Ohio DE checks out Illinois

Plain City (Ohio) Jonathan Alder defensive end Brandon Purdum had several impressive showings at summer camps, and earned two scholarship offers from Mid-American Conference schools as a result. The 6-4, 240-pound Purdum would like to add to his scholarship totals, and visited a Big Ten program earlier this month to gauge their interest.

Toledo and Ohio University were the first two scholarship offers for Purdum, who earned first team all-district and honorable mention all-Ohio honors as a junior.

"Those are still the only two offers that I have," Purdum reported. "Illinois, I went up there for a visit last Saturday and they said they want to watch a couple of my first games, see how I do and then they will make a decision whether or not they want [to offer]."

Purdum had been in contact with the coaching staff at Illinois for a good portion of the summer, but this was his first chance to see their campus.

"They invited me up to come see a practice, so I went up and watched a scrimmage," Purdum reported. "I liked it a lot, honestly, and it was one of the better schools I've been to. I got to talk to the d-line coach. My recruiting coach is Coach [Jeff] Brohm and I got to talk with him and Coach [Ron] Zook. They were real nice and made me feel welcome."

Purdum came out of his meeting with the Illinois coaching staff with a positive feel for the Illini and is hoping they decide to offer this fall.

"They don't know if they want me for offense or defense," Purdum said. "They know I am an athletic kid, they know I can play and that's what they are looking for."

The initial plan for Purdum was to have a decision made by mid-season. That could still happen, but the increased interest from schools like Illinois could put those plans on hold.

"Right now I want to see what Illinois does, and if they do decide to offer me and keep going with me, then I will probably wait," Purdum said. "But if they don't, I will probably wait just a couple more weeks to see if any other schools talk to me and if not, then I will probably make my decision."

If the decision comes down to Ohio and Toledo, Purdum is not sure what direction he will go. He has strong interest in both programs.

"At this point I am still talking to both coaches," he said. "I want to go see one of their games and see what the atmosphere is around game time. I know I am going to be going down to OU to see the OU-Toledo game, and with Toledo I am going to try to work it in to see one of their big games."

Purdum, who was so impressive as a defensive end at summer camps, is playing almost exclusively on the offensive line for Jonathan Alder this fall. He helped Jonathan Alder defeat Thomas Worthington 24-0 this past weekend in his team's season opener.

"I only got three defensive reps and I got two tackles," Purdum said. "I feel I had a good offensive day, though."