Purdue lands commit from Big 12 DB

Purdue has added another piece to its secondary with a commitment from Houston safety Mar’Ques “Hershey” McLaurin on Tuesday. The 6-1, 208-pound McLaurin has one year of eligibility.
A native of Friendship, Miss., who began his career by playing two seasons (2020-21) at Jones County JC in Mississippi, McLaurin is the fifth defensive back Purdue has added in the spring and 25th player overall added this spring.
Top 10
- 1Hot
Field of 64 projection
Predicting College Baseball Tourney
- 2New
Greg McElroy
Ranks Top 10 RBs for 2026
- 3
Todd Golden
Signs massive contract extension
- 4
Shane Beamer
Puts NCAA on blast
- 5Trending
Joel Klatt
Releases Post-Spring Top 25
Get the On3 Top 10 to your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
McLaurin played the 2022 and 2023 seasons at West Virginia before matriculating to Houston in 2024. He has 139 career tackles, seven pass deflections and an interception.
McLaurin appeared on special teams in all 12 games for Houston last season. He tallied a single-season career-best 50 tackles (sixth on the team) and set a single-season career-best with eight tackles for loss in 2024.
MORE: Spring portal additions | Spring portal departures | 2026 Purdue commitments | 2025 Roster distribution