Purdue Football Recruiting Recap

GoldandBlack.com breaks down all of the happenings in Purdue football recruiting, including commits in action over the weekend, flip targets making their way to campus, new offers and more.

Purdue football commits in action:

Corin Berry: Charter Oak (Calif.)

Charter Oak beat Muir 17-14 on Friday to advance in the playoffs, where Corin Berry had 139 yards on 11-24 passing, and added two scores and 26 yards on the ground.

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

Katrell Webb: Collins Hill (Ga.) did not play

Kobe Cherry: Center Grove (Ind.)

In his return to action, Kobe Cherry tallied seven total tackles and two tackles for loss in Center Grove’s 30-27 win over Franklin Central.

Kymistrii Young: Cardinal Mooney (Fla.) did not play.

Jamarcus Whyce: Trotwood-Madison (Ohio)

GoldandBlack.com was unable to obtain statistics from Trotwood-Madison’s 55-12 win over Lima Senior.

Raderrion Daniels: Lake Cormorant (Miss.)

Daniels did not record any defensive statistics in Lake Cormorant’s 49-35 win over Olive Branch on Thursday. For the season, he has 21 total tackles, 10 pass breakups and two interceptions.

Emoni Smith: Westland (Ohio)

Smith is out for the rest of the season due to injury.

Brock Brownfield: New Palestine (Ind.)

New Palestine escaped a tight game against Cathedral, with a 20-15 victory to move to 11-0 and advance out of the sectional stage of the IHSAA Football State Tournament.

James Williams: Lawrence Central (Ind.)

Lawrence Central fell to Decatur Central, 17-14, to end their season at 5-6.

Aiden Solecki: Downers Grove North (Ill.)

GoldandBlack.com was unable to obtain statistics from Downers Grove North’s 19-7 win over Glenbard West.

Rico Schrieber: Marist (Ill.) is done for the season after finishing 4-5.

Terrell Berryhill: East St. Louis (Ill.)

East St. Louis beat Glenwood 53-14 on Saturday, advancing in the IHSA High School Football Playoffs.

Izaiah Wright: Carlson (Mich.)

Wright had his best performance of the season, rushing for 308 yards and five touchdowns in Carlson’s 33-14 win over Bedford on Friday. Wright is now approaching 2,000 yards, currently sitting at 1,894 yards and 27 touchdowns on the year.

Brayden Sweeney: Catholic Central (Mich.)

GoldandBlack.com was unable to obtain statistics from Catholic Central’s 21-20 loss to West Catholic.

Brandon Kinsey: Miami Central (Fla.)

Kinsey’s stats were not made available this week.

ArMari Towns: Southside (Ala.)

Towns had two catches for 41 yards in Southside’s 35-12 win over Dadeville on Thursday.

Max Carmicle: Hillcrest (Ill.)

Carmicle finished his senior season with 46 total tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 12 hurries and 2.5 sacks.

Dream Rashad and Seven Rashad: Buford (Ga.) did not play.

Packed visitors list from over the weekend:

Purdue hosted a number of key recruits in what was its biggest recruiting weekend of the season, coinciding with the Ohio State game,

Class of 2026 and commits:

Three-star Carmel (Ind.) EDGE Dane Bathurst (Duke commit)

Three-star Archbishop Moeller (Oh.) tight end Cooper McCutchan (Ex-UNC commit)

Three-star Miami Central (Fla.) wide receiver Brandon Kinsey

Three-star Hillcrest (Ill.) EDGE Max Carmicle

Three-star Carlson (Mich.) running back Izaiah Wright

Three-star Marist (Ill.) offensive lineman Rico Schrieber

Three-star Lawrence Central (Ind.) offensive lineman Bam Williams

Three-star Buford (Ga.) tight end Dream Rashad

Three-star Westland (Oh.) ATH/defensive back Emoni Smith

Three-star Buford (Ga.) wide receiver Seven Rashad (2028 commit)

Class of 2027:

Four-star Prince Avenue Christian (Ga.) quarterback Ben Musser

Four-star West Chester (Oh.) Lakota West running back Keyon Norman

Four-star Kalamazoo Central (Mich.) offensive lineman Dewey Young

Four-star Franklin Central (Ind.) EDGE Jayce Brewer

Three-star Fort Mitchell (Ky.) QB Emmett Queen

Three-star Martin Luther King Jr. (Mich.) ATH Don Spillers III

Three-star Perrysburg (Oh.) offensive lineman Reed Gerken

Three-star Indianapolis (Ind.) Warren Central running back Keyon Thomas

Three-star Rossford (Oh.) High offensive lineman Jalen Webb

Westland (Oh.) ATH/defensive back Germere Sanchez

Upperman (Tenn.) tight end Colton Johnson

Winnsboro (Tx.) linebacker Neree Castleberry

Louisville (Oh.) offensive lineman Aden Norris

Grove City (Oh.) offensive lineman Ryder Anderson

Class of 2028 and 2029:

2028 four-star De Smet (Mo.) tight end Ridge James

2028 four-star Brother Rice (Ill.) tight end Jack McNamara

2028 Cathedral (Ind.) quarterback Chase Grove

2029 Westfield (Ind.) tight end Caiden Snow

2028 Lanier (Ga.) defensive back Doyle Morrison

2028 Archbishop Moeller (Oh.) wide receiver/tight end Dean Schnitzler

2029 Hamilton Southeastern (Ind.) quarterback Deaken Johnson

2028 Lake Brantley (Fla.) wide receiver Jacob McDonald

2028 Bowman Academy (Ind.) wide receiver/defensive back Quentavious Fly

2028 Franklin Central (Ind.) wide receiver Markell Bailey

Ben Musser/2027 quarterbacks update:

Purdue was finally able to get 2027 four-star quarterback Ben Musser on campus for Saturday’s game and all indications are that the trip went very well for the Georgia native. Musser spoke highly of how much of a priority Purdue and Darin Hinshaw have made him during the recruiting process and likes the direction of the program under Barry Odom’s watch.

Musser will visit Alabama and App State to end the season before likely going into decision mode after that, although he does not have a concrete timeline for a commitment in mind. Virginia Tech, Vanderbilt, and Cincinnati are also programs Musser is keeping in contact with.

Purdue is searching for its 2027 signal caller and Musser is right there as one of the top options to fill that slot. Montini Catholic (Ill.) four-star Israel Abrams is the number one choice, but Musser is a close 1B, and a guy that the Boilermakers would take. It could be a matter of who makes a decision first, but Abrams seems destined for Iowa State.

Beyond those two, the group of Jake Nawrot, Ryan Rakowski, Daniel Mielke and Landen Holley are names that have circulated in recent months. Nawrot is likely the top “Plan B” name to watch, should Abrams and Musser head elsewhere.

Pair of 2026 flip targets on Purdue’s radar:

Two ACC commits and 2026 prospects were on campus this weekend for unofficial visits when Purdue took on Ohio State, marking a pair of flip targets for the Boilermakers in the month leading up to National Early Signing Day.

Ex-North Carolina commit and three-star Archbishop Moeller (Oh.) tight end Cooper McCutchan quietly set an unofficial just a couple of days after he backed off his pledge to the Tar Heels. Purdue is the lone known school in his recruitment at this point, but I would anticipate that will change and McCutchan will visit more schools in the coming weeks. The Cincinnati product’s visit is key though, as Purdue fights to hang onto current tight end commits Dream Rashad and ArMari Towns, who are both being targeted by UNC, among others.

Duke commit and three-star Carmel (Ind.) EDGE Dane Bathurst was also on campus for the second time in a matter of just a couple of weeks. Bathurst has also been pursued by Vanderbilt and Louisville, as his pledge to the Blue Devils becomes softer and softer. The relationship between Bathurst and Jake Trump could loom large here, and well as the proximity to home. It could be decision time in the near future, as he’s taken in game day visits at Purdue, Vanderbilt and Duke in the last several weeks. I see Vanderbilt as the favorite at this point, however.

New offers coming out of the weekend:

Reed Gerken:

2027 three-star Perrysburg (Oh.) offensive lineman Reed Gerken picked up an offer from Purdue on Saturday, adding another name to Vance Vice’s board in the cycle. Gerken also holds offers from North Carolina, North Carolina State, Virginia, West Virginia, Pitt, Louisville, Kentucky, South Florida and others.

Colton Johnson:

Purdue became the first Power 4 offer for 2027 Upperman (Tenn.) tight end Colton Johnson last night. Johnson has enjoyed a breakout junior campaign, amassing 36 catches for 600 yards and four touchdowns this season and holds offers from Bowling Green, Liberty, Miami (OH), Toledo and Georgia State.

Jayden Davis:

Josh Henson and David Spurlock were the first coaches to offer 2029 Archbishop Moeller (Oh.) tight end Jayden Davis, who is a two-spot standout out of the Cincinnati powerhouse. Davis is also a rising basketball prospect, but Purdue is his first offer in either sport.

Doyle Morrison:

2028 Lanier (Ga.) athlete Doyle Morrison also added a Purdue offer on Saturday, which adds to his tally of Georgia Tech and Georgia State. Morrison has 39 catches for 685 yards and five touchdowns as a receiver this season, but played safety a year ago.