Carmel lineman an early Purdue target
The state of Indiana's 2019 class will include at least a pair of offensive line targets for Purdue, one of them being Carmel's Caleb Shaffer.
A 6-foot-6, 310-plus-pound left guard for the state-power Greyhounds, Shaffer was offered a scholarship in December.
“It came probably sooner than I expected," Shaffer said. "I didn’t anticipate that sort of thing happening ’til senior year maybe. They’d been sending me a lot of mail … and I’d seen Coach Brohm at the school a couple of times. I knew they were interested, but the surprising part was just it happening this fast.
“My whole family, it came by surprise and we were all very excited. Ball State had offered in November and that was nice, but I thought it would (build up) to something like this, but it came completely out of left field and has encouraged me to work even harder.”
Shaffer played tackle for Carmel — he might have backed up current Purdue redshirt freshman Mark Stickford as an underclassman — before moving to left guard this past season, his first as a starter.
It remains to be seen, Shaffer said, whether his college outlook lies at guard or tackle.
“From what I understand most linemen my size are usually tackles," he said, "but I guess if I keep gaining weight and hit 320 or something I’d be a guard or if I lose weight, maybe a tackle. I feel like it depends how well I can move at my size.
“I feel like for my size I move well and when I’m in a pass setting, my punch is something that stands out a lot. I’m developing and I see myself getting better on film with my footwork and moving on blocks. I feel like once that develops, things will really take off for me in terms of how I play in games.”
In addition to his two offers, Kentucky showed early interest, though the annual parade of college coaches through Carmel this month is sure to draw additional looks for Shaffer.
Among major-conference-recruit teammates for Shaffer at Carmel is blue-chip defensive end Beau Robbins.
While other coaches will now see Shaffer, Purdue was sold early., getting involved months ago and getting him on campus for this fall's home game against Michigan.
“I liked it a lot. They took us through the facilities, obviously, and that was all really nice, but honestly, it was the game that stuck out to me," Shaffer said. "They lost, but you could see how they fight, and that’s something I really admire about teams, that fight. You can tell what type of team they are, what kind of work they’ve put in based on the performance they put in. It really made a great impression on me and I know it’s a great football program and being able to see that in person was really important for me.”
Shaffer will be back at Purdue next week for the basketball game vs. Michigan.
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