IllustrateD volume 24, issue 4 33
f
BY STACY CLARDIE
SClardie@GoldandBlack.com
T
he swagger, it seems, won't take a hit.
When Ricardo Allen and Normondo Harris
graduated from Purdue's secondary, the Boilermak-
ers simply replaced the unashamed brashness those
two cornerbacks exuded with a quartet that will
proudly carry that torch.
And that's not a bad thing.
Purdue desperately needed to not only add talent
in the secondary in the 2014 recruiting class, but it
was charged with adding personalities who brought
unabashed confidence and a desire to make im-
mediate impacts.
There's certainly opportunity to do so with
only eight scholarship players in the sec-
ondary before this group was signed.
"I feel like they needed DBs real bad,"
incoming freshman Brandon Roberts
said. "They wanted to get the best, and I
feel like I'm one of them."
Roberts will be challenged for that claim.
Not only by the veterans guys he's looking to
beat out.
Fellow recruits Tim Cason and Cedric Dale called
themselves lockdown corners — and Dale only
played the position as a senior.
They're eager to prove those declarations, too,
and not wait to do it.
Opportunity was a big reason
each of them chose Purdue.
A look at the depth chart re-
vealed, well, little depth, and
they also knew that in Dar-
rell Hazell's first season in
the program, young players
were given a chance to get on
the field.
Last season, Leroy Clark
started two games at cor-
nerback as a true freshman,
and classmate Austin Logan
r e c r u i t i n g f e a t u r e : t h e s e c o n d a r y
Kellie Rogers
Cedric Dale is slight of build at 5-foot-9, but he
says he packs a big punch.
Larry Wright, WrightActionPix.com
Tim Cason was so intent to make
an immediate impact at Purdue,
he completed a Calculus class
in two weeks with hopes of a
January enrollment. That early
admittance didn't come through
— on Purdue's end — but Cason
is eager to add some skill and
physicality on the field next fall.
Talking The Talk
Young DBs eager to compete, win spots
For daily headlines on
recruiting and other Purdue
sports news, check out
