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 completes his offense and starting 22 ...
Draft ticker: Nos. 1-86
It's bordering on ridiculous that Ed Watson is still available this deep in the draft, when one could make an argument that he should have been at least in the top-three running backs chosen, perhaps even No. 1.
But here he sits at RB5? Crazy.
The 6-foot, 225-pounder was as fierce a runner as Purdue has seen in the last 20 years, inviting contact and wanting to bowl over anyone in his way. He frequently did. Watson played only one year in our 20-year window, being Purdue's leading rusher in 1997, going for 927 yards, while averaging 5.3 per carry with 11 touchdowns. He scored two more TDs on his 31 receptions. And, of course, Watson spent the first half of the season splitting carries with Kendall Matthews before Matthews was hurt in the seventh game.
Watson's 2,520 career yards over his four seasons ranks fifth all-time at Purdue, and his 25 rushing touchdowns is tied for seventh. He had three games of at least 160 yards, including 227 vs. N.C. State in '96, the fifth-best single-game mark in Boilermaker history. But his tops in '97 was the 163 in the season-finale against Indiana, on only 18 carries. He scored twice in the game, once on a 48-yard rumble.
And with this pick, my offensive starters are complete. It's a dynamic group, with speed on the perimeter and up the seams, with the most sure-handed slot receiver in Purdue history, plus an offensive line that's solid. Add Watson, who can simply wear out a defensive front while keeping the pass rush at bay, and it's a near-unstoppable unit.
With three reserve selections left, I've got one more offensive game-breaker in mind.
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