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Gold and Black Illustrated, Vol 28 Digital 3

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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 28, ISSUE 3 34 BY BRIAN NEUBERT BNeubert@GoldandBlack.com A s Jeff Brohm and his coaching staff continue to build Purdue's roster to their liking, their pri- orities were made very clear on Dec. 20, when they signed the bulk of their 2018 recruiting class to begin the newly implemented early signing period. It's an interesting new dynamic, this earlier signing date. Though the traditional first-Wednesday-in-February sign- ing date remains in place, Purdue pushed to sign the over- whelming majority of its class early, as many schools did. What the Boilermakers came up with was 22 December signees who'll represent nearly their whole class. As of press time, Purdue was expected to land blue-chip wide receiver and offensive athlete and former Texas com- mitment Rondale Moore during an announcement at the Jan. 6 U.S. Army All-America Bowl in San Antonio. And Purdue will work the graduate-transfer wire with the few remaining spots it would have at its disposal in addition to Moore. But almost the whole class signed just before Christ- mas, a class largely defined by robust groups of offensive and defensive linemen, defensive backs and wide receiv- ers, in addition to a quarterback Purdue's coaches seem infatuated with. The 2018 class (thus far) at a glance. QUARTERBACK Jack Plummer was the first quarterback evaluated and recruited by former NFL QBs Jeff and Brian Brohm for Pur- due and the player they wanted at what's hoped to again become the program's signature position. Jeff Brohm put no qualifiers on his opinion of the 6-foot- 5, 215-pound Arizona native, who committed to Purdue early, then held off pushes from Michigan and some of the top programs in the Pac-12, it's believed. "For us," Brohm said, "he's the top quarterback in the country." Brohm called Plummer an "incredible talent," breaking from typical signing day coachspeak protocol. "He was our No. 1 quarterback and we were fortunate to get him," he said. "I think he's a competitor and he has all the tools you're looking for. He's grounded. His mental and physical attributes are what we're looking for in a quar- terback and I think he can come in and compete and do a tremendous job for us." And now an interesting situation might be brewing. Plummer enrolled at Purdue in January. Veterans David Blough and Elijah Sindelar are recover- ing from surgeries that will almost certainly keep both out of spring ball. The freshman could realistically be the Boilermakers' No. 1 quarterback this spring. What if he lives up to his billing right away? WIDE RECEIVER This is probably the group Purdue needs the most pro- found short-term impact from, given both the personnel Targeted Approach Purdue attacked glaring needs before early signing period PRESENTS: FOOTBALL RECRUITING Andy Slivas Jeff Brohm gushed over his quarterback commitment in the '18 class, calling Jack Plummer an "incredible talent."

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