |
|
Trae Hart - WR |
2-star |
3-star |
3-star |
|
Austin McGehee - P |
2-star |
3-star |
3-star |
|
Gregory Phillips - WR |
2-star |
3-star |
2-star |
|
Gelen Robinson - LB |
4-star |
3-star |
3-star |
|
Denzel Ward - OL |
3-star |
3-star |
3-star |
|
Drue Tranquill - DB |
3-star |
3-star |
4-star |
|
Tim Cason - DB |
3-star |
unranked |
3-star |
|
Simmie Cobbs - WR |
unranked |
unranked |
unranked |
Next, let's learn a little more about the new guys.
Cason is a very promising safety that measures out at 6' and 179 pounds. He hails from Clarkston, Michigan. He only had officials offers from other MAC schools, but Georgia, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Michigan State, Missouri, and Ohio State were major programs that were sniffing around for him. Here is his ESPN video:
Cason lines up at receiver for Clarkston, which will help with his pass coverage skills and tracking the ball in the air. He has some good size, but his speed rates relatively average. He can likely play either corner or safety, but with his average speed I can see him more as a safety. I am not sure if he is a definite first-year contributor, but given the current state of Purdue's defense he is at least going to get a look. Depending on how he finishes this season some of the bigger programs will try to come after him like ND is coming after Tranquill.
For Cobbs, he is a tall, lanky receiver at 6'4" 207 pounds that could move to tight end as a pass catcher because of his height. Purdue was his first offer out of Oak park River Forest in Illinois. Northern Illinois, Iowa State, Indiana, and Illinois are showing interest as well.
Here are his 7-on-7 highlights:
This is the third receiver in the 2014 class, joining Gregory Phillips and Trae Hart. Don't forget that Purdue currently has a wealth of freshmen receivers too, meaning this will be quite a bit of depth at the position. His height is a great advantage and it looks like he has good hands from the video.
The commitments of Cobbs and Cason give Purdue nine remaining scholarships:
|
Player |
('13-'14) |
('14-'15) |
('15-'16) |
('16-'17) |
('17-'18) |
|
Rob Henry |
Senior (5) |
|
|
|
|
|
Gary Bush |
Senior |
|
|
|
|
|
Sterling Carter |
Senior (5) |
|
|
|
|
|
Gabe Holmes |
Senior (injured, has RS available) |
(may possibly return for 5th season due to injury) |
|
|
|
|
Trevor Foy |
Senior (5) |
|
|
|
|
|
Justin Kitchens |
Senior (5) |
|
|
|
|
|
Kevin Pamphile |
Senior (5) |
|
|
|
|
|
Cody Davis |
Senior (5) |
|
|
|
|
|
Devin Smith |
Senior |
|
|
|
|
|
Cody Webster |
Senior |
|
|
|
|
|
Bruce Gaston |
Senior |
|
|
|
|
|
Ryan Isaac |
Senior |
|
|
|
|
|
Eric McDaniel |
Senior (5) |
|
|
|
|
|
Greg Latta |
Senior |
|
|
|
|
|
Will Lucas |
Senior |
|
|
|
|
|
Ruben Ibarra |
Senior |
|
|
|
|
|
Ricardo Allen |
Senior |
|
|
|
|
|
Normondo Harris |
Senior |
|
|
|
|
|
Akeem Hunt |
Junior |
Senior |
|
|
|
|
Brandon Cottom |
Junior |
Senior |
|
|
|
|
Raheem Mostert |
Junior |
Senior |
|
|
|
|
Charles Torwudzo |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
|
|
|
Justin Sinz |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
|
|
|
Josh Davis |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
|
|
|
Jack DeBoef |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
|
|
|
Jesse Schmitt |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
|
|
|
Jalani Phillips |
Junior |
Senior |
|
|
|
|
Ryan Russell |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
|
|
|
Sean Robinson |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
|
|
|
Joe Gilliam |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
|
|
|
Antoine Lewis |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
|
|
|
Landon Feichter |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
|
|
|
E.J. Johnson |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
|
|
|
Taylor Richards |
Junior |
Senior |
|
|
|
|
Danny Anthrop |
Sophomore |
Junior |
Senior |
|
|
|
Dolapo Macarthy |
Sophomore (RS) |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
|
|
Shane Mikesky |
Sophomore (RS) |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
|
|
Robert Kugler |
Sophomore (RS) |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
|
|
Paul Griggs |
Sophomore |
Junior |
Senior |
|
|
|
Thomas Meadows |
Sophomore |
Junior |
Senior |
|
|
|
Michael Rouse III |
Sophomore (RS) |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
|
|
Ryan Watson |
Sophomore |
Junior |
Senior |
|
|
|
Armstead Williams |
Sophomore (RS) |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
|
|
Frankie Williams |
Sophomore (RS) |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
|
|
Anthony Brown |
Sophomore |
Junior |
Senior |
|
|
|
Austin Appleby |
Freshman (RS) |
Sophomore (RS) |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
|
Bilal Marshall |
Freshman (RS) |
Sophomore (RS) |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
|
Robert Gregory |
Freshman (RS) |
Sophomore (RS) |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
|
Jonathon Curry |
Freshman (RS) |
Sophomore (RS) |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
|
Aloyis Gray |
Freshman (RS) |
Sophomore (RS) |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
|
B.J. Knauf |
Freshman (RS) |
Sophomore (RS) |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
|
Cameron Posey |
Freshman (RS) |
Sophomore (RS) |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
|
Jordan Woods |
Freshman (RS) |
Sophomore (RS) |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
|
Carlos Carvajal |
Freshman (RS) |
Sophomore (RS) |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
|
Ryan Morris |
Freshman (RS) |
Sophomore (RS) |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
|
Cameron Cermin |
Freshman (RS) |
Sophomore (RS) |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
|
J.J. Prince |
Freshman (RS) |
Sophomore (RS) |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
|
Joey Warburg |
Freshman (RS) |
Sophomore (RS) |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
|
Jason King |
Freshman (RS) |
Sophomore (RS) |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
|
Jordan Roos |
Freshman (RS) |
Sophomore (RS) |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
|
Andy Garcia |
Freshman (RS) |
Sophomore (RS) |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
|
Jimmy Herman |
Freshman (RS) |
Sophomore (RS) |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
|
Danny Etling |
Freshman |
Sophomore |
Junior |
Senior |
|
|
Keith Byars II |
Redshirt (likely) |
Freshman (RS) |
Sophomore (RS) |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
Dayln Dawkins |
Freshman |
Sophomore |
Junior |
Senior |
|
|
Keyante Green |
Redshirt (Likely) |
Freshman (RS) |
Sophomore (RS) |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
David Yancey |
Redshirt (Likely) |
Freshman (RS) |
Sophomore (RS) |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
Dan Monteroso |
Freshman |
Sophomore |
Junior |
Senior |
|
|
Myles Norwood |
Redshirt (Likely) |
Freshman (RS) |
Sophomore (RS) |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
DeAngelo Yancey |
Freshman |
Sophomore |
Junior |
Senior |
|
|
Matt Burke |
Redshirt (Likely) |
Freshman (RS) |
Sophomore (RS) |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
Jason Tretter |
Redshirt (Likely) |
Freshman (RS) |
Sophomore (RS) |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
Johnny Daniels |
Redshirt (Likely) |
Freshman (RS) |
Sophomore (RS) |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
RaZahn Howard |
Redshirt (possible) |
Freshman (RS) |
Sophomore (RS) |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
Antoine Miles |
Redshirt (Likely) |
Freshman (RS) |
Sophomore (RS) |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
Evan Panfil |
Redshirt (possible) |
Freshman (RS) |
Sophomore (RS) |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
Jake Replogle |
Redshirt (possible) |
Freshman (RS) |
Sophomore (RS) |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5 |
|
John Strauser |
Redshirt (Likely) |
Freshman (RS) |
Sophomore (RS) |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
Johnny Thompson |
Redshirt (Likely) |
Freshman (RS) |
Sophomore (RS) |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
Danny Ezechukwu |
Redshirt (Likely) |
Freshman (RS) |
Sophomore (RS) |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
Dezwan Polk |
Redshirt (Likely) |
Freshman (RS) |
Sophomore (RS) |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
Da'Wan Hunte |
Redshirt (Likely) |
Freshman (RS) |
Sophomore (RS) |
Junior (RS) |
Senior (5) |
|
Leroy Clark |
Freshman |
Sophomore |
Junior |
Senior |
|
|
Austin Logan |
Freshman |
Sophomore |
Junior |
Senior |
|
|
Kirk Barron |
|
Freshman |
Sophomore |
Junior |
Senior |
|
David Blough |
|
Freshman |
Sophomore |
Junior |
Senior |
|
Trae Hart |
|
Freshman |
Sophomore |
Junior |
Senior |
|
Austin McGehee |
|
Freshman |
Sophomore |
Junior |
Senior |
|
Gregory Phillips |
|
Freshman |
Sophomore |
Junior |
Senior |
|
Gelen Robinson |
|
Freshman |
Sophomore |
Junior |
Senior |
|
Denzel Ward |
|
Freshman |
Sophomore |
Junior |
Senior |
|
Drue Tranquill |
|
Freshman |
Sophomore |
Junior |
Senior |
|
Tim Cason |
|
Freshman |
Sophomore |
Junior |
Senior |
|
Simmie Cobbs |
|
Freshman |
Sophomore |
Junior |
Senior |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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|
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|
|
Total Scholarships Used |
84 |
76 |
60 |
49 |
26 |
|
Total Scholarships Left |
1 |
9 |
25 |
36 |
59 |
I think Purdue goes heavy on defense the rest of the way. The Boilers have a quarterback, three receivers, a punter and two offensive linemen with a defense that desperately needs linebackers and safeties.
UPDATE: I have gone through and projected possible and likely redshirts for the current true freshmen and how that will impact the chart going forward.