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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 28, ISSUE 2 96 Route 66 Diner and Triple XXX Family Restaurants salute Coach Gene Keady who is the first Boilermaker coach to have a food item named after him. Introducing Coach Keady's JamaicaMeCrazy Burger! Indiana's Oldest Drive-In On the Hill, But on the Level Since 1929 Triplexxxfamilyrestaurant.com Purdue's Biggest Football Commitments Is George Karlaftis the biggest Purdue football commitment ever? Maybe not ever, but he belongs in the conversation of the best in the past three or four decades. Back in the spring of 1986, Purdue bagged national high school player-of-the year Jeff George, a quarter- back from Warren Central High School in Indianapolis. Things didn't work out great for George at Purdue as he transferred after a somewhat rocky freshman season when the head coach that recruited him Leon Burtnett was let go after the '86 season. George did have success, as he finished his college career at Illi- nois and ended up being the No. 1 selection of the 1990 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts. He played 12 years in the NFL for four teams. Another highly ranked recruit before the star system became en vogue, who coincidentally hailed from West Lafayette High School, was Chike Okeafor. If scholarship offers were any indication, Okea- for approaches the same league as Karlaftis as the Red Devils' star was offered by Colorado, a powerhouse at the time, and Michigan, to name a few. Okeafor was a four-year starter for Purdue and enjoyed a strong 11-year NFL career with 49ers, Seahawks and Cardinals. Purdue hasn't had all that many four-star recruits in its recent his- tory. Among the impact four-star players who had success as Boil- ermakers were Stuart Schweigert, an All-Big Ten defensive back, quarterback Kyle Orton, defensive end Ray Edwards, receiver Dorien Bryant, defensive lineman Ryan Baker and Purdue's most recent four- star recruit, current defensive lineman Gelen Robinson, who signed in February, 2014. Of course, there have been many that didn't pan out as well. That is the nature of recruiting. —Alan Karpick Louisville and more, making him one of the most sought-after players Pur- due's ever landed. There wasn't a lot of suspense. "I've known for a while this is where I was going to be going," Kar- laftis said. Not that long, though. "Honestly, when they first offered me, I wasn't really that interested," Karlaftis said. "I didn't really know Coach (Jeff) Brohm. But I took a visit there and as I started the build a rela- tionship with him and Coach (Nick) Holt and Coach (Reggie) Johnson, I saw that these guys are the real deal and these guys are going to do some great things, and I'm just hoping to be a leader and big part of that." Brohm and his first-year staff made Karlaftis a foremost priority