Two new pieces added to bolster Purdue football recruiting

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When Mike Bobinski initially hired Jeff Brohm and the discussion turned toward the ideal way Brohm would like to structure his recruiting operation, Brohm said he’d hold off until after his first season to make any adjustments.

With Brohm’s first season in the books as Purdue’s head coach, that’s exactly what he’s been doing.

“We’re shaping it in the way that he now feels like it ought to be compared to the experience that’s he had over the first year,” Bobinski said Tuesday at the Boilermakers on the Road event at TopGolf.

For Brohm, that’s meant recently adding Eron Hodges as Director of Player Personnel, replacing Don Dunn, and Mike Jasinski as director of football recruiting.

Hodges was Ohio State’s assistant director of player personnel, and Jasinski was the director of scouting at Northwestern.

“They know the landscape of the Big Ten,” Brohm said. “They know how it works. They’ve had success where they (were at). Each of them brings a different element of youth, enthusiasm and knowledge, and I think they will come in and fit in extremely well and be a helpful advantage for us.”

Brohm said Hodges relates well to players and will be tasked with getting to know all the recruits “as much as he can.” Jasinski enjoys evaluating film and keeping up to date on the best players available, following their games and watching more than just highlight videos, Brohm said.

“I think those guys will work together extremely well and do a great job for us,” Brohm said.

Brohm said he’s still “old school” when it comes to recruiting, though, and he fully intends to be incredibly involved in the recruiting process and expects the same from his assistant coaches. But he also recognized that in today’s modern era of recruiting, staffs are growing across the country.

“I think some of those (staffs) are getting way out of kilter (at other programs), but to each its own,” Brohm said. “We want to make sure we’re continuing to at least try to stay in the middle of the pack and be reasonable.”

Receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard and cornerbacks coach Derrick Jackson will continue to be offensive and defensive recruiting coordinators, Brohm said. He likes to have a point person on both sides of the ball as it relates to assistant involcement.

“They do a great job with it,” Brohm said. “But, in the end, you still need recruiting department guys that are pounding the pavement on the phones and through Twitter and email and text and evaluating film and having a grasp of what we’re doing and an understanding of it, but yet have a lot of energy and enthusiasm.”

• Brohm said he appreciated freshman Charles Allen expressing his desire to no longer want to play football before enrolling this summer. Allen, who was one of four offensive linemen in the incoming class, said in a text message to GoldandBlack.com last week that he'd "lost a lot of love for the game."

"We, without question, wanted to work with him and honor that," Brohm said. "We wish him nothing but the best moving forward. We’re ready to move on. We understand those things happen."

• Allen's decision opens up a scholarship, Brohm said, and Purdue will continue to explore the graduate transfer market.

"Anything that comes available, we’re going to be aggressive in what we’re doing," Brohm said. "We’ve got plans and we’re doing our part to recruit the next-best guy to help us come in and play, whether it’s immediately or down the road, whatever that may be. We’re very active in that. We always want to be. Things were tight, now things have a small opening, and it gives you just a little more flexibility."

• Brohm has said before he saw an uptick in interest from recruits after his name was mentioned in the Tennessee coaching search and that he generally thought that event helped recruiting. He was asked to expound on that Tuesday night.

"When that stuff happens, it’s a credit to coaching staff and players. That stuff is going to be mentioned, whether it’s true or not, every year if things are going well. If that happens and if it helps recruits say, ‘Shoot, that coaching staff is desirable, maybe I need to look at how are they making a difference.’ It’s just the small things," Brohm said. "Do we feel good where we’re at in the recruiting world? Yes. But, at the same time, we have a lot of deals that we need to close and we’ve got to find ways to convince people that Purdue is the best place for them, and we can help them achieve all their goals here better than anywhere else.

"If we’re going to ask the top talent to bypass Ohio State, Michigan, Florida and Florida State to come to Purdue then sometimes coaches have to prove that they’re willing to bypass things that come up as well to stick at Purdue and make it a winning program, be a difference-maker. I think when top recruits see things going on, see coaches that want to be at Purdue and make it a winning program and want to make difference, I think without question it proves to them what we’re saying and what we’re preaching, we’re still to."

• Receiver Terry Wright is on Purdue's track team.

"I’m, without question, always willing to work with all of our guys if they want to play multiple sports," Brohm said. "The fact that he improved upon his role (in spring football) and was being responsible and accountable, we wanted to give him an opportunity to go help the track team."

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