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"If we have the biggest fraternity Gaston anchors Purdue's middle, THE LINEBACKERS group in the country here at Purdue but the question remains: How good Seniors and (if) the D-end group is a frat, 41 Tylor Foster is he? 6-1 215 ILB Ryan Russell is a pledge; he's close," 47 Ruben Ibarra Last season, the 6-3, 303-pound 6-1 225 ILB 5-11 230 OLB Hudson said. "He's a guy that all the 45 Will Lucas* Chicago native recorded 5.5 tackles Juniors other frat guys in that group are like for loss among his 28 total. But in39 Joe Gilliam* 6-1 227 ILB 'Yep, we want this guy.' Now he's got 40 Collin Link juries have added up over the years, 6-1 210 OLB to do the things to get in there and 10 Sean Robinson* 6-3 240 OLB from back problems a couple years those are things that he controls. Sophomores ago to the thumb surgery that kept 58 Justin Hunt 5-11 207 ILB He's got the talent, he's got the size, him from the first three weeks of the 31 Armstead Williams 6-3 223 OLB he's got the quickness, he's got the Redshirt Freshmen spring. savvy to him. We can coach him until 6 Andy James Garcia5-11 220 ILB "I have to increase my overall we are blue in the face. He's got to 29 Jimmy Herman 6-4 215 ILB game, and work on being a better 32 Evan Pulliam 6-2 220 ILB do it." teammate and leader," he said. Freshmen Russell thinks he's ready. With Taylor, a nine-game starter in — Danny Ezechukwu 6-3 240 ILB After battling ankle issues that — Garrett Hudson 6-3 235 OLB his career, out due to ankle surgery have slowed him in the last couple — Dezwan Polk-Campbell 6-4 215 after suffering a sprain late last year seasons, he feels healthy and stron- ILB — and Gaston sidelined early — un— Johnny Thompson 6-3 200 OLB ger, too. derclassmen tackles got a prime op* Projected starters "I had probably the best spring portunity to run with the first team. since I've been here," he said. "A lot of stuff is clicking, with the weight program coming together with the football program, the nutrition part is coming, too. … I feel personally like it could be my best season. I see progression and hope to continue to do that." The opposite end position is a question. Latta was a Day 1 starter there for the spring, but a foot sprain knocked him out the second half of practices. A former transfer, he played only a year of junior college before arriving at Purdue last season and playing sparingly as a backup. He recorded a sack among his 12 tackles. "Greg being raw is going to cure us or kill us," Hudson said. "He's going to do some things where we are like KRANNERT LEADERSHIP 'Whoa,' and some things where we're like 'Well, he's not T H U R S DAY SPEAKERS SERIES ready yet.' We just need to keep him above the curve on 9. 2 6 .13 WITH DAVID GERGEN the plus side and not asking him to do too much." 6:30 PM Phillips seemed to come on strong at the end of the PMU BALLROOMS spring, putting together a solid game. Hudson says the Information/ticket purchases: Lou Underwood, 765-494-0901 junior end is close, like a "guy peeking over the fence," or krannertevents@purdue.edu www.krannert.purdue.edu/events/lss but not there yet. Walk-on Jules Williams, a former club rugby player at Purdue, also lined up as defensive end/linebacker — the "Jack" — for the Boilermakers, getting first-team snaps after Latta was injured. But whether he fits into plans once others return from injury remains to be seen. EA/EOU A NIGHT INSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE GBIprint.com GoldandBlack.com Gold and Black IllustrateD • volume 23, issue 6 • 39