New Purdue HC Darrell Hazell extended an offer this week to Cardinal Newman HS (FL) TE Matt Burke and he is looking to set up an official visit to West Lafayette this weekend.
Burke (6’6 215lbs) is a long and athletic pass catching TE that is finally beginning to see his recruitment go the way he always hoped and the new Purdue offer has him excited about the possibilities with the Boilermakers.
“I am excited about the Purdue offer. They have actually been recruiting me for a while now but after Coach Hazell took over they started to pursue me more and more and now want me to be a part of their program, says Burke.”
“I have been in contact with Coach Maurice for some time now. He is my recruiting coach and has always told me how much he liked my talents. Purdue was one of the first major programs to show interest in me so I am taking a serious interest in them.”
For so long Burke was left wondering if his talents on the football field would go unnoticed by schools on the BCS level. He had received interest from BCS programs but that was about as far as it would go.
After having a big senior year and being invited to the Army All-American game, Burke began to receive more and more interest from BCS schools that earlier this year only wanted to talk but now are talking about offers.
“My senior season was huge for me and getting an invite to the Army All American game was the explanation point that needed to happen to jump start my recruitment,” Burke said. “I have been hearing a lot lately from Purdue, Stanford, Vanderbilt and Wisconsin. Of course Purdue offered but I think I could be close to offers from either Vanderbilt or Wisconsin as well.”
Burke has the plan to take an official visit this weekend to Purdue. He hasn’t been able to make definite plans as of yet but feels good about his chances of being in West Lafayette on Saturday.
“I am already set with everything to see Purdue this weekend but I still need to make exact flight plans before I can officially say I will be there,” he said. “If everything works out as planned then I will be in the state of Indiana this weekend. I am excited about going and I looking forward to meeting the new coaching staff.”
After his visit to Purdue, Burke is looking to make a few more visits before he makes a final decision. His plan is to wait things out and see what all of his options are in the end.
“I probably won’t make my commitment until Signing Day,” Burke said. “I want to take the rest of the time I have to see who offers and what all of my options are.”
“I want to take a few more visits but I am not sure who I will visit as of yet. Vanderbilt was supposed to visit me today at school but couldn’t make it, so I may see them soon. My coach says a few more schools should be stopping by sometime this week. I am grateful for the newfound interest so I am just taking time to see what happens and enjoy the rest of my process.”
Offers: Boise St, Fla International, Georgia St, Harvard, Marshall, UMass, MTSU, Princeton, Purdue, San Diego St and Western Michigan. Schools Interested: Duke, Miami FL, Mich St, Maryland, Minnesota, Miss St, UNC, Rutgers, USF, Stanford, UCF, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest and Wisconsin.
Chris Smith – SEC Rec. Director/XoFan.com
