Chicago (Ill.) Julian offensive tackle Denzel Ward attended his first-ever one-day camp last Thursday at Purdue.
The 6-foot-8, 290-pound Ward is batting 1.000, as the class-of-2014 prospect left West Lafayette with his first scholarship offer.
The younger cousin of Purdue incoming freshman Robert Gregory, Ward is excited about the Boilermakers program. He got a chance to talk to head coach Danny Hope and offensive line coach Shawn Clark about the scholarship.
“It’s a school where they keep it like a family,” Ward said. “They keep everything real close. I was doing research on the alumni that went there and I saw Drew Brees. I asked about him and they said his offensive line that year, all went to the NFL except one, and they all stayed close and they’re all like brothers. The coaches there look at everyone like they’re their own son, and that’s what I like about Purdue.”
Besides Purdue, Ward is drawing early interest from Illinois, Iowa and Michigan State. On Monday, he got a chance to work with the Illini assistant coach Luke Butkus on Monday at a satellite camp in the Chicago area.
“Got a lot of advice on things I should work on going into next season,” Ward said.
Next season, college coaches will likely be drooling over Ward.
- Steve Wiltfong
- National Recruiting Writer - 247Sports