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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 27, ISSUE 4 19 LOOKING AT PURDUE'S 2017 CLASS WHAT HAPPENED? Jeff Brohm was hired at Purdue Dec. 5 and immediate- ly began recruiting alongside remnants of the ousted staff, without a full staff of his own in place until January. The first benchmark was the mid-year signing date, which hit about a week into Brohm's tenure. In a pinch, he signed three junior college recruits and one high school recruit to go along with a previously committed early high school signee, then later added an- other, bringing the total to six newcomers to enroll in January. Before Hazell was fired, Pur- due held 14 commitments. Of those players, only four wound up signing with the Boilermak- ers. A few parted ways with Purdue prior to Brohm's hiring, but most went by the wayside after he arrived, many of those situations being mutual, to put it kindly. After a rush of commitments in the final days before signing day, Purdue wound up with 24 signees on Feb. 1, 25 when you factor in grad-transfer linebacker T.J. McCollum, an immediately eligible senior who was added weeks later. FAMILIAR FACES Six Purdue signees — of- fensive linemen Jalen Jackson and D.J. Washington, tight end Darius Pittman, defensive lineman Giovanni Reviere, re- ceiver KeyRon Catlett and DB Kenneth Major — were previ- ously committed to Brohm at Western Kentucky. It would be seven Hilltopper connections if you take into ac- count McCollum, who played two seasons at WKU after transferring in from UAB. NOW WHAT? That remains to be seen, but if Purdue has its way, the class isn't finished. It main- tains several open scholar- ships and has combed the graduate-transfer market aggressively, but will also keep its eyes peeled for any late-emerging high school or junior college prospects, too. And Purdue obviously has to keep getting its entire recruit- ing operation established as it works toward its 2018-and-be- yond classes. The coaching staff is com- plete now, but Purdue is still in the market for a director of player personnel, the position that will serve as a de-facto recruiting coordinator. — Brian Neubert this young man and know he can play for us. I know how he competes and I know his desire and love for football.'" Now, the focus moves ahead. Purdue is probably not done recruiting for 2017, but 2018 now moves to the forefront. The Boilermaker program has a long way to go as Brohm aims to bring it to a higher level, not just on the field, but in recruiting. His first glimpse of his new reali- ties came in early December when he visited some of the top programs in Indiana. Improving in-state, and Midwest, recruiting will be an emphasis for Purdue moving forward. "The little bit we got out early, it was obvious that had not been done to the level it needs to be done, so we need to make up some ground there," Brohm said. "I feel like we have made some head- way. We have to make sure we identify those guys early and that we build a relationship with them and their coaches and we try to show them that Purdue wants them and hopefully they get on board with us eventually. "But we definitely wanted to make that (known to be) a priority for the future. I think we have made some in- roads slightly but still plenty of work to do." j