Purdue Football: Recruiting Updates!

Purdue is off to its customary slow start in recruiting. That’s not a huge deal because Jeff Brohm likes to see guys in person at Purdue’s “prospect” camp, which starts June 10th. While May was slow, there are some interesting goings on in Purdue recruiting, including Gus Hartwig at The Opening Nashville, some hot new offers, and a freaky prospect trending to Purdue.

Gus Hartwig at The Opening Nashville

“The Opening” is essentially a combine for high school football players. It’s always nice to see a player attend because you can get actual, verified height, weight, 40 time, etc. I

If you’re 6’1 but you you’re selling yourself as 6’4, you’ll get exposed. All of the fraudulent 4.4 40 claims vanish under scrutiny of the laser timer and not Coach Jim Bob’s itchy stopwatch finger.

Current Purdue verbal commit Gus Hartwig made it down to Nashville for The Opening Regional and put up some decent results.

Gus Hartwig - Center - Zionsville High School - 3* (88)

Height: 6’4.5

Weight: 301

40 Yard Dash: 5.54

Shuttle: 4.87

Verticle: 24.7 inches

Hartwig in Action

The main take aways for Hartwig is his weight, 301, is up from his 247 profile listed weight of 275 and his 4.87 shuttle time is solid for a 300 pounder.

For my money, the shuttle is a better metric for linemen than the 40 yard dash because linemen spend most of their time moving in short bursts. Hartwig is going to come in to Purdue Big10 sized, and his ability to move at the center position will be a huge boost for the Boilermakers.

Gus is a huge get for Purdue and is the type of plug and play interior lineman that the coaching staff have struggled to land (outside of Kyle Jornigan in the 2019 class). According to an interview from 247 Gus is “95% sure” he will be an early enrollee for Purdue. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him come in and grab some significant playing time in the 2020 season.

New 2020 Offers

Dekkers, a 3* QB out of West Sioux High School in Hawarden Iowa, is an interesting name to keep an eye on in Purdue’s hunt for a 2020 QB. Dekkers’s two “biggest” offers are from Purdue and Indiana and it could come down to an in-state fight for the Iowa quarterback.

Theodore, a 3* DE out of Clearwater Academy International in Clearwater, Fl, received a Purdue offer over the weekend. The Boilermakers have some ground to make up on the explosive pass rusher, who already holds offers from Indiana, Georgia Tech, Minnesota and Ole Miss (amongst others), but appear to have moved Theodore up the recruiting board.

Dexter Rentz, a 3* ATH (WR/DB) out of Ocoee High School in Ocoee, FL, is an intriguing athlete that could play the slot on either side of the ball as a receiver or a nickel package defensive back.

He’s got a laundry list of offers including, Kentucky, Indiana, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati , but Louisville appears to be his leader right now. That bodes well for Purdue. The Boilermakers have been...shall we say...successful in taking things Louisville wants.

Maliq “The Freak” Carr

According to the 247 site, Purdue is trending for Maliq Hall, a 4* (90) wide receiver/tight end out of Oak Park High School in Oak Park, Michigan.

6 “crystal ball” picks predicted Carr to Purdue today. Obviously this would be a huge get for the Boilermakers. Carr is a national level recruit with offers from all over the nation including Texas A&M, LSU and Georgia. Michigan, however, was the presumptive favorite for the humungous 6’4, 230 pound in-state wide receiver until today.

Wait, what’s that you say, 6’4, 230 sounds more like a tight end than a wide receiver? Well, Maliq wants to play wide receiver, and I certainly won’t be the person who tells him he can’t. The Purdue staff appears to share my feelings on his position.

Purdue has solid momentum for Carr who would give the Boilermakers a true red zone threat at the receiver position.Carr’s verified 4.6 40 and 33 inch vertical coupled with his size would give the Boilermakers something totally different at the wide receiver position.

You’ll notice a basketball in the above picture. On top of being one of the top wide receivers in the nation, Carr is also a terror on the hardwood. He is getting the most interest in football but he’s also interested in continuing his basketball career at the college level and sees Purdue as a place where he could do both.

Pulling double duty is tough, but Nuk Hopkins did it at Clemson (for 2 seasons at least) and Purdue’s own Charles Davis strapped on the high tops and helped out an injury depleted squad in Gene Keady’s final season. I wouldn’t mind a two for one deal for one of the best high school athletes in the nation.

Carr has set October 11th as his commitment date, and much can change in 5 moths, but for now, I would rather be Purdue than any other team in the race for his coveted commitment.