Signing Day Takeaways

Barry Odom and Purdue football inked its first full high school recruiting class under the head coach’s watch on Wednesday, welcoming 21 new players to the program. National Signing Day was filled with some twists and turns, as well as a lot of expected signings for Odom and the Boilermakers.

GoldandBlack.com offers some takeaways from Wednesday’s news cycle.

Three big wins highlight signing day success:

A trio of of big recruiting wins highlighted a day of success for the Boilermakers, as four-star Heritage Hills (Ind.) safety Jett Goldsberry, three-star North Hardin (Ky.) defensive lineman Josiah Hope and three-star Southside (Ala.) tight end ArMari Towns all inked to Purdue.

Goldsberry was a late flip from Ole Miss, where he had been committed since July. Purdue was the first program to offer Goldsberry in January, who also garnered offers from the likes of North Carolina, Rutgers, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Kentucky and others. Ultimately, the southern Indiana recruit chose the Rebels, but Lane Kiffin’s departure left a murky outlook in Oxford. Purdue jumped at the opportunity and were able to land what was initially one of the top defensive targets in the class.

Purdue was also able to hang onto tight end commit ArMari Towns, who had been flirting with a flip for months. First it was Florida State, then Auburn entered the mix, and finally, the Boilermakers beat out North Carolina for the talented pass catcher. Towns is the type of talent that could carve out a role for himself early in West Lafayette.

The same can be said for Josiah Hope. The Kentucky defensive tackle flipped from Louisville to Purdue, then back to Louisville, and winds up signing with the Boilermakers on Wednesday. That recruitment has some twists and turns, but it all led back to West Lafayette for Hope. He rejoins what I consider to be the top position group in the class for Purdue, with Katrell Webb, Kobe Cherry, Max Carmicle and Aiden Solecki already in the fold, as well.

Those are three phenomenal wins for the Boilermakers in the final hour of the recruiting cycle and signings that will go a long way in helping Purdue get back on a winning track. 2-10 could be hard to sell to recruits, but that’s credit to Odom and the coaching staff of continuing to work on the recruiting trail to get three guys that will step on campus with some hype behind them.

The signal caller of the class:

The quarterback position is vital in any recruiting class, and any football team for that matter, and Purdue’s signal caller in the 2026 haul looks to be a good one. Charter Oak (Calif.) standout Corin Berry signed with the Boilermakers on Wednesday, locking in another quarterback for Josh Henson for the future.

Berry’s most intriguing trait is his size and ability to use his legs. Odom believes the California signal caller can make any throw asked of him, as well. Berry threw for 2,389 yards and 23 touchdowns, with just four interceptions as a senior. He added 319 rushing yards and six scores on the ground, as well.

“I think he has qualities, number one, size-wise, 6-3, and maybe a little bit taller than that. He runs well, is elusive, but also, there’s not a throw on the field that I don’t think he can make. I mean, he’s got work to go and progress to make. But again, he’ll be here in a couple of weeks, and we’ll get started with that development for when the early enrollees get here,” Odom said of Berry.

The future Boilermaker has a similar skill set to that of Darin Hinshaw’s current cast of signal callers, and one that the coaching staff seems to covet. Berry will join a quarterback room in West Lafayette that currently consists of Ryan Browne, Malachi Singleton, Bennett Meredith, Evans Chuba and Garyt Odom.

Odom was also asked of the potential to add a signal caller out of the transfer portal this off-season, and said that is dependent upon whether one of Purdue’s current quarterbacks were to leave the program.

Flips in Purdue’s favor:

In today’s age of college football, you have to expect flips. The expectation to recruit your commits like they aren’t committed is commonplace in the sport. Barry Odom and the Boilermakers were on the right side of that trend in the 2026 cycle.

Purdue netted six flips throughout the cycle, including four in the last 10 or so days and two on National Signing Day.

The additions of Jett Goldsberry and Josiah Hope provided some star power on the defensive side of the football and helped boost the class to a ranking of 56th in the nation and 14th in the Big Ten. Archbishop Moeller (Oh.) tight end Cooper McCutchan and Benedictine (Va.) wide receiver Jojo Johnson add some playmakers with their respective commitments last week.

Purdue continued to push for each prospect and were rewarded for their efforts late in the cycle.

“Just because someone has committed maybe to another place, that doesn’t end the relationship, you continue to try to recruit them. I know that all 21 guys that we signed today, they all had opportunities to go somewhere else. So as long as the prospect and or the family and the high school coach are still allowing recruiting, it’s our job to do everything we can to try to continue to recruit them,” Odom said.

Despite a down season, from a results perspective going 2-10, Purdue was able to hang onto the vast majority of its signing class, seeing just three players depart from the class. Dream Rashad and Kymistrii Young went to North Carolina, while Jamarcus Whyce ended up signing with Maryland.

Those departures were essentially offset by Cooper McCutchan, Jojo Johnson and Josiah Hope. The flip trend in college football is going to happen no matter what school you’re talking about, but Purdue came out of the cycle with more incoming flips that outgoing, which is an encouraging sign.

Any other additions coming?

The 2026 recruiting class is now set, at least for the time being. Another signing period will come in February. Will Odom and the Boilermakers look to add to the class then? There some nuance to that question.

There is an element of deciding whether to take another high school prospect, or find a player out of the transfer portal for a given position.

“I think you look at the best players available, and I think in the world of at least high school recruiting, that’s changed a little bit. There’s still a number of really good high school players out there. Now, the job of the people sitting here is comparing, okay, is that better than what we might be able to get as a portal transfer? There’s no perfect science to that, but we better trust our evaluation and then figure out what we can do,” Odom said.

Purdue is expected to be active in the transfer portal, which will grow the overall 2026 recruiting haul, but there is the potential to see another high school prospect enter the mix. The firm answer won’t be known until early February, however.

“We’ll certainly add to this class. And I don’t know right now if that’ll be through another high school signee, and certainly will be through the portal,” Odom said.

Expanded focus on in-state recruiting remains priority:

Purdue was able to ink four in-state prospects in the 2026 class, with Jett Goldsberry (Heritage Hills), Brock Brownfield (New Palestine), Kobe Cherry (Center Grove), and James Williams (Lawrence Central). Barry Odom wants to see that number grow in the years to come, believing that Purdue can win championships with guys not only in Indiana, but in the program’s footprint.

“We’re not where we want to be yet in that context. You know, there will be a point that we reached that but we’re not there yet. We’ve got to continue to work in every area. But, you know, we’ve talked since, really we got here. If you draw a five hour radius around West Lafayette, there’s, number one, really good high school coaches. There’s really, really good programs. And then the rosters of other Big Ten schools. When you look at that five hour radius, if we could keep those guys home, so to speak, we can win a championship with guys within a five hour radius of our campus. So we’re working really hard to get there, and I know that, we’ve got a ways to go in a lot of areas, but we’re making progress every single day to get where we want to be,” Odom said.

Two of those signees were in the top ten of Rivals’ state rankings at the time of National Signing Day, with Goldsberry coming in at seven and Brownfield slotted in at six. Other destinations for top ten prospects in the state? Ohio State, Indiana, Minnesota, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Alabama, and Cincinnati.

There is going to be top-flight talent in Indiana on a yearly basis. And Odom sees the importance of keeping that talent from leaving the state. Plenty of opportunities lie ahead in that endeavor within the 2027 class, like targets Kaleb Elkins, Jayce Brewer, Sean Fox, Monshun Sales, Mason Oglesby, Branden Sharpe, Maalik Moore, and Ethan Reyna.

More: Purdue football National Signing Day tracker | GoldandBlack.com video: Purdue coach Barry Odom on 2026 recruiting class | Purdue flips DL Josiah Hope from Louisville | 2026 tight end Dream Rashad flips from Purdue to North Carolina | Purdue flips four-star safety Jett Goldsberry from Ole Miss |