GoldandBlack.com's 20-year Purdue player draft: Pick No. 55
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 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.
Charters goes secondary at No. 55 ...
Draft ticker: Nos. 1-54
I was hoping to be able to wait on Mike Hawthorne, feeling the long-ago cornerback could drop a bit in our draft. And maybe he would have.
But with Antwaun Rogers and Jacques Reeves having been picked in the last few days, I think we're in the mist of a run on cornerbacks. And Hawthorne is the one I want, so I'm taking him here.
Why?
The former Boilermaker — he played from 1995-1999 at Purdue - is great in coverage, using his length, at 6-foot-3, near-200-pounds, to his advantage. He by far has the biggest physical presence of any of Purdue's remaining cornerbacks, probably more than any total in the last 20 years.
And Hawthorne could make plays, too, fitting in with the rest of the defense. He had three forced fumbles as a senior, although he missed a few games with a hamstring injury. He had a couple interception as a sophomore, including one in the Alamo Bowl win over Oklahoma State. In his injury-shortened junior season, he had a end-zone pick vs. Central Florida, returning it 65 yards before pitching to Billy Gustin for the final 35 and a touchdown.
Hawthorne carried himself with a swagger too, an attitude that fits with the rest of my defense. If he gave up a play, he was confident he'd make the next, and he often did.
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