More ($): A strange coincidence

Griffin Alstott - son of Purdue and NFL star Mike Alstott - committed to the Boilermakers Wednesday night after an unofficial visit to West Lafayette.

"It's a dream come true for our family," said Mike Alstott, also Griffin Alstott's coach at Northside Christian in St. Petersburg. "It's unbelievable.

"First of all, having your son get a scholarship and go to your alma mater on a scholarship, and at the same time, because he earned it with his preparation and his hard work and preparation and play and academics ... that's great. And it's even more special for a quarterback, because they really only take 130, 140, 150 quarterbacks in the United State (on scholarship) every year, so it's really special for him to be one in that elite category."

Listed at 6-foot-2, 195 pounds, Griffin Alstott was recruited to Purdue to play quarterback.

"He's a great decision-maker," Mike Alstott said. "I put a lot on Griffin as a quarterback to read the defenses. It's a numbers game in my book and you have to understand the one-on-one matchups and understand how many guys are in the box and where to go with the ball when we do run-pass option plays, which we do a lot in our scheme. That's bigger and bigger in today's football. We've been doing it the last few years and Griffin's really done well for me with it and we'll step it up a little more.

"His M.O. is kind of taking care of the ball and making good decisions while at the same time taking some shots and studying. His work ethic has always been there. He has great arm strength and his athleticism is great, but being a quarterback, I think it's mostly mental."

Purdue made it known Tuesday while Alstott and his family were on campus that it was recruiting Griffin Alstott more than it was recruiting Mike Alstott's son.

"We had some conversations about that, my wife and I," Mike Alstott said, "that it might be a little different than if he went to another university. But I think they made Griffin feel very, very comfortable that it was about Griffin and not about me. That's something we loved about it.

"I know there's going to be situations where people might (think) that it's because of my success there, but I think he's earned the right to get a scholarship at Purdue and now he has to take it to the next level. And he knows that. He understands that and that's the great thing about this."

Mike Alstott played for Purdue from 1992-95, rushing in that time for more than 3,700 yards and totaling more than 4,700 from scrimmage, with 42 total touchdowns . He then played 12 seasons for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, totaling more than 5,000 rushing yards and 58 touchdowns; making six Pro Bowls; and helping the Bucs win Super Bowl XXXVII in 2002. He is generally considered the top fullback of his era in the NFL and maybe one of the best ever.

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