GBI Magazine

Gold and Black Illustrated, Jan.-Feb. 2014

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Tom Campbell Ra'Zahn Howard's conditioning might not be the best, yet he still opened eyes with his performance during the second half of the season. room and that kind of thing." Since the Boilermaker coaching staff has yet to coach a fully healthy Hunte, it's uncertain what it may have in him from an ability standpoint. But not from an investment perspective. "The one thing he is, is he's studious of what's going on," Heacock said. "He's a very intelligent guy, very aware of what's happening. That's the one thing I would expect of him going into next spring. He knows what's happening out there." Hunte will be just one of four returning scholarship cornerbacks next season. AUSTIN LOGAN Purdue made the decision early on to put the young safety on the field, but wound up doing so probably more than anticipated after junior Landon Feichter broke his leg and missed seven weeks. Logan, who's 6-foot, 190-some pounds, played both safety and nickel back for Purdue, as well as special teams. He played in 10 games, finishing with 14 tackles and an interception, a tipped ball he picked off against Nebraska. 34 IllustrateD volume 24, issue 3 Purdue would love to upgrade from a physical standpoint at safety and Heacock seems to believe Logan has the potential to be a step in that direction. "He absolutely does not shy away from contact," Heacock said. "He's good at tackling and all of that. "He needs the spacial awareness. When you talk about awareness that's one thing where he sometimes lives in a tunnel. And that's true of young guys. I tell them they've got to have big vision as a defensive back but you've got to have eagle eyes. He has eagle eyes all the time. "He's going to be a big, thick kid who runs well and is competitive. I think he can cover, which is why you saw him play nickel for us. He's going to have an opportunity." Maybe more so now. Purdue's play at safety wasn't such that there won't be upward mobility on the depth chart for younger players, but there are more experienced players there, namely seniors Feichter and Taylor Richards (provided his recent disciplinary matters don't impact his standing with the team) as well as junior Anthony Brown, who primarily filled in for Feichter while he was hurt. ANTOINE MILES Of Purdue's many defensive line recruits, Miles' projections coming out of his redshirt season might be most up in the air. The 6-3, 250-plus-pound lineman signed with the Boilermakers as a defensive end, but more specifically an edge player. Now, as the Boilermakers consider any and all options to get bigger, stronger and more imposing at linebacker, Miles might be a prime candidate to move off the defensive line and play standing up. Should that move materialize, he'd certainly be one of Purdue's most physically impressive linebackers immediately, with an effort level that often showed up in practice, whether it was during one-on-one pass-rush drills or scout-team work. DAN MONTEROSO After breaking his collarbone in preseason practice, the freshman wide receiver could have redshirted. But after he moved into the playing rotation upon his return, then went on to play very sparingly late in the season, neither Hazell nor Monteroso say there are any regrets that he didn't. f

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