Gold and Black is a multi-platform media company that covers Purdue athletics like no one else.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/339722
ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 24, ISSUE 6 69 f BY BRIAN NEUBERT BNeubert@GoldandBlack.com D arrell Hazell has signed two recruiting classes already as Purdue's head coach. But it's this upcoming 2015 group that will be his first recruited with his program's entire recruiting operation up on its feet. Whereas much of the 2013 sign- ing class had to be thrown together in the span of only a month or so when the new Boilermak- er staff came in and the 2014 recruiting cycle was still re- cruited by coaches getting caught up, things should be different now. For one, Purdue is caught up, or at least mostly caught up, or at least as caught up as any staff can be nowadays as the recruiting process begins earlier and earlier for top high school prospects. Purdue's staffers are established now, at least, whether it be in their understanding of the Boilermaker program's inner workings or within their individual recruiting ter- ritories, where they might now be more familiar faces in schools instead of essentially cold-callers. The operations side of things is being renovated, also, with the hiring of new director of player personnel Mike Waugh. He holds a position that may generally go unheralded but is crucial to almost every behind-the-scenes aspect of recruiting, from on-campus visits to long-distance commu- nication (like mailings and social media) to the flow of the evaluation process to the direction of the coaching staff's springtime scouting trips, along with everything else that goes into it. Getting all the nuts and bolts fully up and running will be a process, one that started even before Waugh was hired in the winter. On Solid Ground P R E S E N T S F O O T B A L L R E C R U I T I N G Purdue better positioned in recruiting TOP TARGETS A look at some of the players Purdue has targeted for the Class of 2015, with those already committed denoted in bold. Player Position Hometown/School Markus Bailey LB Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson Tony Brown WR LaMirada, Calif./LaMirada Tyshawn Brown WR Atlanta/Mays Andy Chelf S Southlake, Texas/Carroll Jeff Christian CB Cincinnati/Colerain Wyatt Cook LB Owings Mills, Md./McDonogh Sawyer Dawson LB Plant City, Fla./Plant City Rob Ennis RB Millville, N.J./Millville Tario Fuller RB Sugar Hill, Ga./Lanier Jordan Griffin LB Seffner, Fla./Armwood Channing Hames DE Arlington, Va./Bishop O'Connell Brandon Knight OL Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville Brycen Hopkins TE Nashville, Tenn./Ensworth School Scott Huntsman TE Coppell, Texas/Coppell Markell Jones RB Columbus, Ind./East Mirko Jurkovic OL South Bend, Ind./IMG Academy (Fla.) Joshua Little DE Oklahoma City/Millwood Mike Majette S Woodbridge, Va./Woodbridge Ben Makowski LS Mishawaka, Ind./Penn Matt McCann OT Indianapolis/Bishop Chatard Alec Murphy RB Nixa, Mo./Nixa R 2 Anthony McKee LB Columbus, Ohio/Walnut Ridge Josh Norwood CB Valdosta, Ga./Valdosta Jake Pickard TE/DL Millburn, N.J./Millburn Austrian Robinson DL Pawling, N.Y./Trinity Pawling Jacob Robinson DE Westfield, Ind./Westfield Freddie Simmons WR Bethlehem, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic Elijah Sindelar QB Princeton, Ky./Caldwell County Kezio Snelling WR Lutz, Fla./Steinbrenner Jay Stocker S Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville Alex Stump WR Lakewood, Ohio/St. Edward Adrienne Talan S Pembroke Pines, Fla./Flanagan Reche Thomas OG Vero Beach, Fla./Vero Beach Donta Thompson TE Ennis, Texas/Ennis Peyton Truitt OL West Lafayette, Ind./West Lafayette Charles Wade WR Jacksonville, Fla./Bishop Kenny Raequan Williams DT Chicago/Gordon Tech Reagan Williams LB Jackson, Ohio/Jackson Andrew Wood OG Lebanon, Tenn./Friendship Christian Academy Richard Worship RB Parma Heights, Ohio/Valley Forge — Brian Neubert Brian Neubertl Committed running back Markell Jones was one of Purdue's top in-state prior- ities due to a hard-nosed running style he says coaches have called a "perfect fit."