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 is nearing completion of his dominant defense with Pick No. 63.
Draft ticker: Nos. 1-62
Stanford Keglar is not only one of the best athletes left in the draft, he might be one of the best of the last 20 years. And that's why he's drafted at No. 63, probably lower than he should be.
Keglar was a bit of a football novice when he arrived at Purdue, having been a three-sport athlete at Pike High School in the early 00s. And he arguably had more success in swimming and track and field than he did at the football field — a sectional winner in the pool and a discus state finalist — but the 6-foot-2, 250-pound linebacker developed well as a Boilermaker. He did so by getting on the field early, starting 12 games as a redshirt freshman in 2004. He made one of the biggest plays of that season, when he picked off Ohio State's Troy Smith with 90 seconds left, sealing a comeback victory. The win ended a four-game losing streak, after Purdue had been ranked fifth in the country, made it bowl eligible and was No. 100 in Joe Tiller's career.
Keglar started another 29 games over the next three seasons, ending his career with 261 tackles, 14 for loss, 1.5 sacks, 12 PBU, two interceptions, two fumble recoveries and one forced. He got better as he gained experience, matching his know-how with his immense athleticism, and on this defense, he'll be able to go make plays.
Only one player left on defense — and I've got my eye on the one I want — but might have to go get him soon.
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