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Purdue’s offensive line has some promising young players. And none have more potential than Gus Hartwig.

The Zionsville (Ind.) High product already is on campus and will take part in spring drills after signing his letter-of-intent in December. The 6-5, 290-pound rivals.com three-star prospect took part in the All-American Game in San Antonio in January, where Hartwig put a bow on a stellar prep career.

Hartwig is one of four offensive linemen who have signed with Purdue, joining Nalin Fox, Josh Kaltenberger and Jared Bycznski. Like Hartwig, Kaltenberger already is enrolled and will take part in spring ball.

GoldandBlack.com spoke to Hartwig’s coach at Zionsville, Scott Turnquist, to get the inside scoop on his senior season.

GoldandBlack.com: How was Gus’ final season?

Turnquist: Gus was fantastic in his final season. He was a guy we knew we were gonna count on a lot of different ways up front. He didn’t disappoint one bit. Coming over as a first-year head coach and new coach, and having not worked with the kids and hearing a lot about them, and all we heard about Gus was how good he is, how strong he is, and how solid of a high school lineman he is and prospect. I wasn’t disappointed in one single way.

GoldandBlack.com: Where did Gus play for you in 2019?

Turnquist: He played center for us, tackle. As the season went, we had to do a little bit of shuffling. Out of necessity, he played tackle for us. And he was just as good there as he was at center. Center is a more natural position. But he was extremely versatile. He was a guy who we could have put anywhere and he would have excelled, no question.

GoldandBlack.com: Was he dominating?

Turnquist: Absolutely. He was so good technically. And you combine that with his size and athleticism, he was dominant for us, no question. Technically, his body position is always gonna improve. But his technique is at a higher level than any offensive lineman I have coached. And I have been blessed to coach a lot of good ones.

GoldandBlack.com: What does he need to improve?

Turnquist: He has to improve his body a little bit. He was in the weight room as much or more than anybody. And he is a worker, putting in a ton of time and effort. Once you get into college, and you can focus more time on weights and your nutrition will be better, it will be that much better.

GoldandBlack.com: Did he play any defense last season?

Turnquist: He didn’t, but he could have if we needed him to. He was valuable to us on offense.

GoldandBlack.com: Is he a leader?

Turnquist: Yes. But he needs to develop that a little bit, more vocally than anything. And when I say that, I mean in terms of interaction with other guys. He is vocal to the point where he will make any call on the line. He made all of our calls and communicated with our guys. But as he gets more comfortable, he will be a lot more vocal in terms of his leadership and encouragement for the other guys. He really started to develop that late in the season. You could see him blossom in that area. He is the first guy on the field and the last one off. He is gonna give great effort all of the time. And he will pay attention to detail which the other guys feed off of.

GoldandBlack.com: Did he have any injuries?

Turnquist: Just some little things here and there, but nothing big.

GoldandBlack.com: How was his experience at the All-American Game?

Turnquist: It was great. Had a great time. He was happy to meet the other guys, some he will play against. He got to play the whole game, which was great. They had an injury or two on the line. He and another lineman played the whole game.

GoldandBlack.com: Why did he pick Purdue?

Turnquist: His relationship with the coaches was big. The proximity certainly helped. Academically, they had everything he is looking for. It was a great fit. Purdue is a fantastic institution. All of those things. And I think he knew fairly early Purdue was the place for him.

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