- Gus Hartwig - 6-5, 305 Pounds, 4*, Center/Offensive Guard
Gus has been talked about as much as anyone on the team. Coach Brohm appears to love how ready Gus came to Purdue and it appears that he will in early and often on the interior offensive line. With Viktor Beach not able to play, the center position is pretty thin. Walk On Sam Garvin did okay last season, but the long term plan has to be to play Gus at Center. He is a guy that could be a 4 year starter.
Gus was a man in high school and played multiple positions. He will do a nice job for us early.
- Maliq Carr - 6-5, 230 Pounds, 4*, Wide Receiver
Maliq Carr spoils us. Do we need more dominant wide receivers? Probably not. But, hell, why not take a 6-5, 230 pound wide receiver that runs a 4.6. Maliq is a matchup nightmare. If he lines up in the slot, he will get matched up with a OLB or a Safety. Too fast for one, too big for the other. If he lines up out wide, I feel bad for the corners.
Maliq gives us something we don’t really have at the position. A big, go up and get it guy that is a mismatch all over the field. Maliq will also play basketball for Coach Painter in the winter.
- Antonio Stevens - 6-2, 190 Pounds, 3*, Safety
This is the under the radar one for me. With the new defense, there are plenty of moving pieces. Safeties moving down to the “DOG” could open up some chances on the third level of the defense.
I really like Stevens. He has some great ball skills and he is an ideal size for a safety in the Big Ten. At 6-2, 190 pounds, he doesn’t have to put much more weight on and can still be a heavy hitter coming down the hill.
- Greg Hudgins - 6-4, 280 Pounds, 4*, Defensive End
Rivals still has Greg listed around 230 pounds, the Purdue Football Roster puts him at 280 pounds.
Oh okay.
If that is the case, he has put on enough weight to be able to play early as a freshman. Greg is nowhere near what George was when he came in, but, don’t be surprised to see him make some impact plays early in his career.
We need as much depth as we get in the trenches. He should be able to play early on.
- Tirek Murphy - 6’, 220 Pounds, 3*, Running Back.
Tirek Murphy is part of the running back by committee I think we will see again in the Purdue backfield. Similar to 2017 when we saw Richie Worship, Tario Fuller, DJ Knox and Markell Jones.
I think we will see Horvath, Doerue and Murphy get plenty of action, as well as Hewitt. Murphy is an aggressive downhill runner. He was once ranked a 4*, but during his senior year, Rivals moved him to a 3* for some reason.