Quietly, Miami Edison High School senior cornerback Dion Hanks committed to the Purdue Boilermakers on Wednesday. What may have been lost in that commitment was the fact that Hanks became the 7th player from the state of Florida to pledge to Purdue for the 2010 class.
After signing 14 players from the Sunshine State in 2009 and securing 7 commitments so far for 2010, Purdue’s strategy is clear, get down to Florida and grab some skilled athletes. We have watched the Big-10’s failures in their bowl games for the last few years and speed or lack there of has been the major issue. Purdue is one program tackling that problem head on by burying itself in Florida and trying to walk out with as much talent as they can.
Purdue is just not pulling just any ole Florida talent either. The Boilermakers are landing players from programs like Daytona Mainland, Miami Pace, Tampa Trinity Catholic and Lakeland High School. These programs are in the playoffs every season and routinely turnout BCS type talent.
It should come as no surprise to anyone that Purdue head coach Danny Hope is a Florida native. Hope was born in Gainesville and attended Miami’s Killian High School which most recently turned out top talent like running back Lamar Miller (Class of 2009 to Miami). Hope also coached at Manatee High School in Bradenton, Florida during which time Manatee won a state championship (1983). Hope has also been recognized for his recruiting prowess being named one of the nation’s best recruiters in 1993 and 2000 by The Prep Report.
It will be interesting to see how Purdue’s Florida strategy will translate into performance on the field. Should there be a sharp rise in performance, I think we can see other Big-10 teams looking to reach the top by focusing more on the state located at the bottom of the nation.
Chad Wilson is a college football recruiting expert and creator of the GridironStudsApp which allows high school football players to gain exposure to college football coaches and fans. Wilson is a former college football player for the University of Miami (92-94) and Long Beach St. (’90-’91) and played briefly for the Seattle Seahawks (’95). He is also a former youth and high school football coach for over 15 years most recently for 5-A State of Florida Champs American Heritage. He runs All Eyes DB Camp a defensive back training company located in South Florida IG: @alleyesdbcamp. Wilson’s oldest son Quincy plays in the NFL for the New York Giants and his younger son plays cornerback for the Arizona Cardinals.
