Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/97804
Jake Stoneburner Ohio State senior tight end Gold and Black: What are your thoughts on Purdue hiring your former position coach at Ohio State, Darrell Hazell? Stoneburner: "He recruited me since I was 16 years old, so I've always had a really close relationship with him. You really don't get to see how great of a coach he is until you get to sit down with him and see his knowledge and love for the game. I remember being a receiver and the meticulous amount of detail that he had when it came to just the smallest things; it's what made him so successful at Ohio State and at Kent State. And I think he learned a heck of a lot from Coach (Jim Tressel) being here for six years." Gold and Black: People have talked about how close a relationship he builds with players. Have you see that, as well? And how? Stoneburner: "The way he was able to remember the smallest details about my family and truly cared about me and my well-being and my family. He still, to this day, will text my sisters, my mom, my dad and say 'Thinking about you' or 'Miss you guys' or text them on their birthday when he should have no reason to remember that birthday. He just truly cared, and along with that, he's a heck of a coach. He knows football better than anyone I've ever met. He's just a great teacher and a great motivator." Gold and Black: I'm guessing you were not surprised to see him go on to win at Kent State, right? Stoneburner: "Everybody knew he was going to be successful and at some point, he was going to get a bigtime job. Maybe people didn't think it was going to be as soon as two years (at KSU), but I think a lot of credit has to be given to Coach Tress; he learned a lot under him, how to run a program. Leaving here as one of Tressell's disciplines, he was able to take that and a lot of his own knowledge and coach the heck out of Kent State, be able to turn that program completely around and I don't see why he can't do that for Purdue." Tom Dienhart Senior writer at BTN.com Gold and Black: What are your thoughts on Hazell? Dienhart: "To me, he's a guy who has paid his dues. You look at his résumé and where he's been and he's been at many different levels at the college level. He's had to work at places that haven't had the best of everything and he's worked at a place like Ohio State who does have the best of everything. So I think he has a full, complete background. I think that's something he brings to the table that's going to be an asset to Purdue. "… What he did at Kent State in two years was remarkable. In my mind, that has always been one of the worst jobs in America. He had them on the precipice of going to a BCS bowl and their first bowl since 1972. For him to win at that place in just two short years is remarkable." GoldanDBlack express • volume 23, express 14 • 9