(This article originally appeares on www.orangeandbluenews.com.)
Darius Purcell, a 6-foot, 215-pound safety from Chicago Hubbard High School, said he had his eye on the Illini from the beginning, and didn't waste any time promising his services to Coach Ron Zook.
"Last fall around Thanksgiving, my recruiting coach, Coach Mitchell, called me and told me that he was going to put me on the phone with Coach Zook, who was going to offer me a scholarship," Purcell said. "I was like, ooh, I'm gonna do it. I committed on the spot."
Purcell is a member of the vaunted group of Chicago preps headed south next year, a list which includes Martez Wilson and Miami Thomas. Earlier in the week, Thomas, a cornerback, jokingly expressed "heartbreak" that fellow future Illini Martez Wilson had been the only offensive player to score on him all year. According to Purcell, he should have been on the list as well.
"Miami got a pass interference call trying to guard me," Purcell joked. "Yeah, Miami was holding me."
Purcell also said that he considered a game where his Hubbard squad took on Martez Wilson's team was one that put him on the map.
"It really went down in that game," said Purcell Thursday. "He came across the middle a couple times, and I made him drop the ball twice. But it was fun. Martez and I went to the same day care."
The Chicago crew does indeed boast good relationships with one another, and according to Purcell, the winning most of them experienced in high school isn't going to change.
"We've all been winning a lot, and in my mind, that's not really gonna change," said Purcell. "We're going to keep winning, go to bowl games, win a Big Ten championship, and go to the national championship That is why we are all going to Illinois to accomplish those goals."
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