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94 GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED A four-year letter-winner at Kentucky, Parker was named by teammates as the "Most Inspirational Player" in 2004. He had 16 career receptions. Parker has been a lead recruiter for Purdue in Kentucky, his home state, and Tennessee, drawing in players like 2014 Kentucky Mr. Football Elijah Sindelar. Parker's a family man. He and wife Kandi have three daughters, Kolbi, Gwyneth and Rosalyn, the last of whom was born in September. Parker, born Jan. 4, 1981, is the second- youngest head coach in Purdue history, only to Noble Kizer who got the job when he was 30 in 1930. Parker is currently the second-youngest coach in the FBS, just a few months older than Memphis' Mike Norvell. A Quick Study Of Coach Gerad Parker Tom's Take BTN senior writer Tom Dienhart gives his thoughts on the open Purdue job: "I think we all realize that Purdue can't mess this hire up, for obvious reasons, and we also realize there's no sure things in life. Basically anybody you hire is going to come with some type of po- tential fatal flaw that could be a disaster. "Getting a guy ascending, on the way up, is most desir- able for Purdue. "One of the things that seemed to make Joe Tiller so effective in 1997 was basical- ly that entire staff came from Laramie to West Lafayette and what a boon that was. I don't know if Purdue can get into a similar situation, where it can get a head coach to bring his entire staff with him. They have continuity, they know what they want; I think that was a big edge for Purdue and helped it get the program off the ground right away." 94 GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED