The New York Jets recently signed former Purdue center Gus Hartwig as an undrafted free agent. Today we break Hartwig down in detail.
The 23-year old Hartwig is listed at 6’5” and 312 pounds. He was a five-time all-Big Ten honorable mention. He started 48 games in his collegiate career.
Background
Hartwig was a four-star high school recruit who headed to Purdue ahead of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Having been a backup during the first three games, he started the last three games of the year and was named as an all-Big Ten honorable mention.
In 2021, he was named as the starting center and started every game. He also started in 2022 and 2023, although he missed a few games at the end of the 2022 season and the beginning of the 2023 season due to injury. In all three seasons, he was again named as an all-Big Ten honorable mention.
Hartwig would opt to return for a fifth season, during which he again started every game and earned honorable mention recognition for a fifth year in a row.
At the end of his college career, Hartwig was a, NFL scouting combine snub and wasn’t invited to the Senior Bowl, but did play in the Shrine Bowl.
After Hartwig went undrafted, the Jets signed him to an undrafted free agency deal with $190K guaranteed.
Let’s move onto some more in-depth analysis of what Hartwig brings to the table as a player, based on extensive research and film study.
Measurables/Athleticism
Hartwig has decent size, but below average length and he is tall, so pad level will inevitably be a constant concern.
His pro day numbers were solid but unspectacular, with average speed and agility numbers and slightly above average numbers for explosiveness. He only managed 18 bench press reps though.
Usage
Hartwig played virtually his entire college career at the center position, although his three starts in his freshman year were at right guard. He also moved out to right tackle in the middle of a 2023 game due to an injury, displaying his positional flexibility.
In high school, he played as a guard during his sophomore year but his last two years were at the center position again.
Pass Blocking
Hartwig battles well in pass protection and his numbers were solid throughout his career, as he only gave up six sacks in five seasons. Interestingly, though, his pressure rate didn’t improve over the course of his career and actually increased in his final season.
A lot of the time, he would be employed as a spare man or in a double-team with one of the guards, so he didn’t block one-on-one all the time. When he did, he could sometimes struggle against bull rushes.
He could, at times, find himself isolated in space on a stunt or delayed blitz and lack the short-area range to get across and pick up a defender.
Run Blocking
Hartwig had some success as a run blocker as, despite not being powerful, he gets after it in the trenches and is effective on double teams.
He didn’t do much pulling at Purdue but is at his best on the move rather than at the point of attack so will probably be most comfortable in a zone-based system.
Perhaps due to his height, Hartwig can sometimes be off-balance coming out of his stance and has a tendency to lean into his blocks, which often causes him to end up on the ground.
Short Yardage
While Hartwig was not a dominant drive blocker that you might choose to run behind in short yardage situations, Purdue had plenty of success going up the middle at the goal line with Hartwig doing a functional job at the point of attack.
Screen Blocking
Hartwig has the ability to contribute in the screen game with his hustle and ability to find and connect with a target.
He has adequate athleticism to get out in front of a screen pass and the vision and desire to find someone to block in space.
Footwork/Technique
Hartwig is a player who has an understanding of angles and the ability to move his feet and body position to reset his leverage.
He moves well laterally, both in space and when moving his feet to maintain a leverage advantage to keep his man sealed off.
His hand work could use some refining, in terms of timing and placement, with talented defensive linemen able to take advantage of him at times.
Penalties
Hartwig’s on-field discipline has been good over the course of his career with just 12 penalties in five seasons. His only two penalties in 2024 were both false starts.
Special Teams
Due to the importance of his offensive role with the Boilermakers, Hartwig only played two special teams snaps in college, as a blocker on the punting unit. He would most likely see action as a guard on the placekicking unit at the NFL level.
Instincts/Intelligence
Hartwig’s smarts are his best attribute, with coaches and teammates lauding how intelligent he is. He is quick to pick up schemes and systems and good at communicating the requirements to his teammates.
On the field, this manifests itself in his ability to find a target, his timing when peeling off a double-team to hit a secondary assignment and how comfortable he is in terms of picking up stunts.
He was a four time all-Big Ten academic selection and a Campbell Trophy semi-finalist, who completed a masters degree before going pro.
Attitude
Hartwig is a good leader who was a team captain for one game in 2022 and throughout the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
He has good character and work ethic and no off-field issues, putting in extra work on conditioning, film study and nutrition once he had an idea he could go pro.
While he’s not someone you’d single out for their nastiness on the field, he will knock his man to the ground from time to time.
Injuries
Hartwig suffered a leg injury towards the end of the 2022 season which meant he was in a cast and unable to play the last three games. He then had surgery at the end of the season and also missed the first few games in 2023.
Other than that, he didn’t have any injury issues as he started 27 games in a row prior to the injury and 21 in a row after his return.
Scheme Fit
As noted, Hartwig is excellent at picking up new systems, so would no doubt get to grips with the Jets’ system quickly, although his skill-set is likely best suited to a zone-heavy system and the Jets’ running game will probably be more varied than that.
He dealt with a few coaching changes while at Purdue, with perhaps the biggest upheaval being when they went from Jeff Brohm’s multiple schemes to Ryan Walters’ more straightforward air-raid system.
Conclusions
Hartwig’s guarantee was fairly significant, which likely indicates the Jets’ desire to retain him on the practice squad and look to develop him over the next year or two.
Whether or not he has an NFL future remains to be seen, but a player with his smarts should be a good addition to the roster, as he should compete well and do a decent job on the scout team at the very least.