Thank You Seniors: Wide Receivers & Tight Ends

Cole Herdman: The 5th year tight end with a NFL body has been a great Boilermaker. This year, he has faced a few injuries which has lead to a decrease in production, but without him last year, I doubt we make a bowl game. The two headed monster at tight end of Herdman and Hopkins has given many teams fits.

Herdman may see himself on a NFL roster next year. He has been the epitome of what a Boilermaker is. He has fought his butt off through injuries and worked his butt off to get better. One of his most memorable plays in my opinion was the catch from the flea flicker last year vs Ohio, the first night game Purdue hosted. In his career he is just under 1,000 career receiving yards. Thank you Cole for being a great representative of Purdue University.

Isaac Zico: Zico’s first year was a rouh year. The JuCo product only had 6 catches on the season. But, he bought into Boilermaker football and it paid off. He fell in love with the weight room and got strong and has exploded this year. This year he has 32 catches for 576 yards, with a couple of memorable 1 handed grabs.

Zico was exactly what we needed from JuCo. A talented player that can plug a hole for us for a year or two. He did great this season, being the outside threat we needed with freshman Rondale Moore in the slot. Thank you Isaac for being a Boilermaker.

Terry Wright: Terry, a speedy JuCo transfer from year of 1 of Brohm is everything we have hoped for. He has started some games, came off the bench, regardless, he has played his butt off. At spring ball, I loved listening to Terry at the open practices, he was always pure entertainment.

In his career so far, he has over 600 yards receiving in not even two full seasons of playing. Sometimes, it is hard for JuCo guys to catch up to the speed of power 5 football. Terry had no issues. Thank you Terry for the constant reminder that this game is a game, and meant to be fun. Also, thank you for destroying Iowa this year.

Jarrett Burgess: Jarrett has a neat story before coming to Purdue to go back to school and play football. In high school, he did not play football to focus on baseball. This paid off for him early in his career. The 28 year old, yes 28 year old, was drafted in the 6th round by the Seattle Mariners in the 6th round of the MLB draft. If you are familiar with the MLB draft, the 6th round is an early pick. In the minors, he was converted into a pitcher, but had surgery on his throwing arm and decided to hand it up.

His Purdue career has mostly been focused on special teams, where he has done an outstanding job on Kick off, Kick return and Punt. Last year, he did catch 11 passes for 130 yards and a touchdown. Thank you Jarrett for a great Purdue career, as your second sports career. Best of luck on collecting your pension in just a few years as well.