SAN ANTONIO – George Karlaftis admits there were nerves.

Louisville fired Bobby Petrino on Nov. 11, and the rumors swirled shortly after. Jeff Brohm, the Boilermaker head coach who completely altered Karlaftis’ view of his hometown program, might go back to his home – Louisville. Reporters constantly connected the Cardinals and Brohm and a few reports went as far to say a deal was done.

So Karlaftis called his future head coach.

“He was at a lunch event and his answers were kind of vague,” Karlaftis told 247Sports. “You could tell something was going on with him. After that I had my guard up.”

A few weeks later, Karlaftis received a phone call from Brohm. He didn’t know if it’d be good or bad. Either the best recruiting class in Purdue’s modern history would stay together, or Brohm’s departure would break it apart.

“I’m staying, and you were one of the biggest reasons why,” Brohm told Karlaftis.

Karlaftis, who spoke to 247Sports at the All-American Bowl, couldn’t help but smile when recalling that conversation. The highest-rated prospect (No. 27 in the Top247) and lynchpin of the nation’s No. 24 recruiting class, Karlaftis represents a potentially vibrant future for the Boilermakers under Brohm’s direction.

Brohm spurned his alma mater to stay at Purdue. Karlaftis gets to a chance to help rebuild from his home base of West Lafayette because of that.

“I’m going to run through a brick wall for that dude,” Karlaftis said. “I trust him so much.”

That quote is a good place to start if you’re looking for a way to explain Purdue’s best recruiting class of the 247Sports era. Let the team’s trio of All-American Bowl participants explain why the Boilermakers are cool again.

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David Bell used to dismiss Purdue off-hand.

The Indianapolis native grew up just over a hour away from West Lafayette. But it was Purdue! When he started talking to coaches before his freshman year, Bell thought, ‘Nah, I’d never go to Purdue.’ Last year when one of his high school coaches said, ‘You need to think about Purdue,’ Bell still demurred. “Nah, you’ll never see me there.”

Bell announced on national TV a little over a year later he’d stay in his home state and play for the Boilermakers. The nation’s No. 106 overall player per the 247Sports Composite, Bell fielded offers from Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Penn State and any number of national brands. Bell’s opinion of Purdue shifted that drastically in a year.

That change exemplifies Purdue’s rapid rise to the Top 25 of the recruiting rankings, two cycles after the program ranked 72nd nationally, which means multiple Group of Five teams rated higher than the Boilermakers.

“They just kept it real with me,” Bell said. “They said if I come I’d probably have the opportunity to start as a freshman.”

Playing time is part of it. Bell watched fellow All-American Bowl participant Rondale Moore explode into the college football consciousness. Moore, who starred in the Boilermakers’ Week 1 loss to Northwestern and later in an upset of Ohio State, was the 247Sports True Freshman of the Year. A one-time Texas commit, Moore spurned a blueblood to stay closer to home and play for Brohm. That decision sparked instantaneous success and provided an on-field beacon of what’s possible at Purdue.

“People thought he was crazy when he committed last year,” Bell said.

Four-star tight end Kyle Bilodeau is another Purdue commit who used to think little of the Boilermakers – if at all. The Virginia native said of Purdue a few years ago: “Terrible, absolutely awful.” He’s not wrong. Brohm won two fewer games (7) in his first season than the previous head coach, Darrell Hazell, did in his entire four-year tenure. A once proud program had fallen out of relevancy.

Brohm convinced Bilodeau to visit, however, and quickly shifted the four-star’s mindset.

With Brohm’s arrival came an increased commitment to football. Purdue opened a $65 million Football Performance Complex in Sept. 2017, and the school’s master plan includes designs to renovate the South End Zone of Ross-Ade Stadium. Brohm is compensated like a top-flight coach following his Louisville flirtation. Per a Yahoo! report, Purdue pays Brohm “as much as $6 million annually” – a figure that’d make Brohm one of the 10 highest paid coaches in the country. This comes just months after the school gave Brohm a two-year contract extension and an increased assistant salary pool.

Recruits noticed the commitment to football.

“I visited and was like, ‘Alright, dang this place is really impressive,” Bilodeau said. “I had an idea of where I was leaning, and then (Purdue) changed it all.”

The final element of Purdue's recruiting shift is Brohm.

The word “trust” came up in regards to Brohm more than half-a-dozen times when speaking with Purdue’s high school All-Americans. They described Brohm as a “family man,” supported by the fact his brothers, Brian and Greg, serve on his coaching staff. You can also see Jeff Brohm’s son, Brady, roaming the sideline during games as the team’s self-proclaimed “get back coach.”

Fold that into Brohm’s coaching pedigree and history of offensive development, and Purdue’s rapid rise on the recruiting trail is easier to understand.

“He’s a really genuine guy,” Bilodeau said. “He’s not two-faced. He’s not a coach who’ll tell you something straight up and leave after you sign. He’s someone I respect and when he says something you know it’s true.”

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Karlaftis grew up in Greece and moved to West Layafette three years ago. But many of his family members attended Purdue. That includes his grandpa, who had a large influence on his recruitment.

When Karlaftis arrived in Indiana, he remembers Purdue literally giving tickets away for football games. Any comments at his high school about the Boilermakers went like this, “Oh, there’s a Purdue game today? They’re probably going to lose.” There is an appetite for football in West Layafette, yet the culture of the town’s flagship brand lacked relevance.

But that's changing.

Karlaftis expects Purdue to win a Big Ten championship at some point in the next three to five years. Bell hopes the Boilermakers can ascend to national champion contender status. It’s a suggestion that would’ve drawn laughs only a few years ago. It now sounds only somewhat far-fetched. As for Bilodeau, he wants this class to represent Purdue's new normal.

“We’ve set the bar for what a Purdue recruiting class will look like in the years to come,” Bilodeau said. “I think a few years from now you’ll look back and say, ‘Only 25?’ Recruits can really see what Coach Brohm’s able to do. This recruiting class just takes it a step forward.”