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38 GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED guys who can absolutely be on the field as return (men)." Additionally, Purdue sought to improve its pass rush, looking to the junior college ranks to do so by signing projected defensive ends Austin Larkin and Rob Sim- mons. Larkin joins Hardy and freshman offensive athlete Jack Wegher as those who enrolled in West Lafayette mid-year. With Danny Anthrop depart- ing, Purdue wanted offensive speed, too, and came up with Wegher, who projects as a hybrid slot/running back, and wide re- ceiver Javonte Ferguson, who's just 5-foot-7 but renowned for his blistering speed. The same can be said for run- ning back Brian Lankford-John- son, a last-second addition to the class after Purdue decided at the 11th hour it wanted a running back. This looked like it was going to be an unbalanced class in that quarterback, running back, linebacker and tight end were all going to go unaddressed, but needs and scholarship numbers changed over time and Purdue added Jared Sparks at QB, Lank- ford-Johnson at running back and Semisi Fakasiieiki at line- backer in January or February. The landscape changed dra- matically through the course of time in part due to decommit- ments, an issue that has stung Purdue as hard as probably any Power Five conference in college football, with an unofficial tally of 15 now the past three recruit- ing classes. REASON FOR OPTIMISM Purdue attacked its needs with numbers, both on the defensive line and in the secondary and the more options you have — especially when they're older, more experienced options — the better chance there is of finding im- mediate-impact players. REASON FOR CONCERN Well, obviously this is not the highest-touted class in college football, but beyond that, there are a number of players in this signing group who were recruited for a very short period of time by a coaching staff that underwent a severe overhaul in December and January. Circumstance allowed for some very short runways for evaluation, especially on the offensive line. Purdue has to hope its immediate impressions on a few players were spot on. BIGGEST NEED Purdue needs defensive backs to play immediately. JUCO transfer Kamal Hardy is already on campus and should be presented with a golden oppor- tunity at corner, where Purdue is decimated. J.D. Dellinger was recruited to be the Boilermakers' placekicker from Day 1, and junior college help was added at both offensive tackle and defensive end. LOTS OF COACHES IN LOTS OF PLACES Purdue saw 13 different assistant coaches contribute to recruiting its 2016 classes: • John Shoop, Greg Hudson and Rubin Carter were on staff most of the cycle before being fired following the season. • Jafar Williams and Jim Bridge were part of recruiting this class before leaving for Rutgers and Duke, respectively. • New assistant coaches Ross Els, Randy Melvin, Tim Lester and DeAn- dre Smith all joined the recruiting efforts on the fly in either December or January. • Former graduate assistant coach Camden Wentz recruited off cam- pus in January following Bridge's departure, acting essentially as Purdue's interim offensive line coach. He is now at Tennessee Tech. Hazell hired Darrell Funk shortly after signing day to coach the O-line. Purdue signed players from 14 different states, though that number can fluctuate depending on how you count "hometowns." Numerous players in this classes attended either high schools or junior colleges outside their native states. Hazell suggested on Big Ten Network on signing day that media attention contributed to Purdue having to cover so many different bases in recruiting. Six decommitments couldn't possibly have helped, though, either. — Brian Neubert