Purdue Football Recruiting Recap

Purdue football saw its 2026 commitments in action and added new targets into the fold after recent coaching changes last week. GoldandBlack.com breaks down that and more in your weekly Purdue football recruiting recap.

Purdue football commits in action:

Corin Berry: Charter Oak (Calif.) had a bye week.

Season stats: 53-74 (71%), 809 yards, ten touchdowns, one interception. 122 rushing yards, one touchdown.

Dana Greenhow: Sandy Creek (Ga.)

Greenhow tallied four total tackles, a 0.5 tackle for loss and a pass breakup in Sandy Creek’s 43-10 win over Trinity Christian on Friday night.

Katrell Webb: Collins Hill (Ga.)

Webb had five total tackles, three solo tackles and three quarterback hurries in Collins Hill’s win over Central Gwinnett on Friday.

Kobe Cherry: Center Grove (Ind.)

GoldandBlack.com was in attendance for Center Grove’s win over Trotwood-Madison on Friday. Cherry racked up seven tackles, a pass deflection and a forced fumble in the victory. More on his performance and the game below.

Kymistrii Young: Cardinal Mooney (Fla.) had a bye week.

Season stats: 20 receptions, 457 yards and three touchdowns.

Jamarcus Whyce: Trotwood-Madison (Ohio)

GoldandBlack.com was in attendance for Trotwood-Madison’s loss to Center Grove on Friday, where Whyce tallied eight total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, a 0.5 sack, and a forced fumble. More on his performance and the game below.

Raderrion Daniels: Lake Cormorant (Miss.)

Daniels had a stellar performance in Lake Cormorant’s 19-14 loss to Horn Lake on Friday, with an interception, forced fumble, pass breakup and three tackles.

Emoni Smith: Westland (Ohio)

Smith was held in check in Westland’s 38-28 loss to DeWitt on Friday, having just two catches for 32 yards in the defeat. He did not record any defensive statistics.

Brock Brownfield: New Palestine (Ind.)

New Palestine knocked off previously undefeated Pendleton Heights on Friday, 42-6. The Dragons had nearly 500 yards of offense and On3’s Steve Wiltfong was in attendance, speaking to New Palestine head coach Kyle Ralph.

“Brock has been outstanding,” Ralph said. He played offensive line at North Carolina. “He’s such a competitor. His size and strength is really good.

“I know he’s super fired up about Purdue and they look much improved under Coach Odom in his first year. He’s going to be a good player for them down the road.

“He’s one of the most intense kids we’ve ever had too.”

James Williams: Lawrence Central (Ind.)

Lawrence Central got back in the win column with a 42-13 victory over Pike. Williams did not record any stats.

Aiden Solecki: Downers Grove North (Ill.)

Solecki’s stats were not made available this week.

Rico Schieber: Marist (Ill.) did not play

Marist dropped its fourth straight game, falling to Joliet Catholic, 23-17. Schrieber did not record any stats.

Terrell Berryhill: East St. Louis (Ill.)

East St. Louis got its first win of the season, defeating Alton, 60-6. The Flyers amassed 490 yards of offense, including 313 rushing yards and five scores on the ground. Berryhill did not record any stats.

Izaiah Wright: Carlson (Mich.)

Izaiah Wright has continued to shine, having 112 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries, in Carlson’s 17-14 win over Trenton on Friday. Wright now has 535 yards and six touchdowns in four games this season. GoldandBlack.com will be in Gibraltar this Friday to see Wright in person.

Brayden Sweeney: Catholic Central (Mich.)

Sweeney tallied seven total tackles, including three solo tackles and a tackle for loss in Catholic Central’s 10-7 win over East Grand Rapids on Friday, to move to 3-0 on the season.

Brandon Kinsey: Miami Central (Fla.)

Kinsey’s stats were not made available this week.

ArMari Towns: Southside (Ala.)

Three-star tight end commit ArMari Towns did not record any stats in Southside Selma’s 62-6 win over The Dallas County on Friday.

Max Carmicle: Hillcrest (Ill.)

Carmicle had four total tackles, two tackles for loss and three quarterback hurries in Hillcrest’s 34-2 win over Thornton Fractional South on Friday.

Dream Rashad and Seven Rashad: Buford (Ga.)

Purdue tight end commit Dream Rashad and 2028 receiver commit Seven Rashad did not have official statistics from Friday’s 71-7 win over Discovery.

Jamarcus Whyce, Kobe Cherry shine in battle of Purdue commits:

TROTWOOD, OHIO. – Friday night in Ohio played host to a battle between future Purdue Boilermakers, as 2026 three-star defensive linemen Jamarcus Whyce and Kobe Cherry. Cherry and Center Grove (Ind.) traveled east to take on Trotwood-Madison (Oh.) in a clash of two of the top teams in their respective states.

It was the first such head-to-head matchup of Purdue commitments in the 2026 recruiting class this season, with Center Grove coming out on top with a 31-21 victory over Trotwood. That Trojan win handed Trotwood-Madison its first loss of the season.

Whyce clashed with an offensive line featuring Indiana commit and 2026 three-star guard C.J. Scifres on about half of his snaps. Facing the formidable front of the Trojans, Whyce tallied eight tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and a 0.5 sack, unofficially.

It was my first time seeing Whyce in person and he lived up to the hype. The three-star defender is not particularly long, with his 6-foot-1 frame, but he uses his hands well to create leverage and push in the run game. His violent play style and impressive motor make up for any lack of size he may have. Despite being listed at 300 pounds on the game program, Whyce has quick feet, especially when defending the run.

Whyce’s skillset can be described in one play. In the second quarter, he overpowered his defender and smashed the ball carrier behind the line or scrimmage. The hit jarred the ball loose and Trotwood-Madison jumped on it. The explosion with which he plays is evident up close. 

For Whyce moving forward, gaining weight and strength will be critical in determining how quickly he can get onto the field for the Boilermakers. He is quick, but not quick enough to play on the edge in college, but still has room to fill out his frame to be physically ready to be an interior defensive lineman in the Big Ten. His traits make for one of the most intriguing players in Purdue’s 2026 class, however.

Cherry, on the other hand, I had seen during Center Grove’s season opener against Warren Central a month ago. That was his first live action in over a year since suffering a knee injury that wiped out his entire junior season.

Any lingering effects from that ailment and subsequent absence from the lineup weren’t present for the Center Grove standout on Friday night.

While remaining the anchor for the interior of the Trojans’ defensive line, Cherry looked more comfortable and in shape on the field. Trotwood-Madison made Cherry the focus of its scouting report offensively, throwing double teams at him all night. Despite that, Cherry was constantly around the football.

Cherry was making plays all over the place, en route to tallying seven tackles, a pass deflection and a forced fumble for Center Grove on Friday, bringing his season totals up to 42 tackles, while having five tackles for loss and two sacks. He is also fresh off a career-high 12 tackles in the Trojans’ win over Ben Davis last week.

Whyce and Cherry could become mainstays in Kelvin Green’s rotation after they get to West Lafayette next season, making up what could be the top position unit of the class, along with three-star EDGEs Katrell Webb and Max Carmicle, as well as defensive lineman Aiden Solecki. On the interior, Purdue has a pair of impact players coming and if Friday is any indication, they could emerge as starters fairly early in their Boilermaker careers.

New targets in the mix for Purdue after coaching changes:

After the dismissal’s of DeShaun Foster from UCLA and Brent Pry at Virginia Tech, a handful of new targets are up for grabs, and Purdue has expressed interest in several committed to the Bruins and Hokies.

At the top of the list is 2027 industry four-star quarterback Ben Musser, who was Purdue’s top target at the position in the summer. Musser chose Virginia Tech over Purdue, Cincinnati and Vanderbilt, but could be open to a flip now that his future head coach is no longer in Blacksburg. Musser backed off his pledge over the weekend, giving quarterbacks coach Darin Hinshaw and the Boilermakers an opportunity to swoop in and potentially land their signal caller in the class. Purdue had already been in contact prior to his de-commitment and I would not be surprised to see things ramp up in the coming weeks. I would also expect Cincinnati and Vanderbilt to stay on Musser, as well.

2026 UCLA wide receiver commits Xavier Stinson and Santana Carlos are also on Purdue’s board. Carlos is a name you may remember, as he took an official visit to West Lafayette over the summer. The South Florida product has been in contact with the Boilermakers, as well as Boston College and Tulane. Stinson is another 2026 option, as Purdue offered last week, joining NC State, Michigan State, Syracuse and others.

Purdue has enjoyed success recruiting wide receivers in Florida and now have two more options to continue building on the commitments of Kymistrii Young and Brandon Kinsey in the class.

JUCO cornerback gearing up for Purdue visit:

Northeastern Oklahoma A&M cornerback Jayden Swanson is set to visit Purdue this week, as On3’s Pete Nakos and Steve Wiltfong reported on Thursday. The JUCO defensive back is coming off a trip to Columbia to check out Missouri and now sets his sights on West Lafayette during the bye week.

As a true freshman in 2024, Swanson tallied 20 tackles, four tackles for loss and 15 pass breakups for the Golden Norsemen.

Purdue has shown interest in several defensive backs since the end of official visit season, including Camaul King, Dominic Turnbull and Northwestern commit Davis Kinney. Nothing has come of those offers and interest, but add Swanson to the list of guys that have piqued the interest of the Boilermakers.

Swanson does not hold an offer from the Boilermakers, but that could change this weekend.