New Purdue head coach Ryan Walters blesses first team meeting with a #ScholarshipAlert

"Every day is a job interview," is one of the most common sayings in coaching... and I can't think of a better example, ever, than what happened in the Purdue team room on Tuesday night.

First, let's wind the clock back to Nov. 12. Purdue is on the road to face No. 21 Illinois, a pivotal game in the Big Ten West race. The visiting Boilermakers are 3-3 in conference play and the Illini are 4-2, making the game pretty much a must-win for Purdue.

Redshirt freshman Devin Mockobee, a walk-on, carries 28 times for 106 yards and a touchdown in Purdue's 31-24 victory. 

It's a big deal, for reasons he is and is not aware of at the time. 

First of all, as stated above, Purdue really needed that win. But the way in which Purdue earned the victory was monumental. Illinois finished the regular season with the nation's No. 8-ranked rushing defense, allowing 98.4 yards per game. Mockobee rushed for more than that on his own. Only two other individuals would rush for more than Mockobee's 106 yards on the Illini defense all season long: AP First Team All-American Blake Corum (Michigan) and AP Second Team All-American Mohamed Ibrahim (Minnesota).

But Mockobee had no way to conceptualize how big a deal his performance was that day.

Illinois defensive coordinator Ryan Walters spent his week devising a plan to stop Mockobee, then spent his Saturday afternoon on the Memorial Stadium home sideline watching his players struggle to do so. 

When the game ended, both sides went their separate ways, until fate stuck out her hand.

-- Wisconsin chose not to make Jim Leonhard its full-time head coach, hiring Cincinnati's Luke Fickell instead.

-- Cincinnati, on its way to the Big 12, decided to flex its newly-fastened Power 5 muscles by hiring Scott Satterfield away from rival Louisville.

-- Having turned down his alma mater once before, Purdue head coach Jeff Brohm decided now was the right time to return home to Louisville.

And that took us to Tuesday night. Once opponents, Walters and Mockobee are now teammates. And Mockobee is now on scholarship.

It's hard to imagine a better way for Walters to win over his new players. And it's hard to imagine a better example of one of coaching's favorite proverbs coming to life.