3/17/2020 football Edit

Chance to walk on at Purdue "true dream" for record-setting Krockover

No kicker in the history of Indiana high school football has scored more points than Caleb Krockover, who accounted for 341. (Krockover Photography)

Tom Dienhart • BoilerUpload

GoldandBlack.com, Associate Editor

When it comes to scoring in high school football in Indiana, Caleb Krockover is the king.

The recent Purdue walk-on commit finished his career at nearby West Lafayette High School with 341 points—the most ever for a kicker in IHSAA annals.

"The team we had, and me being able to get on the field that much with all the high-powered offenses ... ," said Krockover. "I was there for Mikey Kidwell, Luke Touloukian, Kyle Adams, all these great quarterbacks and offenses. George (Karlaftis) on defense, who could get the ball back for us. It was a really good team."

The 5-7, 175-pound Krockover made the most of his opportunities. He hit 19-of-21 career field-goal attempts with a long of 45 yards, which came in 2019. He also connected on 284-of-303 career extra points for a Class 3A Red Devil program that is among the best in the state. Krockover helped West Lafayette win the 2018 Class 3A state championship along with sectional titles in 2016 and 2017, as the Red Devils compiled a 45-8 mark in Krockover’s four varsity seasons.

Last year, Krockover nailed 9-of-10 field-goal tries while connecting on 68-of-72 extra points to finish with 95 points en route to earning honorable mention Class 3A all-state honors. Krockover had a career-high 101 points in 2018 and hit 4-of-4 field-goal attempts with a long of 39 yards during West Lafayette’s title run when current Purdue defensive end George Karlaftis was a star for the Red Devils along with current Boilermaker recruiting target Yanni Karlaftis. Now, Krockover will be a teammate of George Karlaftis once again.

"I started to get more recruited and more messages my junior year," said Krockover. "My senior year is when it really started to pick up and I started to get contact with coaches, like Washington State. I had a good visit there. Besides that, I went on visits to the University of Indianapolis and Wabash, many different places I may have been able to go onto scholarship on the lower level.

"But my true dream was to play football at Purdue no matter what, whether is was as a walk-on or being on scholarship. I always have loved being here and going to games. The environment here is just so different from other places. I feel at home. And I like the feeling of my family being able to come to my games. That’s why I ended up choosing Purdue. I had a great conversation with the special teams coach (Marty Biagi). We really connected and I love the way he is building the program."

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Krockover has worked hard to develop his leg strength. He attended the Kohl's kicking camp in Indianapolis last year and also competed at the National Scholarship Camp in Wisconsin. Work in the weight room helped, too.

"Definitely a lot of offseason lifting," said Krockover. "We do our lifting at Impact Zone as a team in the offseason. My senior year, I didn’t do any winter sports. I just lifted and kicked at a local turf facility, building up foot-to-ball contact and getting that confidence back. And also improving on power. I also went to a lot of camps that gave me a lot of good instruction, built on my distances and improved my form. That helped me."

It worked. Krockover saw his touchbacks rise from nine as a junior to 50 last season. And his kickoff averaged soared from 38.2 yards as a junior to 56.4 as a senior.

"Without that work, I probably wouldn’t have had the senior season I did," said Krockover. "The form also helped a lot in making the ball go farther."

Krockover will be third kicker from West Lafayette High at Purdue. Jonathan Briggs was the Boilermakers’ kicker from 1985-87. When he left campus, Briggs was Purdue’s all-time leader in field goals made with 36, which still ranks No. 4 in school history. He made 36-of-55 all-time field-goal attempts and is tied for the school record for field goals made in a game with four (1986 at Illinois). In 1987, Briggs was voted the kicker on Purdue’s 100th anniversary team.

Fellow Red Devil Sam McCartney kicked for Purdue in 2012, when he led the team by hitting 5-of-7 field-goal attempts.

Purdue has another walk-on kicker lined up to arrive: Edward Dellinger, who is the younger brother of fifth-year senior kicker J.D. Dellinger. The only other kicker on the Purdue roster is redshirt freshman Chris Van Eekeren, who joined the squad as a walk-on in 2019.

"When I committed, J.D. congratulated me," said Krockover, who isn't sure if he will enroll this summer or in the fall. "I have talked to Edward a lot. I would see him at camps. We are gonna room together at Purdue.

"I am looking forward to the opportunity to compete."

The chance to walk on at Purdue was a dream come true for Caleb Krockover.

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