Leadership, smarts define recent commitment Sanoussi Kane
Purdue added to a June talent haul that included seven commitments when Sanoussi (pronounced SA-no-see) Kane made a verbal pledge on Saturday. That gives the Boilermakers 10 commitments in the Class of 2020.
The 6-0, 190-pound two-star safety from Blair Academy (Blairstown, N.J.) is the second safety to join Purdue’s 2020 class, with Antonio Stevens being the other.
Kane is coached at Blair Academy by Jim Saylor, who played college ball at East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania alongside Penn State coach James Franklin. Blair Academy has produced some recent Big Ten talent: Michigan DE David Ojabo and Penn State DE Jayson Oweh.
Blair Academy is located roughly 90 minutes from New York City with 430 students. It’s a co-ed boarding school with pricey tuition tag: $64,000 a year. Athletically, it’s known for its wrestling program--which is one of the best in the nation.
GoldandBlack.com spoke with Saylor about Kane.
GoldandBlack.com: What are his strengths?
Saylor: His leadership. Just overall who he is, that’s a strength. He is quite a character. He is just a natural leader. His personality, he’s relaxed. When things aren’t going well, he’s the guy who will pick everyone up. He is just a quality young man.
GoldandBlack.com: What does he excel at on the field?
Saylor: On the field, his football IQ probably is his strength. He knows our playbook as well as our defensive coordinator. He gets people in the right positions. He is always in the right position to make plays. And I think that’s half the battle. If you are in position, you know what you’re looking for. It helps. He is a phenomenal athlete, but his IQ on the field sets him apart. He will end up being a high school, college or NFL coach.
GoldandBlack.com: Why do you think he picked Purdue?
Saylor: He told me that he really loved the coaching staff. He felt comfortable, he felt at home. He knew he could get a great education. He said the whole coaching staff and all of the guys he met on the team on his visit, he just felt so comfortable with all of it.
GoldandBlack.com: Will he play safety at Purdue?
Saylor: I guess they have three different positions back there. And they are gonna figure out which one. Since last season, he has gained about 15 pounds. And he is still young. He is getting bigger every day.
GoldandBlack.com: What other schools did he consider?
Saylor: Rutgers and Vanderbilt, along with Purdue. Those were his final three.
GoldandBlack.com: I saw he was on the wrestling team. Has he done that long?
Saylor: He tried wrestling for the first time this year. We have been the national champs, I think, five of the last six years. We had the No. 1 ranked 195-pounder in the country. But there were some issues where he left the school. Sanoussi filled in his spot. He only had been practicing for a couple of weeks. But he did well. That is what’s unique about him. He had never wrestled in his life. And he still went and joined the wrestling team which probably has 13 All-Americans in its 14 weight classes. Every kid gets a college scholarship on our wrestling team. And he goes and wants to compete in that room. It takes a special kid who never has done it before to jump in a room like that and not be afraid of failure.
GoldandBlack.com: What do his parents do?
Saylor: Hid dad runs a store in Harlem. And his mom is basically a baby sitter, she does day care, child care. He gets his work ethic from his parents. They work six, seven days a week … 12, 16 hours a day. They are constantly working. They are first generation. (Natives of Mali, a country in West Africa.) He is one of those kids who is so focused on being successful. He won’t be one of those problems off the field. He has that approach that his parents instilled in him that they want to be successful. He is gonna do some good things.
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