The No. 9 jersey has been a bit of legendary shirt for Purdue. It seems to be worn by a lot of freshmen that go on to have impressive four-year careers such as Stu Schweigert and Dorien Bryant. Most recently it was worn by Robert Marve, whose knee never let him achieve his true potential. Now two young players are wearing that jersey.
Anthony Brown - So.
Tampa, Florida (Hillsborough HS)
5'11", 192 pounds
Cornerback
2013 Projection: Contributor at Cornerback
Dan Monteroso - Fr.
St. Clairsville, Ohio (St. Clairsville HS)
6'3", 185 pounds
Wide Receiver
2013 Projection: Possible redshirt
Both of these young players were expected to have major roles this season either as starters or top reserves. Brown enters 2013 with a year of experience under his belt after he played extensively as a true freshman. He got into 10 games and made six tackles last season, with three of them coming against Eastern Michigan.
That experience for Brown will be handy this year as he serves as the possible third corner behind Frankie Williams and Ricardo Allen. He can also play a little bit of safety and is listed currently as Landon Feichter's backup.
For Monteroso, he was perhaps the most impressive true freshman in all of fall camp. He was regularly mentioned as a very smart player that blocked well and ran great routes. Unfortunately, he suffered a broken collarbone and is out for at least the next six weeks.
His team was a state runner-up last year where he caught 68 passes for 1,483 yards and 17 touchdowns, which are simply ridiculous numbers for a high school receiver. In basketball he was also a 2,000 point scorer for his career in case Matt Painter is looking for some outside shooting.