The Story Behind The Worst Recruiting Letter Ever

A few days ago Purdue embarrassed itself by sending a recruiting letter that wasn't. Kamran Beitvashahi, a right tackle for Bloomington South high school in Indiana, received a recruiting letter with nothing in it. Some dismissed it as a hoax, as a player in Bloomington, the home of IU, was claiming this. As it turns out, there is a little more to the story. I remember Kamran reaching out on Twitter before as a reader of Hammer & Rails and die hard Purdue fan. This weekend I contacted him to see if it was a legit and give him a chance to tell his side of things:

T-Mill: So I know you're a Purdue fan, but what is your recruiting history with them?

Kamran: I met Coach Shoop last spring when he came to visit my weight lifting class. A month or two after, a few teammates and I got a letter inviting us to one of their camps over the summer. I've been receiving letters from Purdue weekly since August, one of which inviting me to a home game of my choice. I'll be attending the Wisconsin game on November 8th.

T-Mill: Have you done camps there?

Kamran: I went to the O-line/D-line camp in June, which was one of the better camps I went to over the summer.

T-Mill: What did you first think when you got the letter?

Kamran: When I first got the envelope, I was a little confused. After I put the envelope down, I picked it up to look again in case I had somehow missed something the first time I looked. I thought it was a little weird, but I wasn't upset or offended by it. It's not like the person filling the envelopes saw my name and decided that they didn't want me to get a letter. It definitely wasn't done intentionally.

T-Mill: Are you at least still interested in becoming a boiler?

Kamran: I would love to become a Boiler. I haven't been offered a scholarship or a roster spot, but it has always been my dream to go to Purdue.

T-Mill: Any other part of your story you want to tell?

Kamran: When I posted the picture, I thought it was something that maybe a few of my friends would see and get a laugh from. I didn't expect it to blow up like it did, and it was never my intention to try to make Purdue look bad.

So that's it. Kam is currently in his senior season at Bloomington South and is listed as a 6'4" 285 pound offensive lineman. Bloomington South is 9-1 on the season and is ranked No. 2 in Class 5A. They are in their sectional final this coming weekend against Martinsville, whom they beat on August 29 33-23. Their lone loss was to Southport, who is already a 6A sectional champion and one of the last 8 teams still playing in the state's largest class.