Hazell's First BIG "Get"

If you come to Boiled Sports for recruiting news, you're probably like me- you don't like getting too up or down about an athlete before he's officially a Boilermaker...But I've decided to break my own rule today and talk about a verbal commit.

Denzel Ward is 6'9" and only  285 pounds as he gets ready to head into his Senior season in Bradenton, FL.  But the fact that he's already a mountain of a man isn't what makes his verbal commitment large for Coach Hazell.

I am officially committed to Purdue University, it's over. #Boilermakers #boilerup #believe pic.twitter.com/QTnzFOtWsF
— Denzel Ward (@_DW75) June 21, 2013

Normando Harris and Akeem Hunt welcome Ward to Purdue

Before coming to Purdue for a visit this week, Ward was a lean toward Florida.  He had the Gators leading the likes of aOSU, Oklahoma and a few others.  While major programs were on board for this big OT, the recruiting services didn't have him as a four-star...neither Scout nor Rivals had him higher than a three-star.  And while this post is kind of inconsistent with the way we regard verbal commits, we're very consistent in our belief that stars and rankings aren't as impressive as big time programs and coaches extending offers...and Ward definitely had that.

If things go according to his plan right now, Ward will join the talented and green RS Frosh OL class that will play a huge role in Hazell's blueprint for success...make no mistake, that this verbal, while not guaranteed to a Boiler just yet, is a big deal.

Hazell had started out the recruiting class pretty slowly with the verbal commitment from some undersized, but talented WRs that mostly had MAC offers...but last week things turned a bit as Hazell had a few more guys commit to the gold and black after camping in God's country.

Some even bigger fish are waiting to be fried as a few of Hazell's needs, WR and LB, both could be fulfilled by players with huge upside and some pretty good offers competing for their services.

Recruiting is kind of an ugly business.  Many have talked about how covering kids when they're 14 and 15 years old only helps create megalomaniacal pre-adults who become entitled men.  Is talking about a 17 year old's plans for college, when you're 20 years older than him and have never met him, a little sick? Sure.  BUT, the focus of this is really on Hazell's recruiting plan...he sent out his coaches to make contact and is now trying to get these guys on-board, in person, in the shadows of the house that Drew built (kinda).

CEO Hazell's early returns are already becoming evident.

2014 Big Ten Football Schedule Welcomes Rutgers Rudely

Rutgers has had its share of challenges and missteps lately. They have to get their sh-t together for a variety of reasons, one of the less top-of-mind being the fact that they have just over a year before they jump to the Big Ten conference -- assuming the conference doesn't excommunicate them before they even arrive.

The conventional wisdom has been that while RU basketball was going to be pummeled (just like being in the Big East, only worse), their football program had advanced to the point where they could compete in the Big Ten.

Of course, they don't have Greg Schiano any longer and the jury is really still out on Kyle Flood. I have RU alum friends who are convinced that there was a possibility that the RU athletics department was going to wait things out and then once they were officially a Big Ten school instead of an afterthought pursue more "big time" coaches. Who knows. Mike Rice's behavior then was made public and Rutgers made one disastrous move after another. For now, since Flood doesn't appear to have abused any of his players, he's probably safe.

What's not safe, though, is Rutgers in 2014. The Big Ten football schedule was released and RU gets welcomed to the Big Ten with a four-game stretch that could make any lower-tier Big Ten program shudder. From October 4 to November 1, they go vs Michigan, at Ohio State, at Nebraska, vs Wisconsin. Whee! They also have PSU and MSU on that schedule. Have a ball, Rutgers.

Purdue, incidentally, has a conference schedule that goes like this for 2014: vs OMHR (do we have to retire that now that it's no longer a protected rivalry?), at Illinois, vs MSU, at Minn, at Nebraska, vs Wisconsin, vs Northwestern, at IU.

Purdue gets neither of the newbies, so the BS New Jersey tailgate will have to wait. Also of note, RU and Maryland will play in their final conference games of the season against one another -- perhaps they will be each other's forced rival. 

We now return you to your regularly schedule sneaker and IndyCar content.