Good evening Boiler Fans! Below is the latest in Purdue Sport News including my film evaluation of LB recruit Buck Casson from IL. The news is much lighter on football practice reports as Tiller restricted access last week. However, we do have this handy depth chart and you will note some suprises. Here is the link:
Some suprises are RS Frosh QB Brandon Kirsch is the second string QB, ahead of Kyle Smith and RB Montrell Lowe as a first team kick return man. Many expected Kirsch to redshirt to create an extra year of space between him and Orton, and that could still occur as Kirsch can play in a couple games and still be redshirted. However, Tiller seems to really like Kirsch's accuracy and quick release (sounds like #15 from a few years ago) so we shall see. As for Montrell, apparently he gave it a shot last week in practice and was very effective. Tiller said he used to excel several years back on the scout team as a kick returner. Another surprise was seeing Frosh WR Ray Williams on the first string but Tiller said that 8-9 WR's will play a lot so that is not a big deal. Lastly, STU is listed as the starter af Free Safety despite his bout with a sprained knee. Tiller said it will be a game time decision as to whether they hold him out until the ND game. STU is expected back for ND for sure!
I think we all expect a lopsided affair this weekend and that many Boiler players at every position will see some action. I'm holding off on my prediction until Thursday night but I can tell you that I see Da Boilers winning by at least 35 points.
Position to Watch - Similar to our depth at WR, we are loaded at LB and you may see up to 6 guys get playing time at those spots throughout the season. Gilbert Gardner appears to be back in form and will be like a 4th starter at the position.
Also in today's edition are some more football stories...a feature on Gene Keady's roast last Saturday...a story on walk on basketball player Chris Hartley...and for those who like sports satire, check out ESPN page 2's "The Sports Guy" and his review of the movie "Hoosiers".
-Barclay
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Football Recruiting Film Evaluation LB Buck Casson from Pontiac, IL is one to watch
Perhaps WR Jake Cunningham won't be the only future Boilermaker from Pontiac, IL in the 2003 recruiting class. As it stands right now, Jake's teammate, LB Buck Casson does NOT have a scholarship offer from Purdue. However, after watching his 8 minute highlight video, I would not be surprised if that were to change down the road.
Three things stood out the most:
1. Buck is a excellent "form-tackler" in my opinion. By that I mean he is very adept at squaring up with a ball carrier, then wrapping both arms around the guy, and driving his foe to the turf.
2. Buck has tremendous field vision and instincts as a middle linebacker. He always seems to be the first guy to shoot the gap and snare a ball carrier behind the line of scrimmage. In a passing situation, I watched him drop back a good 10-15 yards down field and make a leaping interception. The guy at Purdue he reminded me most of is Niko Koutovides, Buck just seems to have that same aggressive demeanor and energy on the football field.
3. I've heard that Buck did not have a 4.6 or lower 40 time at Purdue's camp but from my vantage point he seemed to be very quick in 10-15 yard sprints. It appeared that Buck was always coming full throttle to make plays from sideline to sideline.
Buck seemed to be decent sized for a HS LB, I'm guessing he was about 6-2, 212 lbs or so. I would say he has the frame to put on another 20-25 lbs to play MLB in the Big 10.
The word on the street is that Iowa appears to have shown Buck the most interest thus far but several Big 10 teams along with Notre Dame and Colorado are showing interest.
In any event, best wishes to Buck and his teammate Jake Cunningham as they hope to lead Pontiac HS to a state title this season. _____________________________________
Game Notes in PDF Format Purdue Boilermakers (0-0, 0-0 Big Ten) vs. Illinois State Redbirds (0-0, 0-0 Gateway) Ross-Ade Stadium (66,295) - West Lafayette, Indiana August 31, 2002 - 1 p.m. EST ALL-TIME RECORD: 522-447-48 (.537) - 115th season BIG TEN RECORD: 280-312-32 (.474) - 107th season PROJECTED ATTENDANCE: 45,000-50,000 RADIO: Boilermaker Sports Network (Flagship - WAZY, 96.5 FM, West Lafayette) - Joe McConnell (play-by-play), Pete Quinn (color commentary), Brett Schetzsle (sideline), Tim Newton (pregame/halftime/postgame) TELEVISION: none A LOOK AT THE BOILERMAKERS: The Purdue football team, under sixth-year head coach Joe Tiller , opens the 2002 season against Illinois State on Saturday, Aug. 31, at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Ind. The Boilermakers posted a 6-6 record in 2001 (4-4 Big Ten Conference - tied for fourth place) after losing to No. 13 Washington State 33-27 in the Sun Bowl. Purdue is one of merely two schools in the Big Ten Conference and one of only 13 nationally to play in a bowl game each of the last five seasons. Illinois State is an NCAA Division I-AA school that competes in the Gateway Football Conference. " click on the above link for the full story _______________________________
"Purdue athletic ticket manager George Ade said Monday afternoon that season ticket sales for 2002 are lagging about 5,000 behind a year ago. As of Friday, 37,302 season tickets had been sold for this season, compared to 42,076 at this time last year. "We're down a little bit, and I personally think the economy has played the biggest role in it," Ade said. "People are choosing games rather than buying the season packet. "The last three (home) games (against Michigan, Ohio State and Indiana) will be close to sellouts or probably will sell out. I think we'll have a good crowd for homecoming (Sept. 28 against Minnesota)." click on the above link for the full story _____________________________
"Purdue University officials and local police officers again hope fans arrive early and stay late when the Boilermakers open the 2002 football season at 1 p.m. Saturday. "There will be some changes, and they may be on a game-by-game, week-by-week basis, with construction on campus," Purdue Police Department Capt. Steve Dietrich said. But fans coming to Ross-Ade Stadium from the east, west and north can expect to take a different route." click on the above link for the full story ______________________________
Purdue Launches Boilermakers Pass Gives Fans the Ultimate in Internet Programming Boilermakers join more than 45 top colleges and universities in exciting new digital media subscription service. Aug. 27, 2002
"West Lafayette, IN - Purdue University, a member of Official College Sports Network (OCSN) , and RealNetworks®, Inc (Nasdaq: RNWK), the global leader in Internet media delivery, have partnered just in time for the 2002 college football season. Purdue, along with more than 45 top colleges and universities, will bring exciting, multi-media content including select live audio broadcasts of the best in college football, basketball, baseball and other sports to college sports fans across the Internet via a new subscription-only service called College Sports Pass. For just $6.95 month subscribers will be treated to the highest bandwidth live broadcast yet available. COLLEGE SPORTS PASS: FAQ Why are you charging fans for something that used to be free? First, the package that's being offered this year has never been offered before. There will be more live events, offered in a better format within the most advanced media player available. Plus, there will also be more dynamic on-demand media content than ever before - the fact is that what's been offered free in the past should not be compared to the College Sports Pass product. We think the programming offered in this program, as presented in such a robust manner, has real value. " click on the above link for the full story PS - For the moment at least...you should be able to get FREE game audio only at the following link http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf/teams/ppj/sched.html. ____________________________________
It seems that picking the Big Ten this season is a hard thing to do. I've seen people pick Michigan, I've heard pundits hop on the Ohio State bandwagon and I've even seen Purdue coach Joe Tiller say his favorite is Wisconsin. All are solid teams, don't get me wrong. I think Purdue even has a chance to slip in the hunt if things go well. This is a rough and tumble conference and teams don't often emerge unscathed.
People say the conference is weak because it doesn't produce national contenders, but it would seem the only reason for that is the parity that exists; too many teams can win in the Big Ten.
So I guess this leads to the actual reason I'm writing this thing. I'm picking the Big Ten and even though the conference is crazy deep, I firmly believe I have a handle on it. Now watch them prove me wrong. click on the above link for the full story ___________________________
Parity or mediocrity? Site predicts 6 teams to finish 1-2 in Big Ten By Ken Thompson, Journal and Courier
"After a summer of teasing readers who couldn't, or wouldn't, afford its premium content, collegefootballnews.com has released its complete Big Ten Conference football preview. Whether its a sign of league mediocrity or indecision on the editors' part, the site predicts a three-way tie for first place at 6-2 (Illinois, Michigan State, Ohio State) and a three-way tie for fourth place at 5-3 with Purdue, Michigan and Penn State. Purdue's forecasted losses are all road games: Iowa, Illinois and Michigan State." click on the above link for the full story _________________________________
"Some Purdue fans may wonder why freshman walk-on Chris Hartley looks up to Indiana guard Tom Coverdale.
But when you think about it, maybe the Boilermakers need more of what Coverdale has. And maybe Hartley, a Noblesville, Ind., native, can channel some of his hometown hero's competitive spirit.
"He's exactly what I model my game after," Hartley said Monday morning after a practice. "He's the toughest guy - not just in the Big Ten - but in the nation. In the tournament, he was playing on almost a broken ankle and he's leading the team to victory every day. He was the leader; he showed his team where to go and he communicated." and Chris won me over with this comment..."I want to be the person diving on loose balls, getting rebounds, going after any ball that's anywhere, pushing a man out of the way to go get it," he said. click on the above link for the full story ________________________________
"On Saturday night, the Purdue basketball family took their best shots at the father figure that is head coach Gene Keady.
More than 800 gathered at the Cumberland Place Exhibition Center for the Gene Keady Roast, the closing event for the 2002 Purdue Basketball Family Reunion. For Cardinal, who plays for the Detroit Pistons, the return to West Lafayette was to show support to an important man in his life.
"Every day I wake up I know he has affected my life in a positive way," said Cardinal. "It is just wonderful to come back and see Coach and see him put on such a high pedestal because that is where he belongs." click on the above link for the full story __________________________________
You might have seen ESPN's 25,000th episode of "SportsCenter" on Sunday night, but there was a less-publicized milestone last weekend ... that's right, I watched my favorite sports movie ("Hoosiers") for the 250th time. Some excerpts... "12:23: If every female on the planet were like Barbara Hershey in "Hoosiers," the murder-suicide rate in this country would go through the roof. She just gave coach the "Stay away from Jimmy, I don't want him coaching in Hickory when he's 50" dig. (She's a delight. I can't believe she's single) 12:47: Coach hires Shooter as his new assistant. Another savvy move from coach Dale. Hey, let's bring the town drunk aboard! 12:52: Flatch (Shooter's boy) sums up everyone's feelings: "Coach, what you're doing with my Dad ... I'm just not seeing it." (I always liked Flatch. I'll never forget flicking channels one night and seeing him as a cop in an Skinemax erotic thriller ... wildly disturbing. They could have at least thrown in a scene when he was lounging around after a sex scene, wearing a Hickory High jersey.) " 1:48: Hickory isolates Jimmy at the top of the key, MJ-style ... ... of course, South Bend doesn't bring over the double-team, because their coach apparently passed out about 10 minutes ago ... ... Jimmy takes two dribbles, crosses over, goes up with it ... Swish. Game. Pandemonium. (My favorite part of the ensuing chaos: As Jimmy is carried around the court, the cameras cut to the losing bench, where one of the big guys on South Bend is hugging a distraught cheerleader, finally glancing out to the court at Jimmy, pointing, and saying something that was undoubtedly the 1951 equivalent of "That's one bad mother------." That always kills me for some reason. By the way, it's getting dusty in here again.) " Click on the above link for the full story, it's a long column but worth it for you cynical types _________________________
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