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40 GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED JACKSON ANTHROP Productivity matters. That's a lesson in recruiting that was validated at Purdue last season by the success of running back Markell Jones, Indiana's eventual Mr. Football winner who might have been under-valued in recruiting be- cause of questions about his size and speed. Jones' success as a freshman at Purdue might have resonated with its coaching staff when it came time to make a call on local star Jackson Anthrop, who like brother Danny before him put up astonish- ing numbers at Central Catholic in Lafayette. As a senior, Jackson Anthrop ran for nearly 2,300 yards and scored 55 total touchdowns. "Eventually, you have to say, 'This guy has a knack for getting the ball and getting into the end zone,'" wide receivers coach Gerad Parker said. "Like Mar- kell did." Jackson Anthrop might not be quite as fast as Danny Anthrop and might not be quite as big, but he was every bit as productive as a prep player, so much so that Pur- due felt compelled to keep the pipeline of Anthrops to the school flowing. Anthrop was offered a scholarship in January. He will join the team immediately upon enrollment, but depending on space, his scholarship could be de- ferred until the spring semester. For more on Anthrop, see Pages 44-45. ALEX CRIDDLE The two-way lineman from Tul- sa established himself as a high school player as an offensive lineman and didn't play defense until his junior season. But what the 6-foot-4, now- 315-pounder did then must have caught Purdue's eye. In need of a nose tackle — it wound up with at least two — the Boiler- maker coaching staff targeted Criddle early, waited him out, then landed his commitment in December after he'd been previously committed to Tulane. "They liked how powerful and strong I am, and they think I'm pretty mobile too," Criddle said. "And they like that I have good grades and they think I'm a good person." Purdue needs him to be a powerful person, to po- tentially anchor the middle of its defensive line one day. "That's my whole goal, holding the line and stop- ping the run," said Criddle, who's bench-maxed nearly 500 pounds and squatted close to 600. "But then getting to the quarterback too." Criddle, known too as an excellent student, record- ed five sacks and more than 60 tackles this season for Edison High School. Vanderbilt offered Criddle early in the recruiting process, as did many others, most of them as a de- fensive lineman, though he did draw some looks for offense, too. Meet the BY BRIAN NEUBERT Headshots in this article by Charles Jischke/Purdue