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As you know, highly recruited Florida wide receiver and return man James Clark visited Purdue earlier this week and the visit, from what we've been told, went very well.
Clark claims 30-plus offers, but expect the Boilermakers to have a real chance here.
The New Smyrna Beach High School star, though, said he does not expect to commit until after his senior season. (BN)
To elaborate on the short-lived commitment of Florida's Brisly Estime to Purdue: It seems as if this was a matter of the high school coach not being on board with the commitment, according to those we've talked to in South Florida about it. Apparently, the coach's preferred protocol is for players to not commit until they've visited a school.
That said, Estime may cut it close academically and can only play a few games this season due to age limitations in Florida. Purdue was willing to accept his commitment in spite of those things.
Where things go from here, we don't know, but there's another dynamic at play here in his recruitment. Estime's best friend is blue-chip defensive tackle Keith Bryant, who's committed to Miami. Schools wanting to get at Bryant might be inclined to recruit Estime, as well. Purdue did offer Bryant prior to his Hurricane commitment. (BN)
We would very much expect Parker Cothren from Alabama to be Purdue's next commitment. As we laid it in our story this morning, Purdue is his best offer and he's an aspiring engineering student who wants to play defensive end, a position Purdue has recruited him for, though his body would suggest defensive tackle or offensive line to also be possibilities.
The Boilermakers are going all-out on the defensive line this recruiting season and will keep recruiting junior college defensive linemen as well. Desmond Hollin from New York remains a priority. Purdue and Kansas have offered him.
As for Randy Gregory, we can only tell you what he tells us and that's that he is committed to Purdue. In our experience covering him, he's never been one to ever slam the door on things when he's asked about other opportunities. Whether that's because of uncertainty or just the way he tends to answer questions - some kids have a really hard time saying no - it does create some confusion about the solidity of his commitment.
As talented as he is and as good as he should be this season at Arizona Western, it's probably only just beginning. (BN)
Next week, the July basketball evaluation period starts, with the first of the month's three evaluation windows from the 11-15.
For Purdue commitment Basil Smotherman, the start of the month will be a wash, as the foot injury he suffered at Purdue's team camp a week ago is going to keep him out of the adidas Invitational. He does hope to play later in the month, though.
Fellow commit Bryson Scott isn't playing during the first period either. His team isn't even playing during the first evaluation period, since too many of his team's players will be unavailable due to entanglements at Nike-sponsored events.
Kendall Stephens and Keita Bates-Diop and their Illinois Wolves teams will be staying close to home and playing in the Chicago Summer Challenge at Riverside-Brookfield.
Vincent Edwards will also be in the Chicago area, with his King James Shooting Stars playing at the King James Summer Showcase, based out of the Waukegan Fieldhouse.
Tyler Wideman and his Meanstreets team are playing in Wisconsin, in Pleasant Prairie, to tip off the month.
The adidas Invitational in Indianapolis will be loaded with underclassmen of Purdue interest, including Hyron Edwards, all the 2014s, '15s and '16s from the Eric Gordon All-Star programs and the Spiece 2015 team with Gary Bonds, Bronson Kessinger, K.J. Walton, Derrick Smits, etc.
As we told you earlier in the week, Wideman was scheduled to visit Purdue on Monday, before a contradiction among NCAA materials was interpreted to forbid July unofficial visits, which has always been the case.
July has always been dead in terms of schools hosting unofficial visits, and the manual has not changed in that regard. But this year's NCAA recruiting calendar, posted online and distributed to its membership, showed dates that suggested visits to be permissible through July 5.
It was determined later, of course, that visits were off, and so Purdue and schools everywhere else had to cancel planned visits at the 11th hour.
In Wideman's case, you wonder if it might not have cost Purdue a commitment. No reason from our perspective to think it did, but he's going into July still with the one offer and the possibility existing of him deciding relatively soon. (BN)
What we've heard (but not seen), a couple second-hand notes from basketball practices thus far.
First off, coaches have been very, very impressed with Ronnie Johnson in the early going, with the freshman obviously being a potentially very important contributor this upcoming season. A.J. Hammons' effort in scrimmages and drills has drawn notice, and we can tell that for Hammons to this point, that's been half the battle. Rapheal Davis, physically, has looked healthy and athletic.
Terone Johnson, hoping to get through his first healthy off-season in years, looks to be in great shape. If listed weights are to be believed, and in basketball, they are, he has shed more than 10 pounds from the start of last season listed now at 199. (BN)
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As you know, highly recruited Florida wide receiver and return man James Clark visited Purdue earlier this week and the visit, from what we've been told, went very well.
Next week, the July basketball evaluation period starts, with the first of the month's three evaluation windows from the 11-15.
