Lane has a good visit to Purdue

East Orange (N.J.) Paterson Catholic linebacker Al-Ghaffaar Lane took his first official visit of the season this weekend with teammate Malcolm Harris to Purdue. The 6-foot-4, 202-pounder had a good trip to Indiana.

"It was a good trip and I enjoyed myself," he said. "The school is huge and right outside of Indianapolis. It's a great campus and nice city around there.

"I got there on Friday night and was off to the races. I went and checked out the campus, saw the facilities, met with the players and coaches, talked to an academic advisor and went to a couple parties. Basically I mostly hung out with the team and they showed me a lot of love."

While on the visit, Lane was able to spend a lot of time with the coaching staff.

"I was able to talk with coach Anarumo. I liked him a lot, he's a real good guy," he said. "I also talked to the linebacker coach, Mark Hagen. It was very interesting talking to him because he told me exactly what to watch out for from Minnesota and they did exactly what he said. It was crazy to see how much they knew and all the film they watch. He also went on to tell me all the NFL linebackers they produce which was nice to hear.

"Of course, I got to talk with coach Tiller too. He's my man and a real down-to-earth guy. Talking to him I wouldn't have thought he runs a national program because he's such an easy guy to talk to and cares about his players. He said that they have no phony majors at Purdue. They prepare you for life with a real major after football. Finally, he discussed that there is a junior in my spot and they are looking for me to fill that void and I'd likely play as a redshirt freshman. That is a major factor in my decision and I was happy to hear that."

On the visit, the three-star prospect took in the game between the Golden Gophers and the Boilermakers.

"That game shouldn't have been close, but it was due to penalties," he said. "It was a great game and exactly what I expected out of Big Ten football. It really showed the character of their team to win a close game."

Lane wanted to rate his trip a 10, but couldn't realistically do that.

"I want to give it a 10, but it was my first visit and looks really good," he said. "Realistically I think it's around an eight because nothing can be perfect, but it's as high as it'll get. They had a good game and are a good program with a lot of bowl history. I enjoyed myself."

Now the No. 20 player in New Jersey is looking at a couple other schools for officials.

"In December I think Malcolm Harris, Markeece Preston and I are going to go to Cincinnati," he said. "I'm also very interested in going to West Virginia. I don't have an offer from them, but I'm sending tape since they want to evaluate me more."