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GOLD & BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 25, ISSUE 4 17 "Playing at one of the highest lev- els in Texas, we were definitely im- pressed with a lot of the things that he had to do in terms of making calls, getting everyone lined up in the back end and just being really, really in- volved as a student to what they were running." The 6-foot, 185-pound Chelf made 138 tackles in 14 games as a senior for Carroll, with two interceptions and a dozen passes defensed. "Coach Johnson said I remind him of Landon Feichter. I said, 'Why, be- cause I'm small and white?'" Chelf joked. "But that's a compliment. He was a two-time (team) defensive MVP." Chelf missed most of his final high school game after tearing his ACL early on. He underwent surgery on Christ- mas Eve and hopes to be fully opera- tional again, or at least close to it, but the time he enrolls in June. Chelf committed in the summer over Air Force. New Mexico later of- fered also. WYATT COOK Last year, Pur- due signed a physically ad- vanced be- tween-the-tack- les sort of linebacker from Maryland and struck absolute gold with Ja'Whaun Bentley. It would be unreasonable to expect the exact same from Cook, but the Boilermaker coaching staff may have seen some of the same things in him as they did Bentley a year ago. "The first thing you see when you watch Wyatt play is he's a very phys- ical linebacker who is productive," linebackers coach Marcus Freeman said. "… The more you talk to Wy- att, he's all business. He is a very serious, mature young man who knows exactly what he wants to do in life and he's willing to work at it." That's what Cook intends to do at Purdue. "I think I'm a more cerebral player and I can break down offenses pretty well," he said. "I try to watch as much film as I can and try to make the play that can help the team the best. I'm more of a downhill type of player and a run-stopper. "I think I can improve everything but mostly my speed right now. I need to become more of a sideline-to-side- line guy so I can be more of a four- down linebacker instead of a two- down linebacker." The 6-3, 225-pound Rivals.com three-star prospect from McDonogh High School was a significant early win for Purdue, as he chose it over offers from Maryland, Virginia, Indi- ana and others. As a senior at state-champ Mc- Donogh, Cook made 90-plus tackles and recorded double-digit sacks. He's also a very good wrestler, which he believes has helped him as a line- backer. "They were talking about having me play inside, because that's what they think would help the team the best," Cook said of Purdue. "And with Sean (Robinson) being gone and some spots being open, I'm going to work like I'm a starter, because my goal is to be a starter next year." EVYN COOPER On paper, the Georgian might be the most in- triguing athlete in Purdue's class. So much so that coaches have gone so far as to talk to the 6-2, 190-pounder about playing both ways for them. As deep into the process as Coo- per's last-weekend-of-January official visit to West Lafayette, coaches were bringing up the possibility of Cooper playing both defense and offense. "More defense than offense, though," Cooper said. "But they said they might work me in on offense as well. We haven't decided on corner or safety yet for defense. For offense, they want to get me in space at re- ceiver or running back." On signing day, Hazell said Cooper would start off at cornerback, where he'd possess uncommon size to go along with his 10.6 100-meter track speed. He could ultimately grow into a safety, it would seem, as well. Defense is likely where Cooper's future lies at Purdue, with opportuni- ties to present themselves perhaps as early as this season, but the offensive angle could merit consideration. As a senior at Buford High School in Georgia, he ran for 416 yards and two touchdowns. "Since I was little, I've been play- ing offense," Cooper said of playing running back as a senior. "It just felt natural to me to be on the offensive side of the ball. I'll make plays either way, but I can make more plays if they get me in space on offense and let me use my God-given ability."