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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 27, ISSUE 4 31 ETHAN SMART OL • 6-6, 290 • Southaven, Miss. (Northeast Mississippi C.C.) Needing offensive line help imme- diately, Brohm dove head-first into the junior college market as soon as he was hired at Purdue, prefer- ring a mid-year addition, then re- cruited Smart for about 48 hours before signing him. It wasn't the most thorough of pursuits, thanks to the time crunch involved, but Brohm at least had enough time to recog- nize Smart's size, athleticism and length and how they might fit in to what Purdue's going to do offensively. Smart, a Rivals.com three-star prospect who chose Purdue over Ohio and some smaller southern schools, believes pass-protection is his strength at this point. "I feel pretty confident one-on-one in pass protection, as a tackle being out there on your own," Smart said. "I feel pretty confident in myself to be able to handle just about anybody on the edge one-on-one. "I'm pretty athletic, pretty quick off the ball and I can get back quick and use my long arms and length to get hands on guys, then use my feet pretty well and keep them from getting past me." Levine agrees. "Ethan has ideal size great feet and great athlet- icism," Levine said at the JPC event. "The defender struggles to get off the blocks. We see him more as a tackle, which is an immediate need. " Smart enrolled in January and used the winter to start working on adding needed strength, a process that'll extend into the summer. "He needs to gain some strength and those types of things," Brohm said, "but I think when the fall rolls around, he'll make some progress and will be able to help us immediately." For more on Smart, see Pages 32-33. MARK STICKFORD OL • 6-6, 260 • Carmel, Ind. (Carmel) A sub-200-pound wide receiver as of late in his sophomore year at Carmel High School, Stickford has since developed physically into what two Purdue staffs have now considered an intriguing offensive line prospect. Now weighing north of 250 pounds and trending upward, the 6-6 Stickford seems to have maintained some of the athleticism and footwork from his skill-position days. They've served him well as an offensive lineman. He considers himself at this point to be further along in pass-protection than blocking for the run. "I'm sure I'm going to gain some weight, which will help me in the run game, and my pass protection can only get better too," Stickford said. Stickford possesses ideal height and length for an offensive tackle, with a body that appears well suited to carry significantly more weight and add the strength that should come with it. "He's really the mold you're looking for," Brohm said. Stickford committed to Purdue in the fall, at a time when it was clear that the old staff was on its way out, which played out shortly after he committed. It didn't matter to him. He's cited academics as a central consid- eration in his decision. Williams, his Boilermaker position coach, likes the fact he is so familiar with Purdue. "He wants to be here at Purdue, wants to major in engineering," said Williams at the JPC signing day Roundup. "I had only been here about a week, but he Brian Neubert Carmel's Mark Stickford committed to Purdue under the past coaching staff, but never wavered from the Boilermakers. He hopes to add depth to the offensive line.