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After a week in Miami I have returned. This could be a good thing or a bad thing, but the rest of the crew did an excellent job holding down the fort while I was gone.
Tonight the NFL draft begins, and while the idea of sitting and watching a list of names being read is incredibly boring (but not nearly as bad as mock drafts) it is important for us because Purdue has a streak to carry on. For the past 19 drafts Purdue has had at least one player drafted. That streak is in jeopardy with only three players having even a limited chance of being drafted. The third and final profile for us is offensive guard Jason King
Jason King
Offensive Guard
6’3”, 303 pounds
40: 5.22
You can say pretty much the same thing for Jason King as I did a week ago about Jordan Roos. He is a long-time starter at guard that played in a lot of games for a bad team. He was an all-Big Ten honorable mention player in his final season in West Lafayette. When combined with Roos the duo started 82 games over the past four seasons and were the bedrock of an offensive line that was always solid in the middle, but weak on the edges.
King’s numbers don’t stand out very much. He had 35 reps on the 225 pound bench press during Purdue’s pro day. He also had a 7.75 3-cone drill and a 4.72 20-yard shuffle. He rated a little lower than Roos, but it is not so surprising that they were so close to each other. At his point for Purdue fans it is hard to think about one without the other.
King’s biggest play of the season unfortunately cost Purdue the Old Oaken Bucket. With 10:12 left in the third quarter and Purdue leading 22-17 David Blough rushed 10 yards for a first down at the Indiana 14. Unfortunately, King was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct, pushing Purdue back to the Hoosier 39. Purdue lost a yard over the next couple plays and had to punt instead of getting at least 3 points on the drive.
Purdue went on to lose the game by 2, but a touchdown at that moment would have been huge. It was a bitter ending for a lengthy career that was largely uneventful. The best thing you can say about King is that he was a solid offensive lineman you could rely on. Does that translate to being drafted? We’ll see. He is a late round pick at best and more likely an undrafted free agent.
You can follow the draft this weekend with the top sports app at CBS sports. It is constantly rated as the best sports app on iTunes and is a great way to get an Android live score.