Before heading down to the Boilermaker Football tailgate on Mounment Circle this morning I wanted to get caught up on the two players missed yesterday. Both are redshirt freshmen looking to make their first mark as Boilermakers.
Jonathan Curry - Fr. (RS)
Phenix City, Alabama (Central HS)
6'2", 241 pounds
Fullback
2013 Projection: Reserve at fullback
Andy James Garcia - Fr. (RS)
Hialeah, Florida (Hialeah HS)
6', 218 pounds
Linebacker
2013 Projection: Contributor at linebacker
Let's begin with Curry. He was a three-star prospect in the 2012 recruiting class and was projected to fill a need at fullback. Now walk-on senior Kurt Freytag has the spot nailed down with Brandon Cottom and true freshman David Yancey backing him up. That means we may not see Curry too much until next year, as fall practice was very quiet for him. He is an accomplished student, however. In high school he was a finalist for the Franklin D. Watkins Memorial Award, which is given to the nation's African-American male HS scholar-athlete. He primarily played tight end, where he caught 14 passes for 200 yards as a junior. As a senior he had 23 catches for 249 yards and a score.
Garcia is more likely to be a contributor this season, as he spent a good portion of fall practice with the No. 1 defense at outside linebacker. He comes from the same home town as Carlos Carvajal and out very own Mrs. T-Mill, though she would be quick to point out that he was an east-sider at Hialeah High while she was westside at Goleman High.
The biggest knock on Garcia is that he is undersized, but he has shown great instincts for the position. It cannot be discounted that he outworked a senior, Will Lucas, for the job before things got shifted around. We can expect to see him quite a bit this fall.