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GOLD & BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 25, ISSUE 4 22 com Midwest recruiting analyst Josh Helmholdt said. "He builds up to top speed more than he explodes to top speed, but once he gets going he has enough juice downfield to out-run defensive backs as long as they don't have an angle on him." Jones is already on campus and will be presented this spring with a golden opportunity to earn a leading role in a cleared-out backfield. When he takes his shot, he'll do so brimming with confidence after a historic senior season in high school. "You have to have (confidence)," Jones said. "Especially as a running back. You have to be pretty confident in yourself. I'm definitely confident in what I can do and how I can perform. The sooner I could start lifting and getting prepared for Big Ten football, it's going to be a huge advantage for me and I look forward to it." For much more on Jones, see Page 28. MICHAEL LITTLE Purdue first started looking at the DB from California last spring. Then … "We got early senior film on him," Johnson said, "and there was a 'wow' factor. You really saw improvement in his first three, four games from his ju- nior year." And so Purdue offered a scholar- ship and ultimately landed a commit- ment from its first high school recruit from California in about a decade- and-a-half. Little could have gone either way. He wasn't heavily, heavily recruit- ed but the athlete from state power Sherman Oaks Notre Dame was re- cruited for different things. Smaller schools recruited the 6-foot, 170-pound Rivals.com three- star prospect for wide receiver, the position he concentrated on earlier in his high school career before be- coming primarily a defensive player as a senior. Little intercepted five passes and made 39 tackles in his one and only season as a mostly defensive player. "(Purdue) likes my work ethic and thought I'd fit in really well," said Little, who chose Purdue over offers from Idaho and smaller programs. "They like how I attack the ball on de- fense and that I am a real student of the game. They see that I am a good player to have on the team and that I put in the work on and off the field. They see how dedicated I am to the sport and the leader that I am for my team." ANTHONY MAHOUNGOU When Purdue re- cruited David Hedelin last season, the of- fensive lineman from Sweden encountered a difficult adjust- ment playing at the highest level of U.S. college foot- ball after playing just two seasons of junior college ball in California. Mahoungou has played just one, but the wide receiver's hopes are high that he'll be able to hit the ground running in the Big Ten. Purdue needs him to, badly need- ing help and a physical presence at his position. Ziccarelli Builders, Inc. Construction Planners and Contractors Commercial & Industrial General Contractor LEED Certified Projects Augie Ziccarelli, CEM 1981 One Overlook Point, Lincolnshire, IL 60069 Phone: 847. 913. 1000 zicbuilders.com