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It's a dead period right now in recruiting but we'd expect Purdue to get some commitments relatively soon.
Obviously, linebacker Sam Lebbie is in the bag provided he gets his grades. He expects to, but we wouldn't expect a recruit to say any different. We don't know if Purdue would take him if he's not eligible to enroll mid-year, but as long as he is, he's in.
He would join prep school teammate Ra'Zahn Howard, who also has some academic questions to answer. Last night, Howard, who has said he's looked around after committing to Purdue, said he is "most likely" sticking with Purdue. It might be more an academic hang-up than anything if he doesn't.
There's a really good chance that Florida DB Justin Williams commits soon.
He sounded ready to last week and we do expect Purdue to take one more defensive back in this class, even though it has a bunch already.
Purdue is also recruiting Miami Central corner and former N.C. State commitment Da'Wan Hunte.
Purdue is going to need another running back and has shown some interest in Miami's Darius Tice.
Darrell Hazell won't get back on the road until after Kent State's GoDaddy.com Bowl appearance, at which time he will make a swing through Florida to see some standing commitments down there and hit some uncommitted targets. (BN)
As you know, Danny Etling, David Yancey and John Strauser are enrolling early, with Lebbie and Howard maybe to follow.
Linebacker commit Johnny Thompson has planned for months to graduate early from Apalachee High School in Georgia, but has apparently simply decided against it. He is still committed, though. (BN)
On the search for Hazell's first Purdue staff, things should be coming together relatively soon.
We can't confirm anything, but there is not much reason to believe right now that Hazell will retain any of the leftover assistant coaches. Additionally, in terms of his Kent State staff, this isn't going to be a mass move-over from one school to another.
The possibility certainly exists some Flash coaches may come with Hazell, with coordinators Brian Rock and Jon Heacock and linebackers coach Marcus Freeman seemingly the most likely to be heavily considered for jobs at Purdue in some capacity. We'll see, though. Rock is definitely a possibility. Freeman could be retained by new Flash coach Paul Haynes and he's so young still, that might be best at this point, some think.
We do know Hazell has interviewed the entire Purdue staff, talked with the KSU staff and interviewed other candidates off-site.
We can rule possibilities out now, though.
Richard McNutt, formerly of Northern Illinois, is following Dave Doeren to N.C. State. He's a former Ohio State player who also coached at Kent State, but never overlapped with Hazell. He's considered an up-and-comer and his ties to Illinois might have made him a guy who'd have been attractive to Purdue.
Haynes, who Hazell worked with at Ohio State, got the Kent State job. We're told now that if he had not, he would have stayed at Arkansas under Bret Bielema, even though that staff is filling up fast. (BN)
With scholarship space to play with in the spring, Purdue will again actively recruit potential additions for next season, most likely for the backcourt. Purdue's emphasis is apparently to find another "playmaker."
Time will tell, obviously, who the Boilermaker coaching staff ultimately targets, but one player it has shown early interest in is prep school point guard Travis Jorgenson, a former Missouri commitment who went to New Hampton Prep in New Hampshire. He's rated 138th in the 2013 class by Rivals.com.
Purdue has sent coaches out east to watch Jorgenson but to our knowledge has not offered a scholarship.
Considered one of the top remaining point guards available, Jorgenson has seen schools like Oklahoma State, Virginia, Boston College, Oregon State and Alabama, among others, come after him since he's enrolled in prep school.
Seems like Jorgenson has already made an official visit to Boston College and, we think, Oklahoma State. He'll visit Georgia Tech in January.
Rivals.com national analyst Eric Bossi described Jorgenson as a "tremendous passer and competitor and OK shooter."
He's from Columbia, Mo., and we're told his de-commitment from Mizzou was legit and not a case where he was just dropped.
People have been asking, too, about Indiana native and current Oak Hill Academy guard R.J. Curington.
Purdue has maintained some contact in recent years with the 6-foot-5 wing, but as of last night, he said he didn't know whether Purdue was still showing interest.
Here is a recent update on Curington from the Western Kentucky Rivals.com site: link. As of this moment, Purdue has all 13 of its 2013-14 scholarships spoken for, but as you know, coaches always recruit for the unknown and can over-sign by one scholarship if so inclined.
Jay Simpson's reclassification from this year's freshman class to next year's ? provided his medical redshirt comes through, which we'll assume it will be ? doesn't affect next year's scholarship situation, but moves next season's freshman class from three players to four on the scholarship chart.
As of right now, Purdue would have three scholarships to offer for its 2014 class ? Terone Johnson, Travis Carroll and Sandi Marcius will be seniors next season ? and adding a player in the spring could conceivably cut into that total, though as you know, these things are always moving targets. (BN)
The Heart of Dallas Bowl has provided us 16 general admission tickets for the Heart of Dallas Bowl.
Anyone interested should e-mail Alan at AKarpick@GoldandBlack.com and he will take care of you on a first-come, first-served basis. More ticket information here
While we are in the giving mood, as a Boiling Over reader, pick up a copy of our January/February issue of Gold and Black Illustrated as a special gift. All you pay is the $3.95 first class postage and we will mail it right away. (staff)
Tomorrow, 'Gold and Black LIVE' returns to the airwaves … uh, web waves, for the final time in 2012.
We will discuss Purdue football and basketball and hopefully by the end of the show, we'll all have a better understanding of the true meaning of the Christmas.
Showtime is at 2 p.m. A replay will be posted around dinnertime. (staff)
Also, for those of who simply can't get enough of the soothing sound of Kyle Charters' voice, be sure to tune in Monday morning at 10 a.m. for our new feature, 'Gold and Black Radio.'
To reach our show page, click here. From there, you can listen to the new show on Monday morning, or listen back to previous shows.
Also, notice that the 15-minute show is downloadable to your iTunes, so you can listen on the go. (staff)
Note: There will not be a BO next week due to the holiday.
Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2012. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited. E-mail GoldandBlack.com/Boilers, Inc.
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It's a dead period right now in recruiting but we'd expect Purdue to get some commitments relatively soon.
With scholarship space to play with in the spring, Purdue will again actively recruit potential additions for next season, most likely for the backcourt. Purdue's emphasis is apparently to find another "playmaker."
Tomorrow, 'Gold and Black LIVE' returns to the airwaves … uh, web waves, for the final time in 2012.
Also, for those of who simply can't get enough of the soothing sound of Kyle Charters' voice, be sure to tune in Monday morning at 10 a.m. for our new feature, 'Gold and Black Radio.'