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Purdue Football Recruiting Recap

by: Dub Jellison09/06/25dubjellison
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Purdue football reached 2-0 under a first year head coach for the first time since 1916 on Saturday night with a 34-17 win over Southern Illinois. Over 30 recruits were in attendance for the victory, 2026 commitments were in action all across the country and new emerged on several targets.

Purdue football commits in action:

Corin Berry: Charter Oak (Calif.)

Charter Oak had a thrilling 34-33 win over Muir on Friday night and Purdue quarterback commit Corin Berry flashed more brilliance, completing 64% of his passes for 224 yards and two scores, while adding 15 yards on the ground. Charter Oak is now 3-0 on the year with Berry at the helm.

Dana Greenhow: Sandy Creek (Ga.) did not play.

Katrell Webb: Collins Hill (Ga.)

Collins Hill have now won back-to-back games after knocking off Parkview 38-8 on Friday. Webb tallied six total tackles, including two tackles for loss and a sack. The three-star EDGE is now up to seven tackles for loss, six sacks and eight quarterback hurries through four games.

Kobe Cherry: Center Grove (Ind.)

In a 55-0 rout of Marion on Friday night, Cherry tallied seven total tackles and a tackle for loss. For the season, Cherry has 23 tackles, four tackles for loss and a sack for a 3-0 Center Grove team.

Kymistrii Young: Cardinal Mooney (Fla.)

Young’s official stats were not made available in Cardinal Mooney’s 39-3 win over Rockledge on Friday. He did made one catch, a 65-yard touchdown, however.

Jamarcus Whyce: Trotwood-Madison (Ohio)

GoldandBlack.com was unable to obtain official stats from Jamarcus Whyce’s week three game, where Trotwood-Madison defeated Springfield 16-13.

Raderrion Daniels: Lake Cormorant (Miss.)

Daniels and Lake Cormorant defeated Saltillo 28-14 on Friday night, with Daniels having one tackle, an interception and two pass breakups in the victory.

Emoni Smith: Westland (Ohio)

GoldandBlack.com was in attendance for Westland and Emoni Smith’s 33-0 win over Central Crossing, where the three-star ATH had six catches for 90 yards and two touchdowns, as well as one tackle on defense. More from his performance below.

Brock Brownfield: New Palestine (Ind.)

New Palestine is off to a 3-0 start to the year with a 35-10 win over Yorktown on Friday. Brownfield did not record any stats.

James Williams: Lawrence Central (Ind.)

Lawrence Central won big over Edwardsville (Ill.) on Friday, with a 61-21 victory. Williams did not record any stats.

Aiden Solecki: Downers Grove North (Ill.)

Downers Grove North took down Downers Grove South 55-14 in a cross-town matchup on Friday, which saw the starters exit the game after halftime. Solecki tallied three tackles in the lopsided win.

Rico Schieber: Marist (Ill.) did not play

Marist dropped a second straight game to start the season, falling to Brother Rice 35-0. Rico Schrieber did not record any stats.

Terrell Berryhill: East St. Louis (Ill.) did not play.

Izaiah Wright: Carlson (Mich.)

In a 68-0 stomping of Edsel Ford on Friday, running back commit Izaiah Wright had one carry for 29 yards and two catches for 64 yards, all three touches going for touchdowns in the blowout.

Brayden Sweeney: Catholic Central (Mich.)

Sweeney followed up his outburst in week one with another standout showing for Catholic Central, having two tackles for loss and two sacks.

Brandon Kinsey: Miami Central (Fla.)

The Purdue wide receiver commit had a 51-yard touchdown in Miami Central’s 58-12 win over Booker T. Washington. Official statistics could not be obtained.

ArMari Towns: Southside (Ala.)

Three-star tight end commit ArMari Towns had two catches for 65 yards and two touchdowns for Southside in its 38-19 win over Lee.

Max Carmicle: Hillcrest (Ill.)

Hillcrest’s statistics were not made available after its 35-13 loss to Montini Catholic on Friday.

Dream Rashad and Seven Rashad: Buford (Ga.)

The younger of the two Rashad commits hauled in a 23-yard touchdown in Buford’s big 65-21 win over Roswell on Friday night, as Buford moved to 3-0 on the season.

2026 Purdue commit Emoni Smith showcases versatility in big win:

Whatever you need from Emoni Smith, he can likely do it for you. The 2026 three-star Galloway (Oh.) Westland standout and Purdue commit can do it all for the Cougars, who dominated Central Crossing in route to a 33-0 victory on Friday night. The showing was brief for Smith, who only played in the first half of the lopsided affair, but he made that half count.

The future Boilermaker has seen time lined up at several spots across all three phases, including wide receiver, kick and punt returner, cornerback, safety, and even under center in a Wildcat package.

“I mean I can do it all man. Wherever you want me at, I’m gonna give it my all no matter what,” Smith said.

The pure athleticism of Smith is what stands out most from watching him in person. It wasn’t seen much tonight, but he has the ability to blow past just about everybody and flies when he gets in the open field. His 11.66 second personal record in the 100-meter dash last spring? It translates to the gridiron.

Smith’s ball skills were also on full display, as he reeled in two contested catches for touchdowns on the night. I’d see his blazing speed on tape, but the ability to go up and get the football was impressive.

The offensive side of the ball is where Smith made his mark on Friday night, hauling in six catches for 90 yards and two touchdowns. Much of that came in the final 14 seconds of the first half, as Westland looked to their star wideout on three straight passes, marching 70+ yards for a touchdown. Smith capped off the sprint to the finish with a 51-yard Hail Mary touchdown catch, where he scooted past his defender and made an acrobatic grab to hand Westland a 26-0 advantage. His first score of the night was on a fade to the back of the end zone early in the second quarter.

“I had a pretty good day. It could have been better. I just did what I could do. When I got the ball I made it count,” Smith said.

Despite his first half explosion on Friday, Purdue views Smith as a defensive back that has position versatility at the collegiate level, likely finding a home at cornerback or nickel. Where he ultimately ends up depends on his fit when he arrives in West Lafayette in 2026. His well-rounded skillset makes him a natural fit at nickel back, however, where he can show off his versatility in Charles Clark’s secondary.

“Somewhere in the defensive back room, move around, corner, nickel, they said I can play anywhere,” Smith said. “I can get physical, play back, I can get up and press, I can do anything, and I can make plays when the ball is in the air.”

It’s really where the Purdue staff can best utilize his talents… and they’ll have options. He can thrive at cornerback and nickel with his speed, as an in the box at safety with his physicality and as a post safety with his instincts.

Smith played the vast majority of his snaps in the slot on Friday night, seeing no targets in his direction. Apart from Central Crossing potentially seeing his pick six a week ago and deciding against throwing his way, Smith was stuck like glue to his defender in man coverage. He stays disciplined in coverage and does not rely on his hands to keep with receivers.

As he looks ahead to his future home in West Lafayette, Smith was impressed with Purdue’s 31-0 victory over Ball State last Saturday, particularly the Mike Scherer’s defense flying around and making plays in the shutout win.

“I loved it, man. They were making plays a lot of running to the ball. So, I loved it. I love seeing it. Can’t wait for to see it this week,” Smith said.

Smith will have an opportunity to see that defense in person, as he will be in West Lafayette for the Boilermakers’ clash with USC next Saturday afternoon.

Update on 2027 quarterback situation:

A week after being high on Purdue following his visit to West Lafayette for the season opener, 2027 four-star quarterback Israel Abrams had a pair of On3 predictions, from Steve Wiltfong and Greg Smith, placed on him in favor of Iowa State. The Cyclones were viewed as the favorite for some time and could soon land the Montini Catholic standout.

Purdue could go any number of directions from here, as their top three targets in the class have all committed elsewhere, Abrams, Ben Musser and Kamden Lopati.

2027 Murietta Valley (Calif.) signal caller Daniel Mielke is a name to know on that front. The West Coast signal caller was set to visit Purdue this weekend, but an illness forced him to stay home instead of flying to West Lafayette. Mielke is believed to be one of the top options at the position in the class and with Abrams looking like he’s coming off the board soon, may vault to the top spot. Mielke told GoldandBlack.com that he is working toward rescheduling the trip, but a packed schedule and a lengthy travel day needed, makes it much harder for that to happen in-season.

Fellow 2027 passer and John Hershey (Ill.) product Jake Nawrot is an emerging name to keep an eye on as well. Nawrot was on campus on Saturday and spoke glowingly of the Boilermakers. It is believed that Nawrot is a secondary option at this point, but he has thrived in his first two starts at the varsity level this season after sitting behind UCLA commit Colton Gumino for two years. He holds an offer from the Boilermakers, but I do not believe it to be committable at this time.

Other quarterbacks in the 2027 class that currently have offers from the Boilermakers include: Auburn (Ala.) Cason Myers, Milton (Fla.) Derrick Baker, Perry (Ariz.) Kael Snyder, Jupiter (Fla.) Champ Smith, Desert Edge (Ariz.) Blake Roskopf, The First Academy (Fla.) Brian Dillard, and Palos Verdes (Calif.) Ryan Rakowski.

Four-star EDGE makes his way to campus:

In a late turn of events, 2027 four-star Franklin Central (Ind.) EDGE Jayce Brewer took an unofficial visit to Purdue on Saturday to watch the Boilermakers defeat Southern Illinois. Brewer is among the top overall targets for the Boilermakers in the class, but the likes of Notre Dame, Indiana, Ohio State and Tennessee are all in the mix.

The Fighting Irish appear to be the front runners here, but the Boilermakers were able to get Brewer on campus and are among the teams pushing for him the hardest.

Two prospects axe trips to West Lafayette:

A pair of expected visitors from this weekend did not make their way to Purdue as planned. 2027 Michigan athlete Darryl Flemister and 2027 Florida wide receiver James Klaiss both cancelled trips to West Lafayette. Flemister opted to head to Michigan State, while Klaiss had travel issues that caused the cancellation.

Both 2027 prospects, each already having Purdue offers, expressed interest in rescheduling the visits, but those dates have yet to be determined.

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