Sports

Hoover High Quarterback Austin Appleby Gives Purdue Verbal Commitment

The Hoover High School senior, who suffered a knee injury last year, has his sights set on Purdue University in Indiana

When we talked to Austin Appleby this past February, the student — then a junior and star quarterback — was trying to bounce back from a season-ending knee injury from last year.

He told North Canton Patch he was checking out schools and had been offered scholarships from both Toledo and Kent State University, but he planned to visit several college campuses this summer and take official recruiting visits in the fall.

"I want to go somewhere, earn my spot and play," Appleby said then.

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Turns out, Appleby gave Purdue University (in West Lafayette, IN) a verbal commitment Wednesday, according to a blog from the Journal and Courier, a Gannett-owned newspaper that covers Lafayette, IN, and surrounding communities.

Here's what Hoover High football coach Don Hertler Jr. told the Journal and Courier: 

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"I’ve never seen a kid rehab any harder and do all the things he needed to do. He missed basketball and baseball season but it gave him a chance to really work on his body. His upper body is catching up to his lower body.

“The team doctors at Purdue checked him out on his first unofficial visit and he came out 100 percent. A lot of people wanted to see if his knee was an issue. That’s why it’s been a tough process.”

You can find more information in this blog.


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