New running back commit will bring versatility to position
Purdue's values versatility on offense, and new running back commitment Ja'Quez Cross would seem to check that box.
The 5-foot-10, 170-pound athlete from Fordyce, Ark., played wide receiver prior to this season. He moved to running back as a senior, but still often lines up in the slot.
Playing a variety of roles through nine games this season — all wins — Cross has rushed for 690 yards — averaging 9.6 per carry — and 14 touchdown. He's caught 24 passes, averaging 26 yards per catch, and eight scores.
Purdue discovered Cross of his senior film, that multi-faceted skill set likely being the attribute that drew its interest.
"It's my versatility and the fact that I can move around and play different positions offensively and just how I move," Cross said of what drew Purdue to him. "Right now they have a lot of downhill, heavy runners and I'm more of a speed back. I can run between the tackles or go outside but mainly what I do in open space, making guys miss and then being able to break away and score."
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As Cross' per-touch averages and touchdown numbers suggest, he's been able a big-play threat for Fordyce, with excellent speed but also an elusiveness that's made him particularly difficult to tackle.
"It's just my will to score," he said. "Every time I touch the ball, I don't know a first down or (just) a few yards. I want to score. Typically you get three or four yards a play, you feel like you're winning. Not me. Every time I touch it I feel like it's there to bust."
Cross became Purdue's 12th commitment for the 2021 class, accepting Purdue's offer as soon as it was extended late last week. He's the Boilermakers' first, and perhaps only, running back recruit for the class, a replacement, in effect, for early commitment Bryon Threats, he decommitted back in the summer.
Cross had previously been committed to South Dakota State. Memphis was among those recruiting him, too, at the time of his Purdue commitment.
"I liked their want-to and how they came after me," Cross said of Purdue. "They didn't ask a lot of questions and didn't carry about the height and weight and all that extra stuff. They didn't go on and on just to get an offer. They just like told me how they felt about me. They wanted me and they wanted me just as much as I wanted to go Power 5 and be a part of their offensive scheme. It was pretty easy."
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