East Central QB Alex Maxwell will join Purdue as a preferred walk-on WR
Purdue’s roster of preferred 2019 walk-ons continues to grow, as the program received a pledge from Alex Maxwell of East Central High in St. Leon, Ind., last week. Maxwell started at quarterback the last three years for East Central, but he will play receiver at Purdue.
“About a month and a half ago, (Purdue co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach) Brian Brohm reached out to me on Twitter and asked if I was interested in walking on,” said Maxwell, whose hometown is Guilford, Ind. “And I said, uh, yes. He invited us to visit about two weeks ago. I had a tour and then sat down with him and my parents and he told us if I wanted to walk on that there would be a spot on the team for me. I thought about it the past couple of weeks and finally accepted last week.”
The 6-1, 185-pound Maxwell will leave East Central as an all-time great. During his four seasons, he led the Trojans to four sectional crowns, three regional championships, two semi-state triumphs, a state runner-up finish and a state title. He finished his career with 2,563 yards passing, 3,692 yards rushing and 90 touchdowns at East Central, which is located in southeastern Indiana near I-74 about 30 miles from Cincinnati.
Maxwell led East Central to a 12-3 mark and the 2017 4A state title with a 14-7 win vs. Lowell. He tallied the winning TD late in the fourth quarter to upset top-ranked and unbeaten Lowell. Last season, the Trojans finished 12-2, losing 28-24 to Evansville Central in Class 4A regional championship game. Maxwell finished his senior season with 2,410 yards of total offense (1,164 pass, 1,244 rush) and tallied 38 touchdowns (29 rush, nine pass). Maxwell also was a point guard on the basketball team.
“I didn’t score many points, but I distributed the ball and played good defense,” he said. The team's season is over.
Maxwell described his prep offense as “run-heavy” and “down-hill.”
“The quarterback ran a lot in our offense,” said Maxwell, who says he runs a 4.69 40-yard dash, benches 300 and squats 455. “We played in a really weak conference, so I didn't run much in the second half of games we were winning. We would have nine, 10 guys on the line and would snap to me and I would pick where I wanted to run and go.”
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Maxwell never had played quarterback prior to high school, lining up at running back or fullback before then. And Maxwell says he never has been a receiver.
“I think I have good hands, but it could be an adjustment to play receiver,” he said. “But after a while, I think I will be OK. This will be new to me.”
Maxwell’s father, Randy, was a starting tight end at Indiana in the late-1990s but had his career truncated by injury. He also was Alex’s OC in high school.“
"IU was looking at me my junior year and reached out a couple times and visited me at my school, but nothing came out of it,” said Maxwell, who plans to arrive in West Lafayette in late July.
Did Indiana offer him as a preferred walk-on? Nope.
“I didn’t mind,” said Maxwell, who had myriad Division III opportunities. “Purdue is a really great school and I am looking to become an engineer. It just seemed like a good fit.”
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