Deep Dive: March 19 Practice 1
Purdue took the lid off spring football practice on Tuesday. Let’s take a Deep Dive as Ryan Walters begins his second season. The first seven periods were open for viewing.
1 – This time last year, S Dillon Thieneman was an unheralded early enrolled true freshman. Fast-forward a year, and Thieneman is having an All-American banner unfurled in the Mollenkopf Center. His mom and dad were on hand for the brief ceremony. Thieneman was not expecting this to happen today.
2 – 2025 DL Jayquan Stubbs and 2026 OL Brody Smith had to cancel their visits to today’s practice. But 2025 OL Nathan Tveit, 2025 OL Cade Wilhelmi and 2025 WR AJ Johnson were on hand. 2026 DB Robert Reddick of Ben Davis was a late addition. He is a teammate of 2025 nationally recruited CB Mark Zackery, a Purdue target.
Purdue also had three players from Winton Woods High in Cincinnati on hand: 2025 DB Seaonta Stewart, 2026 QB Bryshawn Brown and 2026 DB Rihyael Kelley.
3 – S Sanoussi Kane was taking in the festivities. He recently worked out at Purdue’s Pro Day. Also soaking it all in: Boiler boss man Mike Bobinski.
4 – Several players were in red: WR Jahmal Edrine, OL Marcus Mbow, OL Luke Griffin, LB Clyde Washington. Staff is being cautious with Edrine (knee), Mbow (ankle), Griffin (ankle) and Washington (shoulder). And TE Drew Biber (groin) was limited, as is S Salim Turner-Muhammad (hamstring). No TE George Burhenn, who broke a foot over the winter. He may get on the field later in spring drills.
5 – Lots of bodies at o-line. I counted 17 with Marcus Johnson’s group. And, the unit is noticeably bigger. The first-team looked like this, left to right: T Corey Stewart, G Mahamane Moussa, C Gus Hartwig, G Jalen Grant, T Marcus Mbow.
The second-team, L-R: T Joey Tanona, G Luke Griffin, C Jimmy Liston, G Rod Green, T Bakyne Coly
6 – ILB Kydran Jenkins won’t be able to practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays due to a class conflict. He was out there a bit today early before leaving, working at his new ILB spot.
“For us as a team, I think it helps the inside ‘backer room,” said Walters of moving Jenkins from rush end to inside linebacker. “We don’t have a lot of depth there. And for him, personally, he was ultra productive as a rush end.
“But I think for him to add value at the next level, when he’s out on the edge, he’s a little undersized (6-1, 260). But as soon as he steps back, he becomes a big, athletic linebacker. I think that was one of the reasons why we were able to retain KJ. … So, I’m excited to see how that room shakes out from a competitive standpoint.”
MORE: Photo gallery, spring practice No. 1 | Purdue coach Ryan Walters, players begin spring drills with chip on shoulder
7 – As expected, Hudson Card was the No. 1 QB. The No. 2 today? Bennett Meredith. (Side note: True freshman Marcos Davila is a big man.) Who is the No. 2 QB?
Walters: “If we had to go today, it probably would be like Northwestern (when Purdue rotated Meredith and Browne). You got Ryan Browne and Bennett (Meredith) sort of battling … That number two spot will probably go all the way through camp, but we got some talented guys there.”
8 – No Nic Scourton, as he left via the portal for Texas A&M. Purdue responded by landing three rush ends from the portal: CJ Madden, Shitta Sillah and Jireh Ojata.
“Obviously, Nic and his production, you’re not gonna replace that one player unless you got to a really, really big collective,” said Walters today.
9 – Walters on the more robust Boilermaker Alliance:
“It’s leaps and bounds (better). We wouldn’t have been able to sign any of the guys that we signed in the portal a year ago. We wouldn’t have been able to get on the phone with them. I’m not saying that we were the highest bidder, by any means … I wouldn’t say bidder, I’d say the highest collective opportunity. But because of the strength of the collective and what we have available, we were able to get in conversations. When we get them on campus, Purdue speaks for itself, the facilities speak for themselves and I think the atmosphere here is unique and attractive to guys that are 19 to 22.”
2025 DB Seaonta Stewart and 2026 DB Rihyael Kelley from Winton Woods High in Cincinnati watched Tuesday’s practice.
