Gold and Black is a multi-platform media company that covers Purdue athletics like no one else.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/111737
himself as a running back whereas some colleges might have looked at him as primarily a slot receiver or cornerback. As a senior at Trinity, which has now sent a player to Purdue three straight years, Dawkins ran for 18 touchdowns and nearly 1,500 yards while scoring five times off his 38 receptions. ���A lot of people like to think of me just as a speed guy, but I think I���m one of the most physical guys you could know,��� said Dawkins, a Rivals.com three-star prospect. ���I love contact and I think I���m quick running between the tackles. I am quick and fast, but I can take it to a defense, too.��� DANNY ETLING Quarterback ��� 6-3, 218 T he most important piece of the puzzle, for a myriad of reasons, was the Terre Haute South quarterback, the highest-rated player in the class and the one with the greatest potential to offer Purdue some added name recognition recruiting in Indiana. A four-star Rivals.com prospect ranked as the ninth-best pro-style quarterback nationally and the No. 167 overall player, Etling was the jewel of the class when Hazell inherited it and the first player he visited when he first hit the road recruiting. Etling made his name on the summer circuit, at various camps and other such events. ���The first thing I noticed about Danny is that he could really spin the ball and was a facilitator at the position,��� Shoop said. ���He may not throw it as far and may not throw it as hard, but he has two things that you can not compromise at the quarterback position: He���s accurate and intelligent. With those two things, we���re going to surround him with great players and he���s going to be able to facilitate. ������ For a guy who is about 6-3, 220 pounds, to have quick feet and that center of gravity, he���s always got his shoulders over his feet and feet under his shoulders and is never really off-balance. I���m really, really excited about working with him.��� That opportunity will come quickly. Etling is already on campus as a mid-year enrollee, meaning he���s taking part in winter workouts and will participate in spring practice, when Purdue���s QB situation will be open. ���I think it is important, as a quarterback, to kind of get here early to emerge as a leader in this class,��� Etling said. ���When all the other student-athletes get here, I want to be able to show them around and I believed I could do that if I got here earlier. Plus, I want to get here for spring football and see what I can do and see what the coaches think of me and try to at least compete for the job.��� The 6-3, 218-pound signee came in as the star of the class on paper. That will not affect him whatsoever now, though. ���Stars don���t matter anymore,��� Etling said. For more on Etling, see Page 24. DANNY EZECHUKWU Linebacker ��� 6-3, 240 O ne of several ���edge��� defenders Purdue���s old staff recruited to fit into the hybrid defensive end/linebacker role it was implementing, the 6-3, 240pound Georgian will project as an outside linebacker under the new staff, a physical, powerful one with natural leadership skills. Or he���ll be a defensive end. It���s up in the air. ���It���s a matter of how I look when I come up there,��� Ezechekwu said. ���If I run and move like a linebacker, I���ll be a linebacker. But if I run and move like a defensive end, I���ll be a defensive end. ���It���s a toss-up for me, really.��� Making progress in the rankings? Here���s how Darrell Hazell���s 2013 recruiting class compares to the first classes of Coach Danny Hope and Joe Tiller: Class Coach National Rank Big Ten Rank 2013 Darrell Hazell 56* 10/12 2009 Danny Hope 74 12/12 1997 Joe Tiller 80 11/11 Source: 2009, 2013 Rivals.com; 1997 consensus * Hope received 11 of 23 commitments in ���13 class For daily headlines on recruiting and other Purdue sports news, check out Terre Haute Star-Tribune The Purdue coaches are impressed with the technical abilities Danny Etling has shown coming out of Terre Haute South High School. 16 ��� Gold & Black IllustrateD ��� volume 23, issue 4 GBIprint.com GoldandBlack.com