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We do have every reason to believe that Purdue enters the official visit stage of this one with a leg up on the others. Other schools recruiting him believe that, as well.
But we also wouldn't write off any other school on his list of official visits, of which he'll make four in as many weekends, starting with Purdue, then Xavier, then Ohio State, then Minnesota. Xavier's been there from Day 1, Ohio State has a strong relationship with him from Chris Holtmann and staff's involvement with him at Butler and we know he likes Minnesota. Whether he likes Minnesota enough to go that far to a program with guards returning and two more already committed for 2018, we don't know, but he does like them.
Still, Purdue has worked Hunter hard for the better part of two years now and built a strong relationship, from head coach Matt Painter on down. It is just an hour away, yes, but he has been one of the more engaged recruits in terms of showing up around Purdue and Purdue-related events like the Team USA scrimmage at Carmel.
Familiarity can sometimes work against you when new and shiny comes along, but that's what the visits are for, boiling all that stuff down.
But Purdue has done a good job recruiting him, shown him he's a priority, offers a beyond-favorable depth chart for pretty much anyone who comes in in 2018, can make some case that he'd have a chance to do some point guard-type things in their offense and does obviously have proximity to home on its side.
Hunter has never committed to proximity being a deal-breaker in his decision, but we do think it's a plus, at the very least, with Minnesota being the only school among those for which it might matter. It's not easy — or cheap — to fly direct to Minneapolis from Indy, for one thing. For another, Tindley winning the state title this past season could have created a dynamic where the player has been so embraced by the city — and state — that staying in that state could matter, and Butler's coaching change might have been a stroke of fortuitous timing for any school hoping to pull Hunter out of Indianapolis.
We get the sense that those around Hunter, from his family to his Gary Harris-sponsored grassroots team folks, are positive about Purdue and that stuff matters.
The biggest thing, though, is the level of priority. A lot of people have recruited Hunter for a very long time. Not sure anyone's recruited him harder or more seriously than Purdue, which has explicitly held off on offering other players as to keep the path clear for Hunter, a strategy that can bite you in the you-know-what sometimes, but a clear reflection of his level of importance for Purdue.
All this being said, we would be a bit surprised if he committed this weekend, even if all goes great. And the night-time football game should create an environment unlike anything Purdue football has afforded other programs using its game days for recruiting.
Hunter has been committed all along to taking his visits and you have to take recruits at their word on that stuff, though it can be subject to change.
He will have Trevion Williams in his ear, as well.
The Boilermakers' first commitment for the 2018 class will be making his official visit, as well.
Obviously, he's been committed since June, so there's no suspense there, but it's always a positive thing to have targets around those whose minds are made up. In Purdue's case, that's especially true, because most of the most influential players on its roster currently will be gone in a few months. (BN)
But one visitor we do know of is junior college linebacker Evander Craft, who was offered in August after he camped in July and might be a strong commitment possibility if Purdue turns the screws on him, our standard reminder that we can't claim to know the mutual temperature level on every recruit all the time.
Being a JUCO, Craft plays on Saturdays at the College of DuPage in Chicago, so that works out nicely.
Purdue is looking for JUCO help at linebacker because the days of Ja'Whaun Bentley, Danny Ezechukwu and T.J. McCollum — as well as reserve Garrett Hudson — are numbered. They're all seniors. So Jeff Brohm and staff need quick answers at those positions come next season.
At the time Craft was offered, he seemed pretty comfortable with Purdue as an option. So we'll see. Don't be surprised if that comes together pretty quickly, even though Craft hasn't really given anyone else much of a chance to recruit him yet. (BN)
We're telling you: It's early still, but Purdue has a great chance with the local defensive lineman, who may not be inclined to drag things out over the course of the next year.
This is largely about family. Karlaftis is very close with his and that is going to be a significant consideration for him.
But it's also been about Purdue, which has done everything it can do. It's local-star pitch to him has been effective and resonated, defensive line coach Reggie Johnson and Brohm alike have made strong impressions and Purdue's move to get him and fellow 2019 target Jack Kiser on campus a couple Saturday mornings ago for what amounted to a personal unveiling of the new facility was a stroke of recruiting genius, you could say.
Obviously the competition is pretty formidable on Karlaftis. Michigan and Miami are the two others he's put in his top three. Michigan is going to come hard, as it does, and Miami is literally his dream school, but Purdue has put itself in a great, great spot to land what would be a watershed recruit at this stage of its program's history.
Keep an eye out, too, by the way, for Karlaftis' younger brother, Yanni. He's only a freshman, but would seem to have a bright future ahead of him. (BN)
The former Purdue receiver left in the spring and landed at Pierce College in L.A., where he can graduate in December, then head back to D-I at the semester, if everything goes as planned.
Talent was never the issue for Landers, and if Purdue feels it could use another older wide receiver next season, maybe it recruits him again
"Anything can happen," Landers said. "I would love to play with the guys I started my career with. Coach (JaMarcus) Shephard is a great wide receivers coach and I would loved to be coached by him again.
"But time will tell where I end up in December."
Thompson hadn't played football since his freshman year, opting instead to focus on track, where he runs a 10.8 in the 100 and runs consistent 4.4s otherwise.
But he transferred into Central Gwinnett High School this year and they apparently talked him into it, so he's playing now.
Schools caught wind of him from the 7-on-7 and camp circuits and told him they'd watch him early in the season. They have and he's done very well.
He caught eight passes for 143 yards in Game 1, nine for 136 and a touchdown in Game 2, and eight for 122 and another score this past weekend.
Kansas State and Purdue offered him back-to-back last week and Old Dominion and Tulane have offered too.
One to watch, for sure, but one that might take some time to play out. All of this has happened pretty quick for Thompson and recruiting is really just beginning.
We'll have a story on Thompson next week. (BN)
Hedstrom does not have an offer, but things have come together pretty quick and you never know what might happen. Hedstrom has made a strong enough impression on Wisconsin that they've worked to make room for him, offering him a deferred scholarship situation.
If Hedstrom gets offered, his name would be added to a robust board at one of Purdue's need positions: Center.
Purdue has long had an offer out to Emmanuel Dowuona and has never not been the leader for him. Double negative for emphasis. We've heard Tennessee as a potential visit destination but to our knowledge he's been nowhere but USF since July. Not sure where Georgia Tech went in all this. But we know there is pro-Purdue sentiment around him, we know the kid himself likes Purdue and its academics and it might just be a matter of waiting him out.
If not him, then Purdue has Lukas Kisunas booked for an official visit. He has an offer, too, as does Colin Castleton at the end of the month. You have to think the Florida offer that came in recently makes everyone who's not Florida a long shot, but for all we know at this point, Purdue might not even need to host that visit if something happens elsewhere prior.
Purdue's appeal could lie in practicality, the possibility it would clear out its 4 position for him from Day 1 and give him a chance to do a lot of different things, as it's done with 4 men like Robbie Hummel, Caleb Swanigan and Vincent Edwards.
The coaching staff hasn't been dead set on signing a 4 in this 2018 class, in part we'd assume because A) Aaron Wheeler was impressive this summer and B) that depth-chart separation could help with Brooks, who may not be a one-and-done type but isn't far off that caliber of recruit.
Kansas and UCLA are among his national offers and one would think there might be more to come. Of course, Michigan State and Indiana are there, too, but Purdue has his, and his family's, ear and shouldn't be crossed off the list by any means at this point. (BN)
So Purdue will dedicate a good portion of its attention this fall to searching for point guards.
They will probably get involved with Tyger Campbell, the Nashville native who attends LaLumiere, just reclassified from 2019 to 2018 and just reopened from DePaul.
Purdue offered him on the front end before Campbell followed his prep school coach, Shane Heirman, to DePaul, then opened back up just recently.
We'll see. Campbell's prep and grassroots careers and recruitment have all been eventful and we'd imagine things will proceed as such from here. You'd think that if he doesn't wind up at DePaul in the end, the SEC might come hard and though we don't see how Michigan State can possibly take him at this point, there was a time not all that long ago that he appeared to be headed there. That was before the coaching change at LaLumiere.
Of note: New Purdue assistant coach Steve Lutz is well-liked and well-respected at LaLumiere from his interactions there for Creighton and some of the Creighton connections that prep school staff has had. And Campbell's AAU circle is one Purdue knows well and vice versa.
We'd think there'd be some professional ambition on Campbell's part and the part of those around him and while Purdue might not have a reputation as a point guard school, it does have a gaping void to fill at point guard and a clear path to being an immediate starter.
As for other point guards, don't know. Not sure Purdue does.
We do know Purdue looked in July at Jose Placer from Florida, but we don't have the slightest idea if anything's come from it.
