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8 IllustrateD volume 24, issue 4 f o v e r v i e w : p u r d u e f o o t b a l l r e c r u i t i n g BY BRIAN NEUBERT BNeubert@GoldandBlack.com A ny time a new coaching staff comes in, it might take a period of time for their program's needs to become apparent to those coaches. Coming out of a very difficult 1-11 sea- son in Darrell Hazell's debut at Purdue, two needs became very clear: Toughness and leadership. It was with those two things, among oth- ers, in mind, that Purdue assembled a 2014 recruiting class comprised of 17 new high school signees and one junior college recruit. (The Boilermakers also added a transfer in defensive end Langston Newton, formerly of Kentucky.) When Hazell introduced his first full Pur- due recruiting class on the first Wednesday of February — he only recruited about half the 2013 signing class after being hired last December and start- ing in January — he quickly brought up leadership, not- ing that of the 19 new players coming into the program, 18 served as captains for their teams. "Any time you try to build a program, you have to have some guys who can fight through a little bit of adversity and be not only physically tough, but mentally tough," Hazell said. "These guys love the game so much. They want to be out on the field. They want to compete. "I think our team needs leadership and you saw that all season long last year. I don't know if we targeted it to be just like that, but it just kind of happened. You want guys who are able to say the things that are supposed to be said and do the things that are sup- posed to be done. That's what leadership is all about." To the outsider's eye, the class does not come highly regarded on paper, but those intangibles — such things that can't quantified by rankings, star systems, etc. — can be essential components to any re- build. "We all know what it takes to be win- ners," said quarterback signee David Blough, a mid-year enrollee and one of Tom Campbell Three signees are already on campus. Langston Newton, a transfer from Ken- tucky, Kirk Barron and David Blough (left to right) already show the leader- ship qualities that are abundant in the Class of 2014. Toughness And Leadership Purdue hopes 2014 class loaded with intangibles Tom Campbell On Feb. 5, Darrell Hazell welcomed in his first full Purdue recruiting class, 18 players who he thinks can help foster an attitude of toughness that is needed in West Lafayette.