GoldandBlack.com's 20-Year Purdue player draft: Pick No. 61

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.

Karpick continues his systematic assembling of the greatest team in Purdue history with his first pick in the 16th round.

Draft ticker: Nos. 1-60

There is a lot to like about David Nugent.

He bided his time at Purdue, didn't earn a starting position until his junior year, but made the most of it and had a penchant for the big play even from the interior defensive line position.

He was at his best his senior year with 15 tackles for loss, and he even scored a touchdown, putting the exclamation point on the Boilermakers' 24-point win over Nick Saban-coached Michigan State, the school's most recent win over a top-five ranked team. As a sophomore reserve in Purdue's magical 1997 season, he had an interception, and as a junior, he had two fumble recoveries and one fumble forced.

The Colliersville, Tenn., native fits in with Matt Mitrione on my D-line as he was awarded the team's Pit Bull Award heading into the '99 season. If you are trying to build toughness, which I am, Nugent fills the bill.

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