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Tom Campbell Hazell had no aspirations to go into coaching, but was convinced to give it a try by his former college coach. Since that first job in 1986, he's steadily moved up in the profession. for his new gig was on recruiting and hiring a staff. But once the Flashes play in the GoDaddy.com Bowl, Hazell will be able to start evaluating Purdue's talent, something he wasn't able to do in December while pulling double-duty. The cupboard isn't bare. The Boilermakers will have all-conference cornerback Ricardo Allen, potential all-league defensive line picks Ryan Russell and Bruce Gaston and a pair of experienced receivers returning in 2013. But there is work to be done to not only rebuild the program into a consistent winner but revitalize the fan base. Gonzalez, for one, has no doubts that will happen. He knows Hazell all too well. "From my work with him, I know that he gets the absolute best out of every single player that he coaches. There are no exceptions I can think of at Ohio State," Gonzalez said. "When he got there, our group immediately got better and continued to improve the entire time I was there. Some leaders, some coaches can draw talent out of people. Some can't. He GBIprint.com GoldandBlack.com GO BOILERMAKERS GO BOILERMAKERS GO BOILERMAKERS Across from the Post Office GO BOILERMAKERS GO BOILERMAKERS GO BOILERMAKERS Next step Though he was hired as Purdue's coach in early December, Hazell was given permission to coach Kent State in its bowl game. That meant a lot of back and forth from Kent to West Lafayette over the month. Most of Hazell's focus 3437 State Road 26 E. 765-447-9393 800-403-6889 FAX 765-448-9978 GO BOILERMAKERS GO BOILERMAKERS GO BOILERMAKERS It hadn't finished higher than fourth in its division in the Mid-American Conference since 1987. just does it better than anyone. It hadn't been ranked since 1973. "From that standpoint, there's no question in my mind he'll be successful at It hadn't been to a bowl game since 1972's Tangerine Bowl. Purdue because he'll get every ounce of talent out of that football team." j That ineptitude bred a culture, one that had few believing things could change. GO BOILERMAKERS GO BOILERMAKERS GO BOILERMAKERS That sounded like the perfect challenge for the everdriven Hazell. He left Ohio State in 2011 for the Golden Flashes, accepting his first head coaching job. He'd been preparing for that jump, absorbing every bit of information from all of coaches he'd worked under, keeping a notebook of what to do, what not to do. So he went to task reviving Kent State, instilling his fierce work ethic, his strict discipline, his dedication to having the most prepared team in the country. "I showed my staff Moneyball two weeks prior to the CERAMIC • ENGINEERED HARDWOOD season," Hazell said of the film based on the book that LAMINATES • MARBLE chronicled building the small-market Oakland As into a contender. "You've got to do more with less. That's the way CARPETING Kent State was. Our resources were not great. But we found Specializing in a way to win with less." • Homes • Churches After a 5-7 season in 2011, the Golden Flashes surged to an 11-1 regular-season record in 2012 and reached the MAC • Businesses • Schools championship game for the first time in 40 years. "He went into that full-bore and helped change things," good friend and Muskingum teammate Jim Purdy said. Where Contractors Buy Their Flooring "Taking that Kent State job was certainly a challenge, and Builders! Call our Contract Department and ask he was up to it, obviously." for our Contract Specialist Hazell will start his next challenge on Jan. 7. Gold & Black IllustrateD • volume 23, issue 3 • 11