The former two sport high school athlete is up today.
#93 Sam Goellner
Defensive End
6’3”, 225
Redshirt Freshman
St. Louis, Missouri
Projection: Depth on Defensive Line
Goellner comes to Purdue from Ladue Horton Watkins high school where he was a two sport athlete competing in basketball and football. In HS he played both small forward and point guard for his high school team. At the age of 18 he was listed at 6’3” and 210 pounds so since then he’s gained 15 pounds. In HS football he played both tight end and outside linebacker. His HS finished first in their district his sophomore year with a 9-2 (5-0) record. However, over the next two years they combined to go 12-9. That will get you to bowl eligibility but didn’t place them higher than third in the district.
Assuming that the weights are accurate on the Purdue sports website it seems fair to say that Goellner will need to add some weight and strength in order to see the field at the defensive end position. It would be much better for him to be in the 240-260 range so while 225 isn’t that far off, he’s going to be going against some rather large human beings on offensive lines and it would be great if his weight and strength were similar. Sure, you can rely on quickness, but it’s hard without a lot of strength and weight.
Goellner will likely spend the season looking toward his future by bulking up and learning a new playbook under head coach Barry Odom.