This time last year, Purdue had one signee...and as the beginning of the season came and went, not many more signed on. As the verbals began piling up in the late fall, a host of water bug-type players, mostly from the deep south were happy to call themselves Boilers.
This year is quite different. Earlier in the week, two signed on- a big receiver from Indiana and a second possession-type wideout from Pennsylvania.
Today, two more players decided that they'd be Boilers. First, another Midwesterner, this time from Illinois, decided to join Danny Hope's Army. De'Ron Flood is a TE with decent size (6'3" 230 #) and speed that fits into Hope's offensive scheme (4.7/40). Flood chose Purdue over Colorado State, Kansas and others.
The second verbal that rolled in today is another player from Indiana. Ryan Isaac is a (defensive/offensive) lineman who's 6'4" 255#. Purdue beat out a couple MAC schools for his services. You won't find much recruiting info on Isaac on Scout or Rivals, yet at least.
So, this year isn't exactly starting off with a bunch of super stars, but I don't think anybody expected that...but the speed that defined the class last year hasn't shown as a theme yet either, but all of the players are pretty large. It's very early and things can change...and there are a lot of FLA offers out there, but none have committed, yet. Clearly Hope is fulfilling some different needs in the '10 class.
I'm out of town the next few days...talk to you guys again in July.