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IllustrateD volume 24, issue 4 3 f purduefed.com SCORE CASH BACK. *Subject to credit approval. No annual fee. Balance transfers and cash advances not eligible for rewards points. use a purdue Visa ® credit card on all your purchases and watch your rewards points add up fast. redeem points for cash back to yourself or as a donation to the John purdue club. Apply today. * f r o m p u b l i s h e r a l a n k a r p i c k Eager To Make Impact N ot to put too much pressure on Gelen Robinson, but he is exactly what Purdue's football program needs right now. As you will read in our cover story on Page 20, Robinson is one physically and mentally tough kid. In high school, he was comfortable being part of a team that needed serious rebuilding and was one of the integral reasons why it turned into a winner. That experience should allow him to be comfortable at Purdue and the challenges that face the Boilermaker football program. Also, having Robinson on board is good for Coach Darrell Hazell's football program that is in need of as many mar- quee names on the roster as it can get. Robinson will be someone who fans can follow from the start, and if history is any teacher, it will be a story of steady improvement and determination. When I was fortunate to spend 90 minutes or so with him during the photo shoot for the cover, I was taken aback by his maturity, thoughtfulness and intelligence. You don't see many kids his age, or any age for that matter, willing to help with toting the camera equipment from spot to spot while walking through the hallways of his school. And he was the Pied Piper in those hallways with classmates coming up to him at every turn. You could tell there's a mutual respect, and not a star-athlete per- sona. It was genuine. That humble attitude will suit him well when he gets to campus, because I have a sense he will relate well to not only his team- mates but to rank-and-file Purdue stu- dents as well. And that just might help improve the bond between team and student body, something so critical to filling seats and creating interest. With his well-known father and brother, Robinson is comfortable being in the spotlight with all the fame and no- toriety associated with his family name. As the image taken on the night his fa- ther Glenn was honored in Mackey Are- na might suggest, Gelen is comfortable in his own skin. He is happy that his sporting journey was a path not taken in his family — with a focus on football, wrestling and track and not basketball. One almost gets the sense looking at the image that he knows with his name- sake there will be things always swirling around him, and yet he will take things as they come. Even with a smile. That is, until he gets on the football field. And then, from all accounts, Gelen Robinson is all business. Finally, as the somber image on Page 7 portrays, it has been a difficult winter on Purdue's campus. And, it has been more than the horrible weather. On a school-wide basis, the shooting Gold and Black Illustrated A publication of Boilers, Inc. 2605 Yeager Road, West Lafayette, IN 47906 765-237-5002 or 1-800-876-GOPU (4678) Fax: 765-497-2110/Twitter.com/GoldandBlackcom President/Publisher Alan Karpick 765-237-5078 AKarpick@GoldandBlack.com Twitter.com/AlanKarpick Editor Brian Neubert BNeubert@GoldandBlack.com Publications Coordinator Kyle Charters KCharters@GoldandBlack.com Associate Editor/Football Stacy Clardie SClardie@GoldandBlack.com Photography/Cover Photo Tom Campbell Graphic Designer Gary A. Hoffman Advertising Sales Alan Karpick Contributor Matt Thomas Subscriptions/Production Nick Hoffman, Reid Karpick, Tyler Ochs, Michael Schmierer, Evan Solgere, Mike Viehmann GnbManager@aol.com Printer J.B. 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The Boilers, Inc. officer, shareholder, board of directors, staff and contributors are not and never have been sanc- tioned by Purdue University. The views expressed do not rep- resent those of Purdue University or its employees. ON THE COVER Photographer Tom Camp- bell captured the essence of Gelen Robinson in the weight room of Lake Central High School in Saint John, Ind., in early February. Robinson is the highest-rated player in Darrell Hazell's 2014 recruit- ing class and is expected to play early in his career at linebacker. Tom Campbell