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Gold and Black Illustrated, Vol 25, Digital 4

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GOLD & BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 25, ISSUE 4 19 depending on where they want me." Dawson, a Rivals.com three-star prospect, committed to Purdue in the summer over offers from Syracuse, Illinois and numerous others. Some smaller programs, he said, recruited him for safety. Dawson made 63 tackles and re- covered three fumbles as a senior for Plant City. TIM FAISON Purdue didn't even need an- other lineback- er when it came time to make a decision on the T a l l a h a s s e e (Fla.) Godby e d g e - r u s h e r, but it deemed him worth changing its board for. "You watch his film, he does a lot of things special," Freeman said. "He's a heck of a special teams player. He played mostly defensive end in his high school career. But he plays with a motor that's second to none." The 6-2, 220-pound Faison played outside linebacker for Godby's 3-4 defense, but essentially served as a stand-up defensive end coming off the corner. "He'll add a lot of speed off the edge for Purdue," said Michael Langston, who covers recruiting in Florida for Rivals.com. "He can improve some in the run-support area but will add a lot as a speed rusher." Faison used that speed this past season to make 55 tackles and a team-best six sacks for Godby, which reached Florida's 5A title game. "Right now I know I am a better pass-rusher than run-stopper be- cause of my body," Faison said, "but once I pack on some weight, I will probably be good at both." Faison chose Purdue over dou- ble-digit smaller-school offers, many of them in the Southeast. TARIO FULLER Midway through his sophomore season at Lani- er High School in Georgia, the then-linebacker picked up run- ning back. He has since played offense like a defensive player. "I'm a contact back, especially my sophomore year, because it was just about running and then whoever was in the way, try to run them over," Full- er said. "My junior year, my vision started to get better, but I still wanted to make that contact, which is why I like blocking so much, too. Senior year, my vision improved more. Things I didn't even know I could do, I did. I kind of shocked myself. But I think that's just kind of the nature of becoming a running back, when that stuff just kind of happens." Purdue running backs coach Ja- far Williams saw that development in-progress and was immediately struck after doing initial legwork on Fuller. "After watching him practice, I was standing on the table saying, 'We need to get this guy here' because I saw how he competed every single day," Williams said. "He's probably going to come in and make an immediate im- pact on special teams because of the effort he gives and (he) continues to develop as a running back. He has a very, very high ceiling."

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