We cotninue our tour of the offensive line as we move under 10 weeks until kickoff (hopefully). Today we meet another walk-on.
Gus German - Fr.
West Lafayette, IN (Central Catholic HS)
6’7”, 300 pounds
Offensive Line
2020 Projection: Redshirt
It’s a townie walk-on from local power Lafayette Central Catholic! Last season German was pretty new to football according to the Lafayette Journal & Courier:
Gus German arrived at Central Catholic and told coach Brian Nay he wanted to be a football player.
The Knights coach looked at German’s 6-foot-7, 300-pound frame.
Despite the fact German hadn’t played football since sixth grade and was about to be a senior in high school didn’t matter.
The Knights could use a big body and could teach him skills along the way.
“When he came to us, we felt like the upside is he is a basketball player who just by how thing go as you grow up, he filled out,” Nay said. “Having that basketball experience, we knew his footwork was going to be good so his learning curve was less steep. Now it is just about trusting his feet and continuing to become more and more physical.”
It worked. In his only season of high school he helped Central Catholic go 12-3 and win the Class A state championship. He then moved over to basketball where they went 19-5, but were upset in the opening round of the sectional. He also previously played basketball at McCutcheon with Indiana’s Rob Phinisee.
As a walk-on true freshman German is almost certainly going to redshirt, but he has the size to be a very interesting prospect. He also has a fun family rivalry this season as his father is a graduate of the Air Force Academy.