Apparently we are not allowed to have a quiet offseason. Antavian Edison is the newest Boiler to join the police blotter as he was arrested on a concealed weapon charge at his home in Florida. Details are scarce at this time, so we will have to wait and see what the weapon was and why exactly he had it.

He joins Ralph Bolden as offseason arrest buddies after Bolden got booted from Where Else? I do like how that bar sets up for running jokes, but it is starting to annoy me. I think we need to ban that bar for student athletes.

T-Mill will have more on this story, but I can not imagine that Danny Hope is going to be too pleased. He's kind of erratic in his punishments, but I think Edison might get hard for this. This isn't a run of the mill arrest in college, this is serious business. I hope that Hope is tough in the punishment for Edison, but I do not think he's going to get booted from the team. I could be wrong though.

What do you know, the first Purdue football recruit for 2013 is a quarterback. Shocking, right? Danny Etling is the newst member of the Boiler family and he comes from a Purdue background. HIs cousin is recently departed linebacker Joe Holland. Nice job by Holland getting Etling to come in to the squad.

We beat out OHMR for him, which should drive the folks in Iowa City nuts. As for me, I'm pretending to be angry while enjoying the Purdue dominance on the recruiting front. It always helps to have plenty of quarterbacks, especially when we go through them like toilet paper.

Etling will most likely be battling with Austin Appleby when his time comes. I would imagine a redshirt, but who knows? The 11 quarterback offense could be on the way. I know for a fact that I would watch it.

Etling will be a senior at Terre Haute South Vigo high school and is a pro style QB. He has the size at 6'3 and 200 pounds to be a good guy for us at the next level.

Recruiting never stops. Remember that. Let's welcome Danny to the fold.

It hurts right now. All of this hurts. This has played out too many times before. Purdue athletics is on the cusp of an amazing win, but the deal just can't be closed.

The guys played amazing basketball for 37 and a half minutes tonight. It was the final 2.5 that killed us. A desperation 3 by DJ that clanged right to a Kansas player. Lewis turning it over leading to a fast break and a Kansas lead. Robbie getting a beautiful look and leaving it just short. Ryne's desperation heave just a fraction too strong.

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40 minutes. That's how long a college basketball game is. For whatever reason, our Boilers failed to realize that in both contests against the Hoosiers. The first half was an abomination. I stated in my preview that we needed to shut down the perimeter and stay composed.

Neither of those things happened in the first half. IU shot over 56 percent from deep in the first half, as we decided to double or triple team Baby Jesus. This left Matt Roth wide open to snipe us for nine points in the first half. Down by 15, Matty at least got the team to show some fire in second half.

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This won't be a long preview, but a preview is needed nonetheless. Our rolling Boilermakers travel to the enemy down south to take on Jesus and his disciples.

T-Mill normally packs this thing full of stats and other goodies, but I'm not exactly T-Mill quality. My preview can be summed up as this:

1. Don't Wilt: There will be times when Indiana makes a run and the crowd in Assembly Hall gets wild. The key is to not collapse under the pressure. Each team will make runs, it's how basketball works. Keeping composed throughout will make it much easier.

2. Contain the Perimeter: Make IU beat us inside. Our perimeter defense has been sketchy at times and controlling their three point attempts are huge. We can't let Jordy Hulls or Matt Roth snipe us from outside. Run shooters off the line or get a hand in their face. No open shots.

If we can do these two things, we have a good chance of coming out of Bloomington with a win. We are rolling right now and let's not change that. We are in the Dance and now we are playing for seeding. Let's get a 6 or a 7 and avoid a one seed for as long as possible.

Brent Yarina of BTN posed an interesting question. If all players had to stay 4 years, what would be the best team you could put on the court? I decided to go a different way with this.

Dating back to 2000, what would be your all decade team? Starting lineup matters, which means positions must match up. After the jump, I'll give you mine and the explanation

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Addition by subtraction. Such a simple phrase. I haven't seen that thrown around about Kelsey Barlow until right now. No, it didn't come from a blogger or an angry fan. It came from a player.

Ryne Smith calls Kelsey Barlow dismissal 'addition by subtraction' for #Purdue.

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As you know by now, I'm the anti-thesis to T-Mill at the site. His optimism clashes with my more reserved pessimism. The *17 point loss to IU basically confirms what I've said all year. We are a NIT team, because we play like one. NCAA tournament teams don't lose the ability to shoot for over 10 minutes a game. Play like that and you will lose 90 percent of the time.

17 point loss is such crap too. It was a 4 point game with 2:30 to go or close to it. Hopefully people don't just look at the box score and think the team got ran out of the gym, but I digress.

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You can take this as either a good thing or a bad thing. Robert Marve will return to the Purdue Boilermakers next year. The quarterback was granted his sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA. Marve has been bit by the injury bug both of his seasons at Purdue, but he should be healthy next season.

That raises an even more interesting question. Who exactly is going to play QB next season? We bring back Marve, Terbush and a healthy Rob Henry. Throw in Sean Robinson and we can play a quarterback each quarter of the game. Opponents will never see it coming!

I think that that Henry should win the job if he's healthy. I also wouldn't mind a possible transition to tight end for him, just to get his athleticism on the field. Either way, he's going to be a factor.

All in all, I want us to decide on one quarterback for the season. Keep it simple and keep it fun. Naming one guy as the go to QB allows chemistry to build for the entire offense. It's going to be an interesting off-season as we look to keep the progress from this season moving.

I'll let T-Mill handle the actual recap but I have some major gripes I want to air.

Zone Offense: I'm not sure what our coaching staff is doing, but the lack of an actual zone offense is maddening. Running around the perimeter is not an offense. Chucking threes and praying they go in is not an offense. Actually having some set pieces would open up our offense and make those lulls disappear.

Matt Painter: I'm not going to say "Fire Matt Painter" but I am going to say "WTF dude." How can you let your team show up that flat? The team was energized for about five minutes. Five whole minutes. The game is 40 minutes long. Not exactly a good ratio. I expect some unpredictability but losing by 20 to a crappy PSU team is not an option ever. Worst loss of Painter's Purdue career, hands down. At least that Wofford team made the NCAA Tournament a couple years later.

The Seniors: Robbie showed up, sort of. Lewis and Ryne? Whole different story. I have never been more disgusted watching the leaders of the team play. Ryne looked it was his sophomore year again and Lewis clearly needs a break. He just looks beat up. I would say rest him for a couple games, but that would certainly guarantee us no shot at the Dance.

It's a pretty damning loss. Can't say it anyway else. According to Ben Jones on Twitter, Painter is letting it all fly in his press conference. That's good to hear. Sunday is a must-win. Lose that one and say hello to the NIT. Maybe we'll get a home game.

If you can't tell, those are the remnants of about seven Sharpies and pens. Plastic strewn everywhere. The life of a Purdue fan.

Things are looking up Boiler fans. We got ourselves a nice shiny 4-star recruit. Ryan Watson is his name and rushing the passer is his game. The man from Olney, Maryland picked us over Pittsburgh.

He had offers from a lot of other schools and is a solid 4-star. He's the 17th ranked defensive end in the nation and at 6'3 and 270 pounds, he's ready to play right away. Our pass rush struggled this season but Ryan Russell had a great bowl game and he and Watson could give us a great push off the edge.

The curse of the 4-star is well-known to us fans. We haven't a player that has truly lived up to the 4-star status in God knows how long. For as goofy as Danny Hope can be during practice and on game day, he is a heck of a recruiter. This will give our class a MAJOR bump. Top 5 in the Big 10 anyone? I'm gonna say so.

I found junior year highlights and I was impressed. First team all state as a junior is not too shabby. He put some VICIOUS hits on the quarterback and running back. He has a nose for the ball. This is a great get for Purdue and a great overall week. Little Caesar Bowl win on Tuesday, win the Big 10 opener on Wednesday and get Watson into the fold on Thursday.

Great end to 2011!

Ryan Watson - 2010 Junior Football Highlights - Good Counsel HS - Maryland (via 1ElmoSuper)

Well, I will say this. Danny Hope sure knows how to bring recruits into the program. Earlier today, ANOTHER high school senior decided to throw his hat in the ring to play for Purdue. James Prince, a three star tackle from Texas, is the 23rd member of the recruiting class of 2012.

Prince comes from Texas power Southlake Carroll High School where he played offensive tackle. At 6'6 and 258 pounds, Prince will have to add some weight before he becomes a viable lineman. I do find him to be almost the perfect height for a left tackle however. I'm not what side Hope wants him to play on and I assume Hope won't know either.

Prince is the fifth offensive lineman to join the class. Say what you want to about Hope, but we have options coming in last year. Prince certainly won't hurt our class rankings and might even bump us up a bit. It's a very solid class with a lot of potential to have starters early in careers.

Let's hope Prince gets his first victory as an official commit tomorrow. For the love of crappy Little Caesar's Pizza everywhere, let's get the first bowl win of Hope's career.

On the day we officially signed one JUCO and lost another one, we added another recruit. Jason King confirmed his commitment to Purdue via his Facebook page. King is a two star recruit from Arkansas and he had a bunch of offers from smaller schools. The best school that we beat for his services would happen to be Louisiana Tech.

He's listed on Rivals as a guard but he played tackle this past year. It never hurts to have offensive line depth, especially with the graduation of some of the key members of our line.

On the JUCO front, we officially signed Greg Latta while losing Steffon Martin. Martin visited Arkansas and decommitted soon after. He also has a visit to Texas A&M scheduled. Latta is a defensive end who should help tremendously.

Let's face it, we need all the defensive linemen we can get. We need another member for the Den of D-Ends. It's almost the only tradition that we have left these days.

Lots of tidbits in one post, but with signing day creeping up on us, expect recruiting news to be fast and furious over the next month or so.

Pulaski Academy RT Jason King Highlights (via pulaskiacademy)

Enough of this IU talk, let's get back to talking about Purdue football. Another quarterback is coming aboard for 2012 in the form of Bilal Marshall. The 3 star QB from Dade Christian in Florida decommitted from Kansas and switched to Purdue this morning. He apparently doesn't believe in "decided schematic advantages."

Marshall has had a lot of offers and a decent amount of interest. I don't see him playing next year unless he switches to wide receiver, but with Aloyis Gray doing the same thing, I can see a redshirt in Marshall's future. Then again, we could easily go to the 4 quarterback system with Henry, (maybe) Marve, TerBush, and Robinson with Marshall, Gray and Austin Appleby waiting in the wings.

He's a dual threat kind of a guy, which fits into our scheme (I think). Considering it changes on a whim, I'm not sure exactly what we are looking for in qb's these days.

His highlights look good, as he can actually throw on the move. Marshall adds to an already good recruiting class by Purdue standards, so the Danny Hope plan may be starting to bear fruits.

Bilal Marshall QB 2012 (via dcsbb)

It wasn't pretty for the middle part of the game, but Purdue was able to pull away at the end.  Games like this are hard to get up for, but a quick start built a lead that Coppin State never really threatened.  Robbie Hummel carried the load, notching 24 points and 8 rebounds.  The Johnsons led the bench charge as Terone added 11 while Anthony added 10.  Jacob Lawson had an impressive game off the bench, scoring 6 points and grabbing 8 rebounds.


Even though we won by 21, I'm still worried about the amount of 3's this team is taking.  Today, the Boilers went 12 for 34 from downtown.  34 three attempts!  That is insane.  If we run into a cold shooting night, we are going to be in a boatload of trouble.  However, Ryne Smith seems to be in the groove that he was at the start of the Big 10 season last year and added 4 more threes to his total today.

Lawson continues to impress me and I will be shocked if he isn't starting by the time Big 10 play rolls around.  Sandi Marcius is still extremely raw and is next to useless against a zone defense.  Travis Carroll seems to regress every game and I have doubts about his long term projections as a Boiler.  Lawson adds athleticism to the post position and he looks more polished than JaJuan Johnson did at this point in his career.

Overall, I'm not going to complain about a win, especially a 21 point win.  We can all see what needs to be worked on and I expect Coach Painter to get things righted.  Miami comes to town on Tuesday, which should provide for an interesting matchup.  I expect us to win and get things straightened out before our next test at Xavier.

I leave you now to prep for the Bucket Game.  Remember:  Get the Bucket, get a bowl.  Let's do it.

Due to a crushing bout of laziness, I finally got around to writing this piece.  As many of you know, I made the trip for the most hated rivalry ever on Saturday with the BHGP contingent.  This was also my first experience at Purdue, so I was looking forward to it a lot.  The weather was a lot more dreary than I could have hoped, but we arrived in West Lafayette with no problems.  Well, no problems until the game behind.

Now I'm not going to run anyone down, but the fan support was lukewarm at best and crappy at its worst.  Going to games in Kinnick spoils me and I've never seen a college stadium that empty in person.  My guess is a combination of bad weather, bad football, and indifference to this game were the main factors but still.  I could hear the BHGP chants over any of the rest of the crowd noise, except the IU Sucks chant.

If you happened to be watching the game, you could have easily noticed me in the endzone in the Iowa crowd.  I was the guy either with his face in his hand or shaking his head sadly.  The section we were in was empty and I've been in more lively morgues.  I love Purdue athletics as much as the next guy and the fan display was disheartening.

The game itself is what I had come to expect.  Two not so good football teams playing some not so good football.  However, the tailgate that T-Mill hosted after the game was excellent.  The Boilermaker Tailgate chili was phenomenal and the crisp taste of an icy cold Yuengling hit the spot.

Maybe I need to make a trip to Mackey for the great Purdue atmosphere, because Ross-Ade doesn't have it.

I can say this, however.  I started bawling when Sean Matti's parents walked out.  Easily one of the saddest things I've experienced in person.  I was really hoping we could pull out a win for his memory, but I guess the coaches had different ideas.  Just remember this, Get the Bucket, Get a Bowl.   It's time for the real hate week so let's do it.

I figured it was about time I chimed in on the most epic rivalry known to man.  If you can't tell by the user name, I firmly sit on both sides of it.  A Boiler fan for life (don't ask how that happens when I've lived in Iowa my whole life, because I don't know either) and a junior at the University of Iowa, this game probably affects me more than most. If you don't believe me, ask BoilerPaulie. I did my best impersonation of a chameleon at the basketball game at Carver-Hawkeye in March.

Pleasantries aside, it's time for a breakdown of what the Boilers can expect from the Hawkeyes on Saturday. Some of you may know this already, but Iowa isn't exactly up to their normal standards.  The vaunted defense has been non-existent and the offense has been inconsistent from week to week. After the jump, I'll give you my 5 things to look for that will have the biggest impact on the game.

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Commit number 22 for 2012 comes in the form of Tyreece Jiles.  Jiles was a soft verbal to North Carolina, but saw that the grass was greener at Purdue.   The three-star cornerback out of Cape Coral, Florida will add some depth and speed to our secondary.

However, I project Jiles to redshirt next season.  It has nothing to do with his skills, but when you combine the depth we have at cornerback, plus the fact Jiles weighs all of 165 pounds, he sounds like a guy who needs to hit a college weight room for a year.

Highlights were scarce for Jiles, but I did see some footage of him at the Tampa Badger 7 on 7 DB Camp.  His clip is the very first one in the video and he shows pretty good ball recognition.  In other news, Deon Bush also makes an appearance if you want to look at him.

Jiles can hopefully replicate the career of current CB Ricardo Allen.  Neither man is that big, but heart and determination allow Allen to maximize his skill set, despite his stature.  I hope Jiles can do the same thing.

Welcome to the fold, Tyreece!

Tampa Badger 7 on 7 DB Highlights - Elite Scouting (check description) (via EliteScouting)

Well, it looks the recent good will around the program has landed us another recruit.  Greg Latta, a JUCO from College of the Desert, committed to the program earlier.  Latta is a tight end at his JUCO, but he was recruited to Purdue to play defensive end.

Latta started playing football only two years ago.  He didn't even play in high school.  The fact that he was able to turn two years of JUCO ball into a Division 1 scholarship is impressive.  Either that or he's a giant reach.

His measurables are great.  At 6'6 and 255 pounds, Latta is an impressive human being.  He was a All-League player in high school basketball.  In a related note, he seems to be extremely intelligent.  A 3.9 GPA plus a 1790 SAT is EXTREMELY impressive.

We seem to always produce top-flight defensive ends.  With his basketball background, Latta could be impressive in using that athleticism to become a great pass rusher.  He may be a giant project, but I have no idea.

This commitment can go either way, but I wish him the best of luck here at Purdue.  Hopefully he becomes the next member of the "Den of D-Ends" in the NFL.

Greg Latta TE football highlights 2010.wmv (via Bigfoot695)

Just in case of a malfunction, Travis asked me to make sure this thread was operational at 11 am CT (12 pm for everyone not from Iowa).  Travis will be at the game and I will be tailgating for the Northwestern-Iowa contest.  It's up to you, the commenters, to keep it running smoothly.

Good luck, and God speed.

And thanks to Riley for doing the above post. I was able to cobble together something and a brief internet connection (two cans and some string) to chime in. I am on a backup laptop since mine is getting repaired at the moment (and, ironically, I can no longer use what I was getting it repaired for). I am sitting in lower level end zone seats and keeping the usual road trip diary. Look for tweets as the game progresses. Thanks again to Riley, who could be braving a full-fledged panic in Iowa City today if they lose to Northwestern. So get out your rubber hunting boots, put away your airsoft sniper rifles, and look for some cheap airsoft sniper rifles. It's football time.

cameron posey junior highlights (via camposey8)

Purdue's class of 2012 now stands 20 strong.  Cameron Posey, a wide receiver from Florida, committed to the program earlier today.  Posey has only punted in his senior year due to his off-season wrist surgery.


The 3-star player from American Heritage School looks to bring height to our receiving core.  Standing at 6'2, Posey would be one of the taller wideouts on our roster.  It would be nice to finally some size we can throw jump balls to instead of those stupid bubble screens.

I see Posey as a redshirt candidate next season.  We are extremely deep at wideout and the need for a freshman that doesn't possess a standout skill.  A year bulking up and adding speed would benefit Posey tremendously.

I guess the Notre Dame debacle hasn't scared kids away.  Maybe they think they can step in right away and contribute.  This is the third person to commit since that game, so maybe it wasn't as awful as it seemed.  Wait, yes it was.

I'd like to welcome Posey to the Purdue program.  Hopefully he isn't punished to blocking bubble screens his entire career.

Looks like our luck with four star players has continued.  Calvin Smith, the transfer from New Mexico, is no longer on the roster.  Smith joins a long line of 4 or 5 star players that have come to Purdue, only to flame out spectacularly.  Coach Hope addressed this today, saying that it just didn't work out.

I'm not sure why it didn't work out, but I do have a couple of guesses.  The first guess is that Smith is one of those kids whose talent overshadows their better judgment.  Maybe he didn't want to sit out the rest of the year.  Maybe he realized he jumped on the Titanic and wanted out as fast as possible.

I really shouldn't try to blame Hope for this, but it all goes back to the man up top.  With the locker room turmoil developing and ex-players chiming in, Hope has lost control of the team.  I think the writing is on the wall for Hope.  I just hope that Burke mans up and fires him.  The regression of this team is stunning.  We need a new voice.  A voice that actually knows how to gameplan.

Looks we added another guy to the fold.   How long he stays here after the impending mutiny, no one knows.  Cameron Cermin is a lineman from Texas and he looks like he could be a big factor in the future.

Cermin is 6'5 and 291 pounds, which means he's almost college sized already.  Once we get him on campus, he will surely add to that.  Him and Jordan Roos could be a great pair of tackles for years to come.  Hopefully he's also flexible so we could play him all over the line.  Depth everywhere would never hurt.

I watched a bit of Cermin's video and I liked what I saw.  He looks like a road grader and opened up huge holes.  Not only did he pancake block people, he added some syrup to it.  For those who are unaware of what that means, Cermin does a good job of laying on the guy he just knocked the ground, which prevents him from helping out with the rest of the play.

Hopefully the turmoil hitting the program doesn't discourage him from coming to Purdue.  Welcome to the fold, Cameron.  We certainly have a place for you.

Cameron Cermin 2010 Highlights (via AMCTigers)

File this under the unexpected column.  After the craptacular showing the Boilers put on Saturday, the recruits weren't scared away.  Dion Witty, a three star recruit from Florida, committed after his visit last night.  Why he would jump on the Titanic after it hit the iceberg, I'll never know.

Luckily for me, I only saw about three plays yesterday.  Nothing seemed to go right and the secondary was not immune.  The 5'11 Witty can add to our secondary right away next year.  Although he isn't super big, he has a decent list of offers.  Wisconsin also tried to get him and we know how good they are.

Right now, we need all the help we can get.  Witty can add that.  Hopefully all the others in attendance noticed our need for talent all over.  I do have one question, however.  If Danny Hope meets the unemployment line, will any of these guys stay committed?  Does the cycle start over and do we continue to be stuck in the mud?  I honestly can't answer that.

Welcome to the program Dion.  We need everything you can bring to the table.

Dion Witty #9 DB Coral Springs H.S. C/O 2012 (via EliteScouting)