Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/95848
to bat for him." — Junior cornerback Ricardo Allen "At the end of the day, I think the whole team would line up and go keeping up with the players. It was never, 'Practice is over, so we go our separate ways. "You could call him any time. He's a very energized guy in terms of ' We respect him a lot." ways kept me positive and kept me working hard and brought the best out of me. … I couldn't have come back from my ACL (without him). He was the first guy to come to me and say, 'We're still going to give you a chance if you want it. to the media and said I'm going to be back. So if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be playing the rest of the season. He's given me so many opportunities. He's been a great mentor for me. ' That's when I came Quarterback Robert Marve credits Hope for keeping him positive during his often turbulent time at Purdue. down-to-earth type of guy. I know some guys at other schools don't even get a chance to talk to their head coach or even have his personal cell phone number. That's saying a lot. It means a lot to play for a guy like Coach Hope. — Senior Robert Marve "He's a great guy. You've got to respect him and love him. He's a real " — Senior running back Akeem Shavers " GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 23, EXPRESS 13 • 9 Tom Campbell — Senior defensive tackle Kawann Short "He's a guy who has helped me get back to where I'm at. (He) al- ALBERT EVANS Gold and Black: I'm assuming you had an idea Danny Hope's firing may happen but it's still not easy to hear it? Albert Evans: "We knew it was probably coming, so it wasn't too much of a shock. It was a little sad based on the fact how much we all liked him as a coach from a personal standpoint. So it was sad, but as a program, they didn't do what they thought they were going to do. They underachieved. So once they started under- achieving, you knew it was coming. "We felt it last year when talk to him about anything. … There's not many head coaches you could those things with. So many places the head coaches are just the fig- ure heads of the program, hire their assistants and aren't really involved. But he was involved on an everyday basis of things. You could say and talk and joke with him about pretty much anything. "The things he had Evans: "You could go into his office and we played, so we knew it was coming last year from coaches that pulled us into their office and even talked to us, some of the leaders, about it. We were able to save it for another year. But once (this season's team) underachieved — they had high expectations of Big Ten champs or going to a good bowl — once you saw what was happening in the games, you knew this was bound to happen." Gold and Black: Everyone seems to use the term "players coach" to describe him. Albert Evans was one of several former players who voiced support for Hope post-firing. Tom Campbell key guys. A lot of coaches help their superstars but, at the end of the day, that's it. He was help- ing guys who helped him do nothing. " to deal with, he handles them. If he can get you out of it, he will get you out of it. So many other coaches, you do some- thing, (they) throw you under the bus and next man up and really don't care about your life real- ly. He cared about your life and your manhood. He was helping guys, guys who didn't even play, walkons, he helped them find jobs or get them places where they needed to be. Or (he) got different guys as- sistance they needed to live or become better guys. They weren't even