Welcome to this week's rendition of the "Weekly Upload". I am pushing it out a day early as I will be at the Indiana Football Coaches Association Clinic tomorrow and will be away from the site. Thank you all for taking the time to read. Boiler Up!
Big Junior Day Weekend Leads to Commitments.
Last weekend, Coach Walters and his staff hosted their first big junior day weekend, they will probably have a couple of more during this “quiet” period. By my count, there were over 40 visitors in West Lafayette, somewhere even at the season finale in Mackey Arena, Sunday.
Oftentimes, it is hard to get a pulse on all of these commits that are coming, some came without an offer and left without an offer, but Purdue is showing interest. But, some big names were there, Jace and I have hit on that in several other posts since the weekend and as of this morning, I would guess that Purdue is feeling good about last weekend.
BoilerUpload - Purdue Football Recruiting Roundup: Recapping Busy Weekend Of Visitors
Boiler Upload recaps a busy weekend of visits for Purdue football and shares names to watch moving forward.
purdue.rivals.com
They came away with three verbal commitments during this week, all of who were on campus. The three are Marcos Davila, Jordan King, and Eric Karner
Quarterback Marcos Davila was one of the big fish on campus last weekend that Coach Walters and his staff were trying to reel in for an early commitment. They did just that, with Marcos committing shortly after his visit.
The four-star quarterback and Rivalstop 250 player are everything you want and need at the position. Not only that, he will enroll early as he is a December graduate. He will join a pretty loaded quarterback room.
https://purdue.rivals.com/news/film-review-4-star-quarterback-commit-marcos-davila-is-dominant
In last week’s version of the Weekly Upload, I said to keep an eye on Jordan King as a potential commit. Well, after his team won the basketball sectional, he was cutting the net down in a Purdue shirt, then he would commit shortly after that.
He should project as an interior offensive lineman for Purdue, at one of the two guard spots. He has started for his high school since he was a freshman and is a three-sport athlete, at that size. He throws the shot put and discus in the Spring and plays in the post for the basketball team.
Karner is the latest to commit to Purdue, the unranked TE (who will eventually be right at a three-star), played mostly wide receiver in high school, he was playing at 200 pounds during his junior season but is now up to 220 pounds. He will be a matchup problem for other teams.
Generally, I would not put too much stock into these early March visits, but this new staff has a new swagger to them, they are going after some big fish and believe they can reel them in. That, and the three players that gave a verbal this weekend seem authentic, many times March verbals mean little by the time December rolls around, I am not sure that is the case this time around.
1 Seed or 2 Seed?
Some say Purdue is playing for nothing in the Big Ten Tournament and I would disagree. If Purdue loses to either Rutgers or Michigan at the United Center, they will probably land as a two-seed.
UCLA did suffer a severe injury, losing Jaylen Clark, who is their best defender and a 3rd scoring option. The selection committee has stated they do take injuries into consideration when seeding, for example when Hummel was hurt Purdue slid from a 2 line to a 4, where they would lose to Duke in the Sweet 16.
Maybe that fact inserts Purdue as a 1 seed regardless, but it seems they need to win a game or two in the Big Ten Tournament to feel secure in earning a 1 seed.
In the end, I am not sure it matters much between a 1 or 2 for Purdue, the best thing that can happen for Purdue is to get away from the Big Ten Opponents and Big Ten Officials.
New Rivals 150 for Basketball Recruiting
Rivals released their new top 150 for basketball and saw Kanon Catchings rise all the way to #40 in the nation and a four-star prospect. Jack Benter is out of the top 150 but is rated as a high 3-star prospect.
Other players of interest are Flory Bidunga remaining at #2, Raleigh Burgess cracking the top 80 and Travis Perry moving up to 86.
Women Await the Committee's decision
The women, as they have been, are squarely on the bubble and await the selection committee's decision on Sunday.
ESPN Bracketology currently has the Boilers as the “last four in”, playing Princeton for an 11 seed during a play-in game. Purdue survived a scare against Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament, then would lose by double digits to Iowa, which is a top 10 team.
If Purdue does not make the NCAA Tournament, they are an obvious lock for the NIT.
