To help commemorate the 20-year anniversary of Purdue's magical turnaround 1997 season, GoldandBlack.com's staff will break up the rosters and select the best players to wear a Boilermaker uniform since Coach Joe Tiller's first season on the sidelines.
GoldandBlack.com's 20-year Purdue player draft will have 100 players chosen — two picks each weekday over the next 10 weeks. Boilermakers who were on Purdue rosters between 1997-2017 are eligible for selection. The draft order is Alan Karpick, Stacy Clardie, Kyle Charters and Brian Neubert.
At the start of the fifth round, Karpick picks ...
Draft ticker: No. 1-16
How could you not love Chukky Okobi's attitude for playing offensive line?
Grumpy, nasty and maybe even a bit dirty, but a guy that played the position with the necessary combination of enthusiasm and controlled recklessness (if there is such a thing).
Okobi was tough, he was athletic enough and played two positions that may come into play as I construct my line. I also like the fact he played with my quarterback Drew Brees, snapping the ball to him his senior season. But he also played guard and made it to a second-team All-Big Ten level on the offensive line.
We will see how this draft shakes out, but you will see me giving high consideration to guys that can play more than one position, as evidenced by my earlier pick of Akin Ayodele, who could move back to linebacker from the defensive end position.
Okobi proved it was no fluke, having a more-than-modest NFL career, but more than that he epitomized the Boilermaker offensive line that might have been its best ever with Matt Light, Brandon Gorin and Co. And he is always willing to say his piece. Heck, he was after me on Twitter about my pick of Joey Harris over Ed Watson. That's Chukky — skilled, competitive, outspoken and determined.
Chukky's a tough-as-nails winner. I will take him on my team anytime.
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