2/2/2016 football Edit

Purdue lands last-second running back commit

Brian Neubert • BoilerUpload

GoldandBlack.com staff

Purdue snuck some 11th-hour speed into recruiting class with Tuesday night's Signing Day Eve commitment from Florida running back Brian Lankford-Johnson.

The Melbourne, Fla., native committed to Purdue without having visited after being offered a scholarship last week.

"I'll come over for a (visit) sometime in the next two or three weeks, I think," Lankford-Johnson said, "but I feel confident in the coaching staff, I like Coach (Darrell) Hazell. He and I really connected in the week that we talked. I feel real confident in my decision to go to Purdue."

In this case, new Boilermaker running backs coach DeAndre Smith paid immediate dividends. After getting the job in mid-January or so, Smith made visits to both Lankford-Johnson's school and home.

"I love Coach Smith," Lankford-Johnson said. "He and I really clicked from the first few minutes of our first conversation. He's really the reason why I chose Purdue."

Purdue went the majority of the recruiting cycle with running back off to the side as a need, before really targeting the position in the final week or two before Wednesday's signing date.

In Lankford-Johnson, they get speed.

"I call myself a home-run hitter," he said. "I'm about 6-foot-1, 186 and I run a 4.4. I'm skinny but I have the ability to make guys miss in the open field or even run them over sometimes or get rid of them with a 1-2 move. I'm angle to keep angles and I just think I'm a different type of back.

"I'm not the power back a lot of guys like and I'm not the all-purpose back, but when you want a touchdown or you want some yards, put me in the game."

Lankford-Johnson also held an offer from Louisville, where he visited this past weekend. Akron was also one of his finalists, while Appalachian State, UCF and Western Kentucky were others involved.

As a senior at Palm Bay High School, Lankford-Johnson ran for 23 touchdowns and almost 2,000 yards.