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18 IllustrateD volume 24, issue 4 f making 80 tackles, with three interceptions, on defense. On offense he ex- celled in Flint Hill's stretch-blocking running scheme while averag- ing roughly 11 yards per catch. "I think I can do both," Herdman said of his ver- satility as a tight end. "I think I've really improved my blocking skills over the past two years. I've really been able to get the edge and be effective in the running game. In the passing game, I feel like I can be utilized pretty well in the red zone as well as in open space. I think I can get behind lineback- ers." Herdman played his senior season at around 230 pounds but expects to crack 250 or so sooner rather than later in his college career. JUAN JENKINS Safety Juan Jenkins' style at safety should jibe well with Purdue's mandate to become more physi- cal in the back half of its defense. He played safe- ty for Gainesville High School but played it like a linebacker. "He's physical and he loves football," said Hud- son, Purdue's defensive coordinator. "He plays on the other side of the line of scrimmage and he's fast. He's physically ready to play." For Gainesville, Jen- kins, who was one of the first defensive backs Pur- due offered for the 2014 class, was particularly ef- fective around the line of scrimmage, playing a sort of linebacker-type role. As a senior, he recorded 112 tackles despite miss- ing three games with an injury. "It's not that he can't cover," Gainesville coach Mark Latsko said. "In his travel 7-on-7 AAU team, he played cornerback. He has good hips and good range. He's just so big and strong at the line of scrimmage that Purdue's getting a great physical ballplayer with the capacity to play multiple positions." The 5-11, 200-pound Jenkins, a Rivals.com three-star prospect, claimed offers at one time or another from Utah, In- diana, Illinois, Minnesota, Marshall and others. Latsko praised Jenkins for his intelligence on the field, his "football IQ" and leadership. Jenkins said schools were drawn to his de- meanor. "These schools all say they like my passion for the game, my size and physicality and the way I embrace the game," Jenkins said during the summer. "They all seem to like what I can bring to a team in terms of leader- ship." Jenkins wound up as the lone signee in the class specifically slotted to play safety. That, coupled with his apparent physical readi- ness, could make Jenkins a front-runner to contrib- ute early in his career for Purdue. For more on Jenkins and Purdue's secondary commitments, see Pages 24-25. KEIWAN JONES Defensive Lineman Purdue's done some different things with its defensive fronts, starting off last season primarily with four men on the line, then shifting in-season toward more three-down- lineman fronts. Keiwan Jones should be OK with whatever. "I'll be a defensive tack- le, but I can play defensive end also," he said. "I can play inside or outside." The 6-2, 260-pound- er from Dunnellon High School in Florida made nearly 90 tackles as a se- nior, a pretty healthy num- ber for any interior-ori- ented defensive lineman. "He is a ball magnet," said Carter, the D-line coach at Purdue. "Wherever the ball is, that's where he's going to be." In high school, Jones has been quick enough off the line of scrimmage to be a consistent nuisance in opponents' backfields. But he also prides him- self, he says, on his tech- nique. "I'm very fundamen- tally sound," Jones said. "I always try to have my hands in the right place and always try to beat an offensive lineman before he can get a hold of me on the run. On a pass, I stay low and keep my pad lev- el low. … I just try to beat my offensive lineman first and do my job instead of trying to be a hero." Jenkins Herdman