Purdue Recruiting: Tight Ends

At one point during the Joe Tiller era, Purdue was known for throwing the ball to the tight end. Tim Stratton, who ran like he was tied to a tree, won the Mackey Award as Drew Brees’s favorite check down. Charles Davis, when not moonlighting as a power forward, put up a solid season working with Kyle Orton. Dustin Keller, a last minute recruiting take, turned into a first round draft pick. It appeared the Kyle Adams was next in the Purdue line of solid tight ends, but Danny Hope, strangely enough, never really had much use for tight ends. Adams, while having enough talent to play in the NFL, never broke 300 yards receiving for Purdue. It appears that Coach Hazell is attempting to revive the tight end position at Purdue. Last season, Justin Sinz led the Boilermakers in receptions and touchdowns, and was second on the team in receiving. On paper, Purdue appears to have some talent at the tight end position this season.

Player	Class	Height	Weight
Gabe Holmes	RS SR	6’5	245
Justin Sinz	RS SR	6’4	250
Dolapo Macarthy	RS SR	6’5	220
Charles Torwudzo	RS SR	6’4	215
Carlos Carvajal	RS SO	6’5	235
Matt Burke	RS FR	6’6	220
Cole Herdman	FR	6’4	225

Purdue is set to lose 4 tight ends at the end of the season, but really, it’s only 2, as Macarthy and Torwudzo are both converted wide receivers giving tight end a try their senior seasons (a smart move by Hazell in my opinion).

Look for Purdue to take 2 tight ends in this class.

Current Offers:

I’ll Call You, Don’t Call Me:

Player	State	Height	Weight	Ranking: Scout/Rivals/247	Favorite(s)
Jackson Harris	TN	6’6	250	4*/4*/4*	Bama/UGA
Chris Clark	CT	6’6	250	4*/4*/4*	Michigan, O.$.U.

Jackson Harris: He’s big, he’s fast, and has all of the skills you look for in a tight end. He will not be Boilermaker. The SEC is going to fight it out for his services.

Chris Clark: He’s big, he’s fast, and has all of the skills you look for in a tight end. He will not be a Boilermaker, but he might end up in the Big 10. The one time North Carolina commitment will let Michigan and O.$.U. fight it out for his services. Notre Dame is also in the mix, and personally, I’m hoping he ends up in South Bend. That way, at least Purdue won’t have to play against him.

Thanks, but No Thanks

Player	State	Height	Weight	Ranking: Scout/Rivals/247	Favorite(s)
Kyle Oliver	TN	6’5	230	3*/3*/3*	Louisville, F.S.U., U. Tenn
Bry’Keithon Mouton	LA	6’1	230	3*/3*/3*	L.S.U., Bama
Connor Redmond	GA	6’4	220	3*/3*/3*	U.S.C.e
Chris Cunningham	FL	6’3	225	3*/3*/3*	Va. Tech, Louisville

Kyle Oliver: Oliver is more of a receiver than a blocker, but having an athletic 6’5 230 pound tight end in the red zone sure would be nice. Louisville, F.S.U., and Tennessee all think so, and he will probably end up at one of those schools. Purdue’s only chance to get back into this is if all three of the above mentioned schools take another tight end before they take Oliver. The chances of that happening are equivalent to the chance Purdue had of stopping Wisconsin’s running game last year.

Bry’Keithon Mouton: Mouton is a little short for a traditional tight end, but at 6’1 230 pounds, he is packed into his frame. I really wish Purdue had a shot at him, because you can never have too many Bry’Keithons on your roster. Unfortunately, this appears to be a battle of the SEC blue bloods, with Purdue sitting on the sidelines. Again, unless Bama and L.S.U. recruit over him, don’t expect him to locate West Lafayette on a map.

Connor Redmond: Redmond is in the same mold as Kyle Oliver. He is a tall, thinner tight end, who should make an excellent red zone target. Unfortunately, Mr. Redmond appears to be headed to the vilest of all schools, South Carolina (I threw up in my mouth a little typing that). Should Mr. Redmond come to his senses or should South Carolina sink into a bottomless pit (I’m personally rooting for this), Purdue would still be pretty far down his list of potential locations.

Chris Cunningham: Cunningham is a pass-catching tight end out of South Florida. Purdue may have been in the mix until his recruitment really took off recently. Va. Tech is his current leader, but Louisville has a solid pipeline to South Florida. Purdue attempted to establish this pipeline, but Charlie Strong was significantly better at this than Danny Hope.

Go On, I’m Listening

Player	State	Height	Weight	Ranking: Scout/Rivals/247	Favorite(s)
Jake Pickard	NJ	6’6	230	3*/3*/3*	Purdue, B.C.
Brycen Hopkins	TN	6’5	225	NR/2*/NR	Purdue

Jake Pickard: Pickard would be a huge get for Purdue. He has great size for the position, and if Purdue can manage to get into the red zone, he would be an ideal target. Purdue has long been considered the favorite for Pickard, but he is currently on the camp circuit fishing for offers. He has camped at M.S.U., is currently at the P.S.U. camp, and is scheduled to camp at O.$.U. at the end of the month. Should Purdue manage to dodge those bullets, they will still have to work hard to beat out the Boston College, Rutgers, and Virginia for his services.

Brycen Hopkins: Hopkins is an under the radar kid that Purdue likes. He has the frame you are looking for in a tight end. Right now, Purdue is his only offer, putting Purdue firmly in the lead for his services. However, other schools are starting to sniff around, and home town Vandy might get involved. I would not be surprised to see Hopkins slow play his recruitment and try and pick up a few more offers, but the fact the Purdue was the first to offer couldn’t hurt.