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We have no idea whether the former West Virginia A.D.-turned-NCAA-staffer is interested or not, but do know that he has a comfortable gig right now, certainly a more stress-free one than the task of fixing a high-profile football program would represent. He's positioned nicely to follow the career son Andrew, who now has more money than the Treasury.
We have some indication as well that former Boilermaker star and current San Francisco 49ers front office man Keena Turner has been spoken to, or will be spoken to.
The four-time Super Bowl winner has stayed in close contact with his alma mater over the years and was present in April for the groundbreaking of the football performance facility, which would have afforded him some face time with the people making this hire.
Turner possesses vast contacts in football circles and is known to have strong ties to the Midwest, having grown up in Chicago. He has also had several roles in media as a broadcaster as well and is a guy that, while somewhat soft-spoken, is very well liked and respected.
Additionally, former Texas A&M A.D. Eric Hyman has been communicated with, we believe. Hyman hired Kevin Sumlin at A&M, was at South Carolina when it hired Steve Spurrier and spent time at TCU, also, right around the time the Frogs really came to prominence in football.
We don't know if Hyman is being considered for the job or being consulted. He's 65 years old and among the many negotiable traits Purdue would like in its hire is potential longevity. Relative youth and energy would be attractive commodities to those handling the search.
One other thing: Yes, Brian Cardinal's recent tweet was in relation to him applying for the job. It is very difficult to imagine him getting the job, but perhaps going through the process with Mitch Daniels and Mike Berghoff can give them a feel for what he might be able to contribute to the athletic department in some capacity down the line. We're only speculating there.
We also understand that the search committee met as a group on the 14th with the hopes of moving the process along as soon as possible. It is still hoped to have a hire made so that the new athletic director is on campus as close to the Boilermakers’ season opener on Sept. 3. (staff)
We expect Tillman to officially visit Purdue on the final weekend of August, and maybe even make an unofficial visit in advance of it before the Boilermakers travel to Spain. Tillman has been a very active visitor of all those schools that have recruited him, but if he makes two visits to Purdue in a mere month prior to deciding, that has to speak to some really sincere interest.
We do think the big three right there are Purdue, Michigan State and Marquette, in no particular order, and we do wonder whether the Spartans will hang in here as things get closer to their end game with other targets. Notre Dame is the player here we don't have a great feel for, though.
Marquette has done a really good job with Tillman, too. But there are concerns in his inner circle, right or not, about the Golden Eagles' stature as a "high-major" program. Such is a hurdle sometimes, again right or wrong, for schools that don't have football.
We do think Tillman is more likely to stay closer to home than not, which won't help North Carolina State and Florida, who are also on Tillman's list of likely official visit locales.
On Purdue's board, Tillman, though, may be subject to the domino effect. If Theo John commits - and he's two visits deep in the process, remember - or if an Evan Battey gets offered and commits, what happens?
Purdue does have the scholarship resources to recruit redundancy for lack of a better term, but that can be a dicey game and difficult to get Player B if similar Player A has already committed. (BN)
There'd been a good deal of question whether or not the blue-chipper would stay at Park Tudor for his senior season after last year's ordeal there issued the school a black eye and had to bring with it some measure of embarrassment for everybody involved.
Jackson was getting a new coach this year anyway, so the thought here must be that if you're going to start over anyway, may as well play with and against great players, which he'll get to do at LaLumiere, which will provides kids a much more college-like atmosphere in advance of college.
What might bear some minor significance here is that there will still be some roots anchored in Indiana, which will allow Purdue continued easy access to visit him in the fall when it comes time for open gyms and in-home visits.
And it may serve as notice that the family isn't going to completely pull up all roots in this state and head east. You probably saw our report that Mom has accepted a job out east, we think in New York. We'd appreciate it if that info stay here. Thanks.
Anyway, had Jackson gone to one of the countless elite prep school programs on the Eastern Seaboard that would have hurt Purdue, at least in some small way.
Like we said last week, the changing work dynamics for the family can't possibly help any of the Midwestern programs involved with Jackson. You better believe Matt Painter's bold move to follow Jackson during his entire time in Europe came in response to a situation that stood to adversely impact his program's chances at the best player being recruited for the 2017 class. (BN)
That class has to be a point guard class for Purdue and Robert Phinisee is Purdue's guy there, no question. And one would think Purdue is in great shape there, though the McCutcheon star isn't going to reveal much publicly.
Does Purdue start to offer other point guards to cover itself in case things go sideways with Phinisee for some reason? Ever since Tyler Zeller, Painter has been wary of not putting too much into any one recruit.
Or does it start offering other point guards in hopes of nudging Phinisee off his plan to play everything out? That's a dangerous game sometimes, but that doesn't mean it's not an often-played one.
Here's some new video of Phinisee from last week ...
(BN)
