Boilers to take field for
tribute ceremony
By Paul Trembacki
Sports
Editor
Purdue will be on the field for what ought to be
a moving pre-game ceremony in the Metrodome Saturday.
Minnesota will honor the memory of Tom Burnett,
who was aboard the Boeing 757 that crashed in Pennsylvania on Sept.
11.
Burnett was a quarterback at Jefferson High School
in Bloomington, Minn., in the late '70s and 1980 and attended the University
of Minnesota.
The 38-year-old executive at a medical research
company will be honored with a moment of silence that will be followed
by the national anthem in Minnesota's first game since the terrorist
attacks on the country.
"They asked if we would participate as a team,
which certainly we were glad to do," Purdue coach Joe Tiller said.
Although no one can be sure, there is speculation
that Burnett and three others aboard United Flight 93 from Newark, N.J.,
to San Francisco rushed the cockpit of the plane, assaulted the hijackers
and caused the plane to crash in a field 80 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.
Many in Washington believe the plane was headed
toward the nation's capital.
Saturday's 11:10 a.m. contest between Minnesota
(1-1) and Purdue (1-1), the first football in the Metrodome since the
attacks, will be preceded by several pre-game salutes, just as Purdue's
first game back was.
Tiller said Purdue didn't stand on the field for
"The Star-Spangled Banner" and other musical tributes before its 33-14
win over Akron Saturday in Ross-Ade Stadium only because the team was
instructed to.
"I know that's been something that's been discontinued
over the years and I think it's because of the length of the pre-game
festivities and what not," Tiller said.
No time to complain
With the Notre Dame game postponed to Dec. 1 in
the aftermath of terrorist attacks on the country, Purdue has only two
games' experience heading into conference play. This is the first season
since 1996 that Purdue hasn't had at least three non-conference games
to begin the season.
In each of Tiller's first four years at Purdue,
the Boilers played at least three non-conference games before getting
into the Big Ten portion of their schedule.
"It's another one of those uncontrollable factors,
and whenever you're dealing with something such as this you waste a
lot of energy worrying about it," Tiller said.
Another Boiler
During the weekend, the football team received
a verbal commitment from Marc Huddleston, a 6-foot tall, 185-pound athlete
from Canton, Ohio. Huddleston runs a 4.5-second 40-yard dash and plays
several positions, including quarterback, defensive back and punt returner,
at McKinley High School.
Huddleston is the sixth player to verbally commit
to Purdue's 2002 recruiting class.
Mark it in your Palm Pilot
The time for Purdue's next home game, Oct. 6 against
Iowa, has been determined. The Boilermakers and Hawkeyes will begin
play at 11:10 a.m. and the game will be televised by ESPN.
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