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A handful of targets from the 2016 class were in attendance for today's game against Iowa. Here are the most promising ones that I could find, along with some video and links for more info. Hopefully they didn't pay much attention in the 2nd half.
Tre' Bryant
Purdue Visit Today!! #BoilerUp #HammerDown pic.twitter.com/MUDO1vNEet
— Tre' Bryant (@TreBryant_) September 27, 2014
Bryant is a 5'10", 190 lb. running back from Christian Brothers College High School in St. Louis. Some of the various recruiting sites are reporting some interest from several big name programs, but so far he's only visited Purdue, Wisconsin, and Iowa. He played well as a backup his freshman year before sitting out all of last season with a knee injury. It looks like he had a good time today:
Purdue was great lol!! @BoilerFootball pic.twitter.com/aOElZT8rqR
— Tre' Bryant (@TreBryant_) September 27, 2014
Tru Wilson
A hard-hitting speedy safety from De La Salle Collegiate (Warren, MI), Wilson had a nice breakout year in 2013 when he moved up to varsity. There's not a ton of interest in him yet, but it seems like Michigan may have him on their radar. He's already been to a camp in Ann Arbor and the Wolverines have taken a player from De La Salle in each of the past two seasons. If he continues to improve this year, I could see him moving up the ranks quickly. He also has some skill as a punt returner as you'll see in the highlights below.
Max Bortenschlager
Bortenschlager is a pro-style starting QB at Indianapolis Cathedral. He has already visited with the Hoosiers a couple of times and other schools (Virginia and Ball State) are also showing interest. He will be back in West Lafayette on October 11th for the Purdue-Michigan State game (yikes) and has another trip planned to Bloomington for their game on October 18th, also against the Spartans.
Jerry McBride
Enjoying the weather at the Purdue Game. Thanks @Marcus_Freeman1 and staff. Very Blessed! #boilerup pic.twitter.com/ablMVWXTaW
— Jerry McBride (@JerryMcBride_09) September 27, 2014
Jerry McBride is a 6'1" 185 athlete from Hannibal Sr. High School in Missouri being recruited as either a safety, defensive back, or wide receiver. He has attended camps at Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas so far and some other schools (Indiana, Arkansas State, Iowa State, Illinois State) are also showing interest. From what very little I have seen, he's got great hands, a nose for the football, and he's just a really solid football player in general. He can do a little of everything (including throw a TD pass out of a nifty flea flicker play in the video below) but I could easily see him playing in the secondary for the Boilers.
His stats are pretty indicative of a guy asked to do a lot for his team. In 2013, he had a couple of kick return touchdowns, a few interceptions (2 returned for a TD), a couple of forced fumbles, two rushing touchdowns, and five touchdown receptions. He was 1st team All-District last year on both offense and defense.
Tristian Pipp
Pipp is a 6'3", 210lb. linebacker from Greendale High School in Wisconsin. He's already visited Wisconsin twice and the Badgers are showing a lot of interest in the kid. If you watch the videos below, you'll see why. He's only a junior and he's already got the tackling and pursuit skills of a Big 10 caliber LB. Unless Pipp was somehow impressed enough by our loss to Iowa today, I believe he's Wisconsin's recruit to lose. Michigan State, Minnesota, and Northwestern are also showing interest.