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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 27, ISSUE 4 22 "He's a guy who, as much as we recruited him, he recruited me," Brohm said. "He wanted to be here and thinks he can play in the big time, play in the Big Ten, and he's looking forward to coming here and getting on the field." The 6-2, 245-pounder pictures himself as an inside linebacker at Purdue, though he's played all over for his high school and even took snaps as a defensive end in the Kentucky-Tennessee all-star game this winter. "This guy is a diamond in the rough," said co-defen- sive coordinator Nick Holt at the JPC signing day event. "He is probably the top recruit in the state of Kentucky and he didn't give us the time of day when we were at WKU. He committed somewhere else, then Coach Brohm got hired here, and he was suddenly begging to play in the Big Ten." Barnes recorded 126 tackles as a senior on defense at Holy Cross, while rushing for nearly 1,600 yards, scor- ing 22 touchdowns. "I think I'm pretty physical," Barnes said, "and I have a good football IQ, reading out screens and things like that. I think I have a good understanding of the game." VIKTOR BEACH OL • 6-5, 300 • Ft. Myers, Fla. (Bishop Verot) Beach believes he can play any po- sition on the offensive line. Pur- due seems to, also. But one seems more likely than the others, the 6-5, 300-plus-pound lineman from Bishop Verot in Fort Myers believes. "At Purdue, I think I'll probably be a center," he said. "That might be the best fit and the best chance for me to contribute the soonest. And (offensive line coach Dale) Williams seemed pretty excited when he found out I could snap." Beach was a long-time commitment to Central Flor- ida before a late visit to Purdue convinced him to head north. It was funny how things worked out. Beach was recruited by Purdue's former staff and even visited West Lafayette on his own dime last spring. Beach's interest, though, fell off thereafter consider- ing the dire situation that now-departed staff faced — "things were falling apart," he said — but he says he left with a strong opinion of the school. So it was appealing to him when Brohm and his new staff jumped into the mix for him in January as it sought offensive linemen to round out its class. Again, he seems destined to play on the interior of the offensive line, where his athleticism — he's also played basketball and baseball — could be best put to use. "And I think my knowledge of the game would fit at center," he said. Beach never played center for Bishop Verot, Coach Josh Vogelbach said, but could have, and would have, if needed. "A lot of the smaller schools, like the MAC schools, they recruited me more for tackle or guard," Beach said, "but the bigger schools mostly liked me for center or guard." Center seems to be his ticket in West Lafayette. "At center, you need to be a leader — you're the quar- terback of the offensive line — and set the tone for ev- ery play. I think I can do that." Brohm said he was drawn to Beach's personality, too, citing his "pizazz" and charisma. KEYRON CATLETT WR • 5-10, 180 • Hopkinsville, Ky. (Chris- tian County) Brohm knows Catlett, another of the Western Kentucky carry-overs, and felt like he'd fit well in his of- fense at WKU. Now, the same can be said for Purdue. "KeyRon Catlett is a guy I've had in camp," Brohm said. "I know ex- actly how fast he runs. I know how he competes. He doesn't miss reps. He passed all the tests right in front of me when going into it, I didn't know if he would." That makes Catlett a reflection of the benefit Pur- due's staff hopes to get from the familiarity it has with many members of a recruiting class put together in something of a pinch. Catlett, like every other wide receiver signed, could