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GOLD & BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 25, ISSUE 4 29 turns out to be atypically well condi- tioned for a freshman lineman be- cause of it. "It was kind of like an Oregon of- fense, fast and running to the ball," Wells said. "It was fun but I like run-blocking more and look forward to doing more of it." The Rivals.com three-star recruit was previously committed to Ken- tucky before picking the Boilermak- ers over a Cincinnati offer and a late push from Illinois. Michigan State was among those who offered him early, as well. "He's a massive offensive lineman who, despite his size, plays pretty light on his feet," Helmholdt said. "He will need to play a little more athletic and improve his lateral agility in order to play the left tackle position, but he should be OK for the right tackle po- sition. Wells has a devastating punch and can drive defensive linemen as long as he remains focused on play- ing with good pad level." EDDY WILSON The defensive tackle from West Bloom- field, Mich., ex- ited 2014 as a long-standing MAC commit- ment before his recruitment re- ally started. Once Purdue offered and flipped the Rivals.com three-star lineman, Iowa, Pittsburgh and Vanderbilt came in to try to re-flip him. He stuck, though. "That first impression was the best impression and that really meant a lot to me," Wilson said of Purdue. "I had those offers from Iowa and Pittsburgh and those are really good programs in nice environments, but I liked that home feeling I got from Purdue. I'm from the city, but I'm not a big-city kid. I like a small college town. That really, really kept me with Purdue." As for why it took so long for Power Five conferences to re- cruit Wilson, no one's sure. "There's really no reason for it," Helmholdt said. "His junior film was really strong, too. (Ri- vals.com) had him rated as a BCS-caliber prospect from the very beginning. There's really no explanation he didn't get more attention, because that area gets a lot of recruiting attention. … Coaches were around, but there was really no explanation why he didn't get Big Ten offers earlier in the process. But it ends up being Purdue's gain. "He's a very athletic defensive tackle prospect. The only real ques- tion might be putting on the weight and being stout enough in the mid- dle to handle the run, but from Day 1, he should be a threat to rush the passer, because he has that length, quickness and athleticism to get into seams and get after the quarterback." Wilson made 12 sacks and 53 tack- les as a senior, playing mostly defen- sive end for West Bloomfield. "We felt that he was good enough to play both (tackle and end) and in our league, you see a lot of spread with mobile quarterbacks," West Bloomfield coach Ronald Bellamy said. "You see a lot of quick screens, so we wanted someone who could be disruptive out there and Eddy was our guy. That's why we kept him out there." For more on Wilson, see Page 30. Ken Dettloff / The D Zone Eddy Wilson isn't quite sure why he wasn't more heavily recruited, but he's eager to prove his worth. When I say "good," you say "neighbor." P097313.1 State Farm, Home Office, Bloomington, IL Call me for your insurance needs and see how it feels to be on a #1 team. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. ® CALL ME TODAY. Now that's teamwork. Trent B Johnson, Agent 249 E State Street West Lafayette, IN 47906 Bus: 765-743-9595 trentismyagent.com