Ricardo Allen has been called one of the best DBs out of the state of Florida for '09

Why would Coach Hope thank an underachieving former blue chip, a high school football coach in Daytona, Florida, an over-achieving 5th-year starting quarterback and a lunch pail defensive end at the same time?

Because they all played a part in one of the biggest recruiting coups for Purdue football in recent memory.

We talked about how big of a recruiting weekend the aOSU game was for our Boilers and the future, and before this week, there was only one verbal that came directly as a result of that game and the atmosphere around it...That's no longer the case.

A quartet of Mainland High School (Daytona Beach, FL) visited God's country a few weeks ago for the upset of the Bucknuts- three Seniors, one Junior...and all of them liked what they saw. They made their affinity for Coach Hope's Boilers a bit more formal with their verbal commitments.

I'm not a big star-ratings guy...I like to see offers from big programs more than I care about those ratings...but regardless of what you like, there's something for everyone in this group:

WR Chevin Davis is the least-heralded of the three, but has offers from Cincy, Nebraska, MSU and others. CB Ricardo Allen is a high-three-star with offers from Michigan, Arkansas, Wake Forest and others. And WR O.J. Ross has a four-star rating and offers from UNC, Texas Tech and South Carolina. If nothing else, perhaps Ross can return kicks and punts next season?

Welcome aboard, gentlemen...and nice job, Ross Ade, Coach Hope, Coach Nord and Co. for getting these guys on board!

Warning: if you're at work, turn the volume down.

Keep in mind- these highlights are from his Junior season...