In the Huddle: Purdue center Gus Hartwig

Gus Hartwig was inside Ross-Ade Stadium five years ago when Purdue knocked off Ohio State, but he was on a recruiting visit.

But Hartwig and his family left at halftime.

The veteran center is back in the lineup 10 months after a significant knee injury and carried the ball once during his football career, dating back to the second grade.

I’m told they call you the Admiral.

Yeah.

Why?

Coach (Dale) Williams started calling me that a couple of years ago because of my helmet. I don’t even know but that’s how it started.

Would Colonel, General be more appropriate?

Whatever they say.

Did you recently shave your beard?

Yeah, two days ago. I’m trying to change it up a little bit.

When was the last time you shaved before coming back from your injury?

I had my surgery in December, and I shaved right before. I probably didn’t shave or have a haircut for seven, eight months. All the pictures the media team put out were right before I cut my hair. I made it through the spring. Sometime in June and July I cut my hair and kept it during camp. A couple of days ago, I decided to try something different.

When you shave in the morning, do you have a 5 o’clock shadow by 5 o’clock?

It’s usually pretty close. I don’t shave that often and I don’t see it that much. The other day, I was like, ‘Man, it grew back.’

Were you encouraged to cut your hair or was it just time?

It was time. For me, if we’re not playing that well, I try to change something up. I don’t want to keep doing the same thing. We’ll try the beard and see how it goes.

You have some superstitions.

I’m pretty superstitious. If we’re doing well, I want to keep doing the same stuff. If not, I’ll change it up. I’ll go get breakfast somewhere else and move it around.

How many different breakfast spots have you hit this year?

I’ll go to Panera, I’ll go to Homestead and Triple XXX. Those are three I’ll move through, or I’ll go to the West Side sometimes.

What’s your go-to breakfast meal?

If I go to Homestead, I’ll get the ham breakfast and they have cinnamon bread.

What other foods do you need?

I’m a big proponent of steak and potatoes. I’m going with steak and baked potato. That’s a go-to and Chipotle is always a staple for me.

Have you always been a lineman?

Yeah. I was always a big kid growing up. From second grade to now, I always played tackle or center.

Have you ever carried the ball in a game?

Maybe third grade. Nobody tackled me and I got chased down really fast. I got through the initial line, and I got run down pretty quickly.

Was that the end of it?

Yeah. It was one time and that was it.

No one wanted to use you as a fullback.

They said they would keep me on the line of scrimmage.

It’s gotten you this far, right?

I liked it because my dad played offensive line and he was someone I looked up to. He played O-line, my uncle played O-line. This is the path I wanted to follow. It ended up working out pretty well.

If Gus is not playing football, Gus is playing what sport?

I was good at track, and I was good at basketball. Those were the two. I was good at basketball, but I probably got too big for the sport. In high school, we had a couple of guys that were taller than me. I was playing a little bit but not that much. I came here at the end of my senior year instead of track.

What were your events in track?

Shot put and discus. I didn’t really run.

One thing your teammates don’t know about you.

I’ve been here a long time. I don’t keep many secrets. During the season, I don’t do that much.

You’re an open book.

I’ll tell people whatever they want to hear.

That’s good from my standpoint.

For sure.

If you didn’t play sports, what would you be doing right now?

Sports have always been a big part of my life, but I would probably do something with math. I have an analytical mindset. I like numbers. If something does this, it should do that. That’s what makes sense to me.

Do you find yourself thinking too much on the football field?

I like to use my mind to be a step ahead of guys and use that to my advantage. I spent a lot of time watching film and I can see tendencies. I can see this and anticipate that and help myself out a little bit. Maybe I’m not the fastest or the biggest and strongest but I know where you’re going to be and I can beat you to the spot, I can make the block.

In 20 years, you’ll be doing what?

I’ll probably end up coaching if I had to say. If not, I’ll probably do something with finance or mutual funds and work around money like my dad does.

How gruesome was your injury?

It was pretty big. I did a bunch of stuff to it. It was a big-time knee injury.

Any fears you wouldn’t make it back?

Anytime you have as big of a knee injury, you always have days – ‘Am I going to do this again?’ You have a couple of good days, and yeah, ‘I’m going to do this again.’ If I’m being honest, there were times, ‘Am I going to be able to play this season? Am I going to be able to get out there again?’ It’s the mental side of injuries. ‘Do I trust this enough; do I feel good enough to drive off of it? If there’s a pile on, am I scared I’ll get rolled up on?’ Working through that stuff was a big step for me.

Is this the hardest thing you’ve had to overcome?

I’d say so. It was such a big injury that it took me 10 months to do what I really love to do. I love football and if that takes you out, you’re evaluating what else can I do? You’re spending so much time trying to get back out on the field and you’re missing out on a lot of stuff. It was tough. It was a long time.

Was there ever a point that you didn’t think you would get back?

Yeah. There were a couple of days like that. Those first couple of days and you can’t lift your leg out of the bed. You’re just trying to walk again let alone play football. You start walking and then you want to run.

Do you have a special talent outside of football?

I wouldn’t say talent. My thing is I’ll cook a little bit. I’ll grill. I’ve got a smoker and I’ll do that kind of stuff. That’s my forte other than singing or dancing.

I won’t ask the last time you were singing and dancing.

I don’t even know.

Do you have your group over for food?

I’m having guys over later (Tuesday).

What are you cooking?

I’m going to do a bunch of chicken.

Do you take requests or just say, ‘This is it; eat it?’

Sometimes a little bit of both. We have some guys that don’t eat pork or don’t eat meat. I’ll have some different stuff from time to time.

Last one – In 2018, Purdue beat Ohio State. Were you here?

I was actually here as a recruit for that game, but we left at halftime. At the time, I was a little hesitant about the coaches and it was really cold, and we were sitting there miserable at halftime. We said, ‘Let’s get out of here and see how the second half goes.’ We were driving home listening on the radio and we realized they were going to win. Maybe we should’ve stayed. I ended up coming here and after that, the coaches took a different liking to me. It all worked out.