47 Days To Purdue Football: Micah Budzinski

We're well past the halfway point in the countdown and as of this coming Saturday we'll be just six weeks away from kickoff. Today we get a walk-on tight end that could be a future contributor.

Micah Budzinski - Fr. (RS)

Knox, IN (Culver Community HS)

6'6", 210 pounds

Tight End

2014: Deep reserve at Tight End

Budzinski does not come from a great football powerhouse school. Culver is one of the smallest football playing schools in Indiana and has won just four sectional titles in its history, but the most recent came in 2009 when he would have been a freshman. He was still one of the best players in their history:

At 6-foot-6 and 210 pounds, he's been a four-year starter both on Culver's basketball and football teams as well as a standout sprinter and hurdler with the Cavaliers' track and field team. The wide receiver/ outside linebacker finished up his high school football career last fall with a total of 155 receptions for 1,778 yards with 19 touchdowns, and he was also rated the team's top hitter on defense by head coach Andy Thomas. He's likely looking at a defensive role at Purdue.

Budzinski played pretty much everywhere in his career, so he can be a versatile scout team contributor that might eventually get some playing time on Saturdays. He's also ridiculously smart:

He's ranked second in his graduating class with a 3.987 GPA and 1,850 SAT score, and his balanced efforts as a student-athlete were rewarded Thursday when TCU awarded him a $1,000-a-year renewable scholarship at a National Football Foundation banquet in Mishawaka. Given the time commitments of a serious DI student-athlete, the money should be a big help.