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Three Thoughts on Illinois DT transfer Neal

by: Dub Jellison01/10/26dubjellison

Purdue made a big time addition to its defensive front on Wednesday night, literally, in netting the commitment of Illinois transfer defensive tackle Curt Neal. GoldandBlack.com breaks down Neal’s game, what his commitment means and more.

Another productive player:

The trend of landing productive players out of the transfer portal continued with the Boilermakers getting Neal into its haul. The former Illinois and Wisconsin defensive tackle has spent each year of his career in the Big Ten and will do so again, but this time in the old gold and black.

Having started 21 games over the course of his four-year career, including 20 in the last two seasons, Neal is among the most senior portal additions for the Boilermakers already this cycle. Experience is nothing to scoff at. A level of leadership and experience coming into a new place is invaluable for a guy like Neal.

The same can be said for fellow new Boilermakers Jaden Mangham, Wisdom Simms, Boaz Stanley, Travis Terrell, Jojo Hayden, Jerrick Gibson, Micah Banuelos, and Asaad Waseem.

What’s more impactful is playing meaningful snaps in the Big Ten. Neal is well-traveled across the conference’s landscape and can use that moving forward into what will be his last year of college.

What does Neal bring to the table?

Neal offers some versatility on the interior of Purdue’s defensive line, having the ability to play nose tackle or defensive tackle. He lined up primarily at nose for Illinois in 2025, but previously had more snaps at defensive tackle during his time at Wisconsin.

It will be interesting to see which spot Purdue likes him at more, but with the traditional rotations of a defensive line, it’s possible he sees snaps at both spots for defensive coordinator Kevin Kane.

After redshirting in 2022 with the Badgers, Neal has been productive in the Big Ten. He has 58 tackles, five tackles for loss, and a 0.5 sack during that time. At Illinois, he had a defensive grade of 69.6, as well as a pass rushing grade of 76.7, both of which would have paced the Boilermakers’ interior defensive line in 2025. According to Pro Football Focus, he has two sacks to his name, but has accounted for 20 total pressures over the last two seasons.

What does the DT group look like now?

The interior defensive line unit of Kelvin Green and Kevin Kane saw two key members depart via the transfer portal this off-season, in Chops Harkless (Kentucky) and Demeco Kennedy (Louisville). The Boilermakers hope to have found two of their replacements already in the portal.

Neal joins North Carolina Central defensive tackle Wisdom Simms as Purdue’s commitments at the position during this portal window. That tandem provides more experience and potentially veteran leadership for a talented, but young group.

Among the returners are redshirt sophomore TJ Lindsey, who was starting before going down with injury against USC, as well as rising junior Ian Jeffries. The latter transferred in from Arkansas State and emerged as a starter over the second half of the season.

Now, Purdue has four defensive tackles that it can trust moving into 2026, along with the top-rated recruit in the 2026 recruiting class, Josiah Hope, who will get to campus this year.

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