FB Recruiting Recap

GoldandBlack.com breaks down all of the happenings in Purdue football recruiting, including junior day visitors, a fresh batch of offers and tracking where Purdue’s coaching staff was last week.

Recap of weekend visitors:

Purdue hosted dozens of prospects over the weekend for junior day visits, with several key targets in attendance in West Lafayette. A look at some of the top names that were confirmed to be on campus.

2027 four-star Kalamazoo Central (Mich.) offensive tackle Dewey Young

2027 Warren Central (Ind.) running back Keyon Thomas

2027 three-star Glenbard West (Ill.) offensive tackle Josiah Wallace

2027 Upperman (Tenn.) tight end Colton Johnson

2028 Loyola Academy (Ill.) receiver Jordan McKinley

2028 Mount Vernon (Ohio) tight end Landon Dawson

2028 Brother Rice (Ill.) tight end Jack McNamara

2027 Westland (Oh.) defensive back Germere Sanchez

Note: 2027 four-star Norco (Calif.) wide receiver Blake Wong and 2027 Riverdale (Tenn.) defensive back Dre Otey have rescheduled visits for the spring. Wong will be at Purdue on March 7, while Otey is still working on a date.

Where were Purdue’s coaches last week?

Purdue’s coaches have hit the road to recruit high school prospects the last two weeks, and have covered a lot of ground in that time.

The Boilermaker staff has made in-home visits to several priority targets in the 2027 class this week, while a handful of quarterbacks were watched by Darin Hinshaw, and school visits have ramped up, as well.

GoldandBlack.com breaks down where the Purdue coaches were known to visit this week, and the key prospects visited.

2027 Cincinnati (Oh.) Archbishop Moeller three-star offensive lineman Patrick O’Brien: 

After visiting over the weekend, 2027 Cincinnati (Oh.) Archbishop Moeller three-star offensive lineman Patrick O’Brien had offensive coordinator Josh Henson and offensive line coach Zach Crabtree over for an in-home visit. O’Brien is among the top targets for Purdue along the offensive line in the class, who is in the mix along with Virginia Tech, Northwestern, Penn State, Boston College, and Kentucky.

Four-star Lombard (Ill.) Montini Catholic quarterback Israel Abrams: 

Four-star Lombard (Ill.) Montini Catholic quarterback Israel Abrams has long been a priority for Purdue. Perhaps the top target in the entire 2027 class for Barry Odom and company. Like O’Brien, Abrams was on campus over the weekend before Henson and quarterbacks coach Darin Hinshaw returned the favor with an in-home visit with the touted signal caller.

It looks like a three horse race at the moment, with Purdue battling Tennessee and Auburn for the commitment of Abrams, who is the top uncommitted quarterback in the class.

“Purdue has always been in there,” Abrams’ father told Rivals’ Steve Wiltfong. “I told you a long time ago, what I’m looking for is maybe not what a lot of other people are looking for. What we’re looking for, we really believe in Israel and we believe whatever program he goes to he’s going to instantly make them better.”

Howell (Mich) ATH Bryce Kish: 

Defensive analyst Neal Renna has gotten out on the road to recruit this week, making a key stop in Michigan to see 2027 Howell (Mich.) athlete Bryce Kish. Kish has netted offers from Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Boston College, and others, during his recruitment.

Michigan and Michigan State are significant players for the Michigan native, but Purdue is looking to make a move for the two-way standout, who is being recruited as a linebacker by the Boilermakers.

Rocky River (Oh.) four-star safety Tristin Hughes:

A flip target whose name should ring a bell, Syracuse commit and four-star safety Tristin Hughes was visited by defensive backs coach Charles Clark. Purdue is a real player for Hughes, who visited during the season and is among the top targets in the secondary. Wisconsin has also entered the mix of late, in addition to offers from Arizona State, Kentucky, Maryland, and West Virginia.

Four-star Iowa City (Iowa.) Regina four-star ATH Tate Wallace:

Neal Renna also made a trip to Iowa on Thursday night for an in-home visit with 2027 four-star athlete Tate Wallace. The Iowa City native netted an offer from the Boilermakers in December and is firmly on the linebacker board for the program in the cycle.

Wallace told Rivals that Minnesota, Kansas State, and West Virginia were the schools recruiting him hardest earlier this month, so Purdue is looking to flip that moving forward. West Virginia, Minnesota and Arizona have been the three other schools to make the trek to visit him in the last two weeks.

Kevin Kane visits a pair of key linebacker targets:

The Boilermakers’ new defensive coordinator saw two key names to know at linebacker in the 2027 class, at their respective schools, Douglasville (Ga.) South Paulding linebacker Joakim Gouda and Bridge City (Tx.) linebacker Bryce Breeden.

Gouda has seen his stock soar of late, netting offers from Georgia, Texas, Vanderbilt, Florida, Georgia Tech, Alabama, Florida State, Tennessee, and others. Purdue entered the mix in December, prior to his blow up, but will now face steep competition for the Georgia linebacker.

Breeden was also offered in December by Neal Renna. TCU, Baylor, Houston, and Arizona State have been constants in his recruitment, while Arkansas, Northwestern, and Pitt have entered the mix of late. Breeden took an unofficial visit to Purdue in the fall and Kevin Kane will look to keep pushing for the Texas defender.

A trio of quarterbacks visited by Darin Hinshaw:

Hinshaw watched a trio of signal callers throw this week, going to Michigan to watch 2028 Divine Child quarterback Drew Sheridan and 2027 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Prep signal caller Jabin Gonzales, as well as Ohio to watch 2027 Lakota West quarterback Jackson Smith.

None of the three currently hold offers from the Boilermakers, but are clearly names Hinshaw is monitoring.

Sheridan led Divine Child (Mich.) High to a state title in 2025, throwing for 2,842 yards, with 31 touchdowns to three interceptions, while completing 82% of his passing attempts. The rising 2028 signal caller holds offers from Pitt, Marshall, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Kent State, Toledo, and Miami of Ohio.

Gonzales is also a state championship winner in Michigan with Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Prep, throwing for 2,385 yards and 28 touchdowns, as well as rushing for 455 yards and seven additional scores. He has a similar list of offers to Sheridan, including Marshall, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Kent State, Toledo, and Miami of Ohio.

Smith had two earlier offers from Kentucky and Maryland, along with Marshall, Kent State and Miami of Ohio. The Lakota West (Oh.) signal caller threw for 2,000 yards and 20 touchdowns while completing 63% of his passes, as a junior this fall.

Three 2027 specialists to watch:

Special teams coordinator James Shibest visited with three specialists this week, all in the 2027 recruiting class.

Monaca (Penn.) Central Valley kicker Domenic Pratt, who was a Kohl’s Kicking All-American in 2025, was on that list. The Pennsylvania native was 13-14 on field goals this season, as well as 42-43 on extra point attempts. Penn State recently hosted him for a junior day visit.

Another Pennsylvania product, Pittsburgh Central Catholic kicker/punter Antonio DiFatta met with Shibest after going 6-7 on field goals with a long of 43 yards. He also averaged 40.9 yards per punt as a junior this season. DiFatta is a five-star kicker on Kohl’s Kicking, coming in at No. 11 in the 2027 rankings.

Rounding out the trio is Louisville (Ky.) Ballard kicker Colt Abbott, who ranks as the No. 20 kicker in the 2027 class, according to Kohl’s Kicking.

Where else did Purdue’s coaches visit last week?

Offensive coordinator Josh Henson:

Henson was in Ohio to see Patrick O’Brien and in Illinois to visit with Israel Abrams, both of which were in-home visits by the Purdue offensive coordinator.

Defensive coordinator Kevin Kane:

Kane was in Georgia, where he visited with 2027 linebacker target and South Paulding standout Joakim Gouda. He also spent time in Ohio.

Defensive tackles coach Kelvin Green:

Kelvin Green spent time in Georgia, Texas, and Illinois last week. He re-visted Illinois this week, as well as making a stop in Ohio.

Offensive line coach Zach Crabtree:

Crabtree spent time in Ohio, where he was a part of the in-home visit with Patrick O’Brien and offered 2027 three-star Winton Woods (Oh.) lineman Lual Aleu in Ohio.

Wide receivers coach Bilal Marshall:

After spending time in Florida last week, Purdue’s new wide receivers coach was in Illinois and made a stop in Texas, including Drew Brees’ alma mater of Westlake.

Defensive backs coach Charles Clark:

Clark was in Ohio to visit with four-star safety Tristin Hughes and accompanied Zach Crabtree and Jake Trump in the Cincinnati area. He also spent time in Michigan.

Defensive ends coach Jake Trump:

Trump was busy, hitting Ohio, Illinois, and Georgia so far this week. The highlight was offering 2027 three-star Alpharetta (Ga.) EDGE Jaxon Holly, while in the Peach State.

Defensive analyst Neal Renna:

Renna visited Michigan, Iowa, and Illinois this week, and conducted in-home visits with new target Bryce Kish and Tate Wallace.

New offers dished out by staff:

2027 North Kansas City (Mo.) linebacker Kobe Rhymes

2027 Mount Carmel (Ill.) EDGE Darin Graham

2028 Loyola (Ill.) wide receiver Jordan McKinley

2027 Glenbard West (Ill.) offensive lineman Josiah Wallace

2028 Carmel Catholic (Ill.) offensive lineman Wyatt VanBoening

2028 Perkins (Oh.) defensive back Dante Shipp Jr.

2028 Roswell (Ga.) tight end/wide receiver Sean Smith

2028 Chris Presbyterian Academy (Tenn.) wide receiver Gabriel Cabell

2027 three-star Corvian Community School (N.C.) defensive lineman Jesiah Fields

2028 Christian Academy of Louisville (Ky.) defensive lineman Kellan Hall

2028 Madrid (Iowa) tight end Jevyn Severson

2029 De Smet (Mo.) athlete Caden Sharp

2028 Chris Presbyterian Academy (Tenn.) tight end Wright Martin

2028 Cardinal Ritter (Mo.) wide receiver Ryan Richmond-McDavis

2028 Atherton (Ky.) defensive back Grayden Reid

2027 Gainesville (Ga.) offensive lineman Bryson Hurt

2028 Montgomery Bell (Tenn.) tight end Bennett Conyers

2028 Cass Tech (Mich.) defensive back Lamarcus Army

2028 McEachern (Ga.) athlete Quinn Pollock

2028 McEachern (Ga.) athlete Cole Pollock

2028 Davis (Utah.) quarterback Brodie Scheinberg

2029 Cass Tech (Mich.) defensive back Kameron Lowe

2027 Westlake (Ga.) EDGE Elijah Cox

2027 North Gwinnett (Ga.) tight end Max Patterson

2027 Westlake (Ga.) defensive back Khamani Estrada

2028 Bishop Miege (Mo.) EDGE Jaylen Johnson

2027 Blue Springs South (Mo.) EDGE Prince Goldsby

2027 Antioch (Tenn.) quarterback Andre Adams

2027 Kingwood (Tx.) linebacker Cade Haug

2028 Hartland Arrowhead (Wisc.) tight end Tre Oiler

2027 Alpharetta (Ga.) EDGE Jaxon Holly