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60 GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED Without 4.4-type speed, he was too slow. Anthrop didn't have any offers because he wasn't a legitimate prospect, the critics said. Purdue looked deeper. Receivers coach and recruiting coordinator Gerad Parker applied a personal checklist, perhaps developed from being a small-town, small-school guy himself who ultimately played receiver at Kentucky. How was the kid coached at the small school? Central Catholic head coach Kevin O'Shea is a future Hall of Famer. How did the school perform? CC won two state championships during Anthrop's career, including going undefeated in 2015. What's the background, the family situation? Or, as Parker calls it, the "bloodline." Dad John was a basket- ball player at Purdue on the school's most recent men's Final Four team and also played baseball; mom Jana also is a Purdue grad, a fierce com- petitor and a hard-nosed high school coach; brother Jade played college basketball at Saint Joseph's College; brother Dru played basketball at Pur- due; and brother Danny played foot- ball at Purdue. How many sports did the kid play? Anthrop was a three-sport athlete — football, basketball and baseball. Was there production? Uh, the touchdowns. An "aw- ful lot" of touchdowns, Parker said. And yards, too. Near- ly 3,300 all-purpose as a senior, nearly 2,300 of those rushing. Oh, and Anthrop was an all-conference player in basketball and baseball, too. Even was recruited by Doug Schreiber to baseball at Purdue. (And still may.) The more investigating the staff did, the more boxes got checked. "I think all of those things matter," Parker said. "Is it a guarantee? No. But you have to look past (the percep- tion) sometimes and see what else there is to it. I think that's what we were able to do, look at all variables and build together what exactly makes this right." Jackson Anthrop certainly wants to prove he belongs. It won't be a new experience. He's had to do it his whole life. "Growing up with four brothers, especially being the youngest, you kind of had to battle for everything," An- throp said. "You always got picked on, so you can't just sit there and pout about it. Sometimes you have to pro- tect yourself. "People aren't going to look at you and be afraid. You have to prove a point. You have to show why you're out there." Anthrop is resolute about his goals. Even if he didn't even really know this is where life would take him — to a football field — even two years ago. Anthrop's first love was bas- ketball. How could it not be? He'd heard all about how Dad played at Purdue and then, growing up, he watched Jade and Dru play. He wanted to be just like them. So he played ball, got into the AAU scene, and once he got to Central Catholic, he responded with solid freshman and sophomore seasons, including leading the team in scor- ing and being second in assists as a sophomore. But then people began directing him elsewhere. "They would be like, 'Hey, your body type, quick hands, quick feet, you're not the big- gest guy, maybe baseball is where you should go,' " An- throp said. So then he started playing Indiana Bulls baseball in the summers, plus playing in high school. He was good at that, too, and when Purdue came to look at his then-teammate Evan Kennedy when Anthrop was a sophomore, Schreiber took a closer look at Anthrop. "I'm like, 'Maybe that's my path,' " Anthrop said. "But as I got a little bit bigger, stuff happened." That'd be Hazell and Purdue football coming into the picture. Obviously, they'd known of the youngest Anthrop be- cause of Danny, who had emerged as the Boilermak- Mike Ringor Anthrop is projected to play slot receiver for Purdue, a position he hasn't played in two seasons. He says he'll need to get back into a consistent rhythm of catching the ball, but he's had success there before: He had 72 catches as a sophomore.