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f o o t b a l L r e c r u i t i n g f e a t u r e : d a v i d y a n c e y Committed And Confident Yancey���s mature makeup impresses coaches BY STACY CLARDIE SClardie@GoldandBlack.com and everything. They ask me, and I get it done.��� With that kind of an attitude, it���s no avid Yancey couldn���t believe he wonder to hear running backs coach didn���t tell this story when he first Williams��� answer as to what strikes had the chance. him the most about Yancey. And because it���s a tad late, after he���d had It���s not Yancey���s ���jack of all trades��� his breakout media session on signing day, versatility, having started as a quarterhe felt compelled to swear to its authenticity. back for much of his pre-college career He insists that he remembers the exact but also playing running back, defenmoment when he knew he���d wind up playsive back and returning kicks. ing inside Ross-Ade Stadium. It���s not Yancey���s physicality as a It was 2005, and older brother Derrick was runner, something Yancey attributes a graduate student from Purdue. He brought to playing some strong safety in high David to his first college game, a night kickoff school. against Notre Dame. It���s not Yancey���s speed and vision, The evening left an impression ��� the �� both of which allowed him to consisatmosphere with the packed stands and tently break big runs in high school. the electricity in them, and, then, the It was Yancey���s innate intelligence, game and the way the Irish dominated in a not just how he views and understands 49-28 victory. So much so that on the way the game. out of the stadium that day, David turned ���He seems very polished for someBob Strempka to Derrick and said: ���I want to play here.��� David Yancey thinks he was destined to play at Purdue, and he���s eager to prove he body his age,��� Williams said. ���You can tell That conviction was so strong that can be a difference-maker as a freshman in 2013. the difference sitting down and having a David Yancey didn���t waver when the Boilconversation with him and other kids his ermakers fired Danny Hope, the guy who age. That���s who he is, a great personality.��� not only recruited Yancey but whom Yancey deeply liked. And one who is busting to get moving forward. That conviction was so firm that Yancey not only stayed but also made it his ���I love it so far,��� Yancey said days before the team started its 6 a.m. workouts. mission to keep the rest of the class committed. ���It���s so exciting. I���m taking in every second of it. I love going into Mollenkopf and That conviction remains so deep that Yancey isn���t only satisfied to be a Boiler- into our stadium and just being here. Every time I wake up in the morning to go maker, but wants to be one of the players the program rides back to the top. lift, it���s just an indescribable feeling. It���s just an exciting feeling to think that you���re That may seem like a bold statement for an 18-year-old who has yet to partici- preparing to become a D-I, Big Ten athlete who can help Purdue get to a Big Ten pate in his first college practice. championship.��� j But it���s not surprising when considering Yancey���s makeup. Raised by a father who served in the Army for 13 years ��� himself the son of a man who fought in the Korean War ��� Yancey grew up in a disciplined household of high standards. Academics came before football, and that was the first reason Yancey A Fee-Based Investment Advisor wanted to graduate Lake Central High School early to enroll at Purdue, to located in the Purdue Research Park get acclimated to college academia, the study habits, the time management, the course workload. He wanted to be able to attack schoolwork with vigor, the same that he���d show in the weight room to prepare his body for a new grind and in the football meeting room where he���d need to be sharp learning his playbook, concepts and assignments. Then, he���ll be ready to challenge for a starting role in 2013, knowing leading rushers Akeem Shavers and Ralph Bolden are gone. ���My goal right now is just to give 100 percent every time I step on the football field and in the weight room. Those are two great running backs 25+ Years of Investment Management Experience coming back and we have some more right under them,��� Yancey said, referring to returnees Akeem Hunt and Brandon Cottom. ���But there is a huge 1241 Cumberland Ave, Suite B opportunity for me. Right now, I just want to give 100 percent every time West Lafayette, IN 47906 Phone: 765-497-0197 I���m on the field. But I also want to compete, so we���ll just see how things go. www.bankerinvestmentgroup.com ���I want to do what Coach (Jafar) Williams and Coach (Darrell) Hazell ask of me. I want to get to a point where they don���t have to tell me Bill Banker, President twice. They tell me one time, (get) in the playbook, doing something in Purdue University Alumni 85��� Purdue Baseball Alumni 81���-85��� the weight room, doing something in my studies, running back drills D GBIprint.com GoldandBlack.com Gold & Black IllustrateD ��� volume 23, issue 4 ������ 27