Meet The Signees

Following, take a look - and read - about Purdue's 23-man 2016 recruiting class, with video highlights and comments from the Boilermakers' coaching staff.

Jackson Anthrop

5-11 • 180 • West Lafayette (Central Catholic)

Gerad Parker: "He's obviously very productive guy and through Markell Jones we learned a very valuable lesson about production, no matter the size of school or where he's playing and with the Anthrop name - he's had two other brothers play here, one in basketball, one in football - he has great blood lines. I believe in him and this staff believes in him, and I'm excited to get to coach him and I know the other coaches are too.

"You get a chance to spend some time with him and what Jackson is is a guy who has a little bit of a chip on his shoulder. He's going to prove everybody wrong about his recruitment and what his production will be at the college level. And I think there's a lot of similarities with his brother Danny as well."

Benaiah Franklin

6-1 • 206 • Marietta, Ga. (Wheeler)

Parker: "Talk about a pretty special guy, me and Coach (Terry) Malone go and see him, and he has a special situation, gets out of school a little early and goes to work two jobs and gives money to his mom to make sure they can pay for the things they need to pay for, and then he works out every morning before school to make sure he can get the job done, make sure he can get his body right to be ready for us this summer.

"... I think he's going to be one of those outside receivers that we needed to sign, not only for next year but for years to come when we lose this senior class. But he's a big, strong kid, we feel he's already college-ready because he has great weight on him. He's already above 200 pounds. We think he's going to be ready to go."

Terrance Landers

6-4 • 170 • Dayton, Ohio (Dunbar)

Parker: "We saw him first and learned a lot about him in the summer when we went to a camp. Coach (Marcus) Freeman did not leave his hip. We stayed right by him and we stayed right by him this whole time through the recruiting process in the fall. We did a good job with him and had a chance to spent some time with him, develop a great relationship.

"He's a two-sport guy. In my opinion, great outside receivers you want them to be basketball players, because it shows they can go up and get it and play with the ball above their head. They've got good skills to go get their shoulders back and get skinny and beat people. That's all football is as a wideout, when you don't have a ball in your hands. I fell in love with this guy, seeing him go up and get it on a basketball court and I think that equates to being a special player obviously being a wideout in college."

Jared Sparks

6-1 • 200 • Geismar, La. (Dutchtown)

Tim Lester: "Excited about Jared. He's extremely bright, as a quarterback should be. He has a 3.0 GPA, got a live arm and is a phenomenal athlete. He was stuck a little in the Wing T, so didn't get to throw it as much as he'd like to, but still threw for 1,600 yards and 100 completions, so 16 yards every completion and a touchdown every seven passes. His productivity is great. Love the kid and the family.

"... Unbelievable flipping his hips, has no problem pushing the ball down the field. He had a great year."

J.D. Dellinger

6-2 • 175 • Charlotte, N.C. (Country Day)

Lester: "Unbelievable kid. ... He's a kid that Coach Hazell saw live and fell in love with. He can kick and kickoff. He can punt a little bit too. He was a 2014 and 2015 all-state, two years in a row, so you know he's productive. A lot of kickoffs out of the end zone, so he can make an immediate impact there, one less touch for (the opponent), so that's good. Junior year, kicked a 57-yard field goal in a game, an impressive feat."

Brian Lankford-Johnson

6-0 • 195 • Melbourne, Fla. (Palm Bay)

DeAndre Smith: "Got a chance to know Brian really, really quickly. What you'll see, he's a home-run hitter, great speed, will make you miss in the open field. He rushed for over 1,800 yards, 22 total touchdowns. He is a dynamic player, tremendous in the open field. Great feet, great balance. The thing that he's going to help us with, he's great with his hips, his vision is awesome. He is a guy who will make my job a whole lot easier, because we can hand the ball off to him and he can score from anywhere on the field."

Javonte Ferguson

5-7 • 160 • Jacksonville (Oakleaf)

Smith: "What you need to know about Javonte, he is all about speed. ... He's a junior Olympic track champion, runs about 10.4 in the 100 meters, about 22.1 in the 200 meters. Little guy, great in the open space. He can return kicks and will help us on special teams. We can throw bubble screens to him, jet sweeps, a dynamic player. He brings speed that we want in the program.

"We've got to get him in the weight room. I'm excited about having a chance to do that. But anywhere on the field, he touches the ball and is a home-run threat. Great feet, great wiggle."

Jack Wegher

5-11 • 200 • Dakota Dunes, S.D. (IMG Academy)

Smith: "He has a brother who plays running back for the Carolina Panthers. He comes from great blood lines, his father played in the CFL. He's dynamic, will help us on special teams. You'll see him run the ball, will see him catch the ball out of the backfield. He has great hips, great vision. We add a home-run threat that we need in the offense, can take it to the house from any point on the football field. He can make people miss in the open field and usually it's a touchdown. We like seeing that."

Tanner Hawthorne

6-6 • 275 • Glendale, Ariz. (Centennial)

Terry Malone: "Tanner is a two-time state champ, won the last two state championship in Arizona. It's great to get a guy who is from success, is used to success, that's what he expects. He's a get-after-it guy. He has the body, the length, he has everything you look for and he also has an attitude about the way he plays. He really wants to hit people, wants to be the aggressor. He does not want to let the defense be the aggressive one. He wants to be the guy who takes the fight to them. When you're evaluating kids - there's a lot of big kids out there - after size and athletic ability, it's that intangible about how much they love football and really want to play the game that makes the difference."

Grant Hermanns

6-7 • 260 • Albuquerque, N.M. (Rio Rancho)

Malone: "Grant Hermanns is a giant, and I think he's going to be enormous. He has the wing span, the shoulders. His dad is a Navy man, tough, you meet him and know after a couple minutes how Grant was raised. He's an outstanding student. He really chose us because of our academic program that we have here, very interested in engineering and making the rest of his life as an engineer."

Jalen Neal

6-8 • 315 • Tempe, Ariz. (Scottsdale Community College)

Malone: "This guy has length, is strong, really likes to play football. ... He did not get the offers coming out of high school, so he went down the block and went to junior college. He's finishing up his junior college now and will be with us in June. But we're really excited to have the big fella. We really wanted to get these edge players, guys with length who could play the tackle position."

Semisi Fakasiieki

6-3 • 230 • Compton, Calif (Dominquez)

Marcus Freeman: "Up to about a week ago, I probably didn't need to come up here (and speak) because the plan was to not take any linebackers. As we were watching film as a defensive staff, Mike Waugh, our director of player personnel, brought in what we thought were a group of defensive ends to evaluate. We put in Semisi's film and he had about three or four clips at defensive end and the rest were linebacker or tight end. We thought about it as a staff and said 'He's too good of a football player to turn down,' so we made room and are extremely excited that we got him.

"Semisi is a young man from L.A., does a lot of things well. His recruiting has truly blown up over the last three or four weeks. He has probably six or seven offers in the last four weeks. And I know while he was here, Ole Miss was trying to get him to trip down, to split the weekend, a lot of teams calling to get him down this weekend. I think a lot of the reason why he's recruiting heated up late was that he played only four games his junior year because of a knee injury and his sophomore year he only played three games because of transfer. He kind of flew under the radar until his senior year and now we're fortunate to have him as part of our recruiting class."

Alex Criddle

6-4 • 311 • Broken Arrow, Okla. (Thomas Edison Prep)

Randy Melvin: "Comes from a family of educators. Dad is an AD, and mom is a teacher and basketball coach.

"... He's a very strong player, already benches 450 pounds. He's a very intelligent young man, hasn't had less than a B on his transcript."

Austin Larkin

6-3 • 250 • University City, Md. (City College of San Francisco)

Melvin: "Coming in and sitting down with him, getting to know him, he's ahead of the game. Struck me as a very mature young man, from some of the things that went on with him early in his career. He transferred to City College and got himself here, and happy for it.

"Comes from an excellent genetic pool. Dad played at Notre Dame. Barry Larkin (uncle), the Hall of Famer. Cousin Shane Larkin in the NBA. He had 38 tackles, seven tackles and a very impressive 17 tackles for loss. He's also part of the leadership committee, which speaks very highly of him."

Lorenzo Neal

6-2 • 305 • Houston (Saint Thomas)

Melvin: "Son of the great fullback, Lorenzo Neal. He chose jersey No. 9 because of the relationship he and Drew Brees had. He's a very powerful player.

"... With Lorenzo, he was the only D-lineman who had two interceptions, one for a score. He has a knack for getting around the ball."

Rob Simmons

6-6 • 215 • Philadelphia (Catholic)

Melvin: "Just joined us this last weekend. He's a young man who just started playing football. He played his senior year, transferred in to Valley Forge, and wound up with 15 sacks.

"... He also plays for the basketball team, has a high 17 points and five times has had double-digit rebounds. As you see him on film, he is a very long athlete."

Anthony Watts

6-4 • 290 • Houston (Jack Yates)

Melvin: "Affectionately known as 'Humble beast.' He's a young man that when I first met him, knew he was a music lover, loves to work out, loves to train. Started playing contact football at the age of 4, so he's been at it for a while. He has size, has quickness. Getting to know him, he truly is a humble young man."

Kamal Hardy

6-1 • 180 • Pembroke Pines, Fla. (Monroe CC)

Taver Johnson: "A young man that we were able to find some film on and really, really liked what we saw. A very, very physical player. He has done a tremendous job of not only getting acclimated to Purdue but to our guys in the program.

"... Kamal had about 14 PBUs, had a pick, was first-team all-conference. He is a doing a really nice job in the weight room. Talking to Coach (Duane) Carlisle, he's done a lot of things in terms of his athleticism and learning the types of things we're doing. We're extremely excited to have him here."

Josh Hayes

6-0 • 184 • Indianapolis (Pike)

Johnson: "Coach Hazell was the lead recruiter and saw Josh in person, at practice and at games, and wanted to offer him on the spot. A very, very athletic young man, another young man that when he walks in the room, you'll be able to tell he's a corner. He's going to have the swag but he plays that way. Had eight interceptions, one for a touchdown. He had 15 kickoff returns for 315 yards and one score at wide receiver. They did a really good job of using him, especially this last season."

Brandon Shuman

5-11 • 185 • Miami, Fla. (Gulliver Prep)

Johnson: "A great, great young man, great leadership qualities. ... Another long, smooth athlete. A guy who can take the ball the distance. But the one thing that we like, and the one thing that's going to be a big-time asset for us is that he's physical as well. We're definitely going to ask our all of our defensive backs, especially our corners, to make sure they stick their faces in there. Don't be afraid of any blockers that are 300 pounds or tailbacks that are 230. He comes from a high school that is known for kicking out a ton of good players and we're excited to have him."

Simeon Smiley

6-0 • 195 • Pensacola, Fla. (Catholic)

Johnson: "He's one of those all-around guys. When you watch his film, he just has a knack for being around the football, getting the football out. He has great hips. He's a long guy who can help himself at the line of scrimmage, but also he's a guy who loves to compete, stick his face in there and tackle.

"He had a ton of returns his junior year, and then obviously people did the right thing, scouted him and kicked away from him. He didn't get as many this past season, but has return ability kickoff as well as punt return. And plays some receiver for them."

Navon Mosley

6-0 • 180 • West Bloomfield, Mich. (West Bloomfield)

Ross Els: "You'll see a lot of good plays of him in space. Of the two safeties, this is the one that's maybe a little bit better of a coverage guy. He played a lot of wide receiver. I think he had six interceptions on the year and took one back for a touchdown. Had 33 receptions for 418 yards.

"... An all-state defensive back and we're glad to have Navon."

CJ Parker

6-2 • 205 • Menifee, Calif. (Mt. San Jacinto College)

Els: "We needed to get a little bit older safety in the room. We were fortunate to find CJ Parker. CJ has an interesting story, both his parents are in the military. His mom is still active right now and his dad just retired after being a Marine for 20 years. So you see the household this young man grew up in. Fantastic young man.

"... A good work ethic, a solid leader, which I think at safety is even more important because we're the guys who kind of take care of our side of the defense. CJ, of the two, is the more physical of the two. He's also 6-2, 205 pounds. ... The thing we look for in a safety is those guys who are blurs going across the field. Even if you know nothing about football, you see that kid gaining ground and that's what CJ does."

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