Recruiting News and Notes

Welcome to “Recruiting News and Notes,” Gold and Black Express’ weekly information clearinghouse, a spot for assorted bits of Purdue news, analysis and so on and so forth, intended for Express members.

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PURDUE BASKETBALL

We’ll have more on this stuff to come but just slipping in some news and notes here.

• Purdue has hired former players Carson Barrett and Isaiah Thompson as graduate assistant coaches, presumably finalizing the coaching staff. Past G.A. Jared Wulbrun has landed at UIC and Tommy Luce’s term is also up.

• Purdue is deep in talks with Auburn for a neutral-site game in Birmingham this coming season. Not a completely done deal yet, but highly likely. Bruce Pearl has been speaking publicly about it as we understand it, and we’ve confirmed on this end. Don’t know yet whether it’s a one-off or a return-game sort of situation, but it would also ostensibly replace the Arizona game as a marquee not-so-neutral-site game on the Boilermaker schedule.

It joins a schedule that also includes Marquette in Milwaukee, Texas A&M in Indy and two of Arkansas, Notre Dame and BYU in San Diego.

• It appears likely Purdue’s scholarship crunch is going to be solved via a temporary pay-your-own way situation, which there is no NCAA or Big Ten rule against. The realities of modern-era college basketball are plainly obvious here, as NIL certainly helps make this sort of thing more workable than it might have been before. No idea who the player will be and not sure it has even been determined yet, and we would also not expect that to be revealed publicly as there’s some privacy grey area there, on top of the fact that it really doesn’t affect anything or matter all that much.

It would stand to reason, though, to suggest in-state tuition would be much more manageable. (BN)

PURDUE BASKETBALL RECRUITING

A few quick notes following this past weekend’s adidas event in Birmingham.

• Expect Purdue to recruit 2026 Texas forward Bo Ogden, the son of current staffer and former college head coach Chris Ogden. Indications we’ve gotten are that the younger Ogden is likely to leave Austin for college. We saw him play two full games (IIRC) this past weekend. Obvious offer-type guy, and Purdue tends to do really well with coaches’ kids in recruiting.
• We’d expect Purdue to also recruit Ohio 2026 big man Alex Smith, a 6-foot-9ish face-up 4/5 who looked like a really nice shooter and passer in particular this past weekend.
• Taylen Kinney is and should be an absolute priority for Purdue, but the net at guard will be wide. Luke Ertel is going to be in that fray, we’d strongly suspect. Purdue’s not going to start recruiting different guys now that it’s been to the Final Four and Ertel looks like the sort of player they’ve won with.
• Nothing to really add here on Trent Sisley, but just want to reiterate that this is not a one-man search. Purdue’s going to keep playing the field here, while still very much wanting Sisley. Again, that one spot for 2025 could be joining a Final Four sort of team. But Purdue sure would seem to be in a strong spot with Sisley.
• Purdue has maintained some communication with Greenfield-Central wing Braylon Mullins, but is just not in a position to offer (we’d assume, given the scholarship crunch) and would be kinda late to the party here anyway. But you never know. Mullins would listen, we suspect, even though Indiana and Notre Dame are further down the road on that one. (BN)

PURDUE FOOTBALL RECRUITING

• Purdue remains on the prowl for portal help along the defensive line and at rush end. One d-line target emerged this week: Wyoming T Gavin Meyer, a native of Milwaukee. Competition for 6-4, 282-pound Meyer will be intense. He was supposed to narrow his list of schools by mid-week. Know this: Purdue may have a shot. But he’s probably going to the highest bidder. He already has visits set up for USC and Cal.

PURDUE FOOTBALL

• The remaining 12 members of the Class of 2024 are slated to arrive later this month to begin summer conditioning. And summer classes will start in June.

Set to arrive WR Donovan Hamilton, WR Shamar Rigby, OL Max Parrott, OL Jordan King, CL Caleb Mitchell, DL Jamari Payne, CB Hudauri Hines, CB Earl Kulp, S Koy Beasley, S Luke Williams, S Ty Hudkins, K Spencer Porath. Hudkins may have to return home if his school advances in baseball districts.

Hearing Hamilton and Rigby will live together; Mitchell and Payne; Hines and Kulp; Beasley and Williams; Hudkins and Porath.

• Hudkins is one of several promising safeties in this class, including Luke Williams, D’Mon Marable and Koy Beasley. The safeties have been told to “be ready” to help this fall, as the staff eschewed adding any help at the spot from the portal after losing Sanoussi Kane and Cam Allen. Dillon Thieneman and Antonio Stevens project as the starters, with Joseph Jefferson the key reserve. One or more of these freshmen could help this fall.

It will be interesting to see how Beasley is deployed. Arguably the fastest player in the class, Beasley could be used on offense and in the return game in addition to defense. And some feel Marable–who arrived early and went through spring drills–could one day grow into an ILB, like Winston Berglund has done.

• The only current Boilermakers slated to graduate this weekend: TE Drew Biber and ILB Yanni Karlaftis. Also wearing a mortar board: Former QB Kyle Adams, who has transitioned to an off-the-field role, and ex-punter Brendan Cropsey.

• We all know about the kicker and punter. But who are the other key special teams players? Ben Furtney and Hudson Miller are on all four units, known as the “Core 4 Warriors.” And Botros Alisandro, Antonio Stevens and Anthony Brown all are considered special teams standouts for Purdue. That fivesome is the standard for the program, the cornerstone of everything special teams coordinator Chris Petrilli does.

Others who are super impactful on special teams: Karlaftis, Dillon Thieneman and Will Heldt. But that trio is limited in special teams roles because of their defensive reps.