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Three Thoughts on Minnesota RB transfer Ijeboi

by: Dub Jellison01/10/26dubjellison

Purdue added what is perceived to be the final piece of the backfield through the transfer portal last week with the commitment of former Minnesota running back Fame Ijeboi. GoldandBlack.com breaks down the commitment, what Ijeboi brings to the table and more.

Looking for more opportunity:

Ijeboi comes to West Lafayette after having flashed as a redshirt freshman in 2025 with the Golden Gophers. Star tailback Darius Taylor went down with an injury in week two against Northwestern State, opening the door for Ijeboi to be the number one back for PJ Fleck.

In those three games, Ijeboi had 174 yards and two touchdowns (one receiving) on an average of 4.24 yards per carry. He also filled in for Taylor in November, who missed the Michigan State game, having 108 yards and a score on 17 carries.

Now, Ijeboi heads to West Lafayette with a fresh slate and a potentially cleaner avenue to carries out of the Purdue backfield. The backfield is wide open for Cornell Ford,

What does Ijeboi bring to the table?

Ijeboi is a bigger back, standing 6 feet tall, and 210 pounds. The redshirt sophomore to be is tough to bring down for defenders, averaging 3.58 yards after contact per rushing attempt, which would have been the most for Purdue since Tyrone Tracy in 2023. He also had 26 missed tackles forced, which matched Devin Mockobee’s number from 2025, and the Minnesota transfer did so on 27 less touches.

When running behind the center, which was Ashton Beers for Minnesota, Ijeboi averaged 5.91 yards per attempt, and he averaged over 5.0 yards after contact per attempt on such carries.

He also has good vision and runs well between the tackles, but is not going to be a burner that can outrun the defense very often.

Pass blocking, even with his size, is something Ijeboi did not grade out well at via Pro Football Focus, with a 26.8 mark. The rising sophomore also did not make much of an impact in the passing game, having only 12 catches for 54 yards on the year.

How will snaps be divvied up?

Ijeboi steps into what could now be considered the most fascinating position group on the roster. Devin Mockobee is gone. We know that.

Now, a brand new cast enters for the Boilermakers and how Cornell Ford’s rotation will be interesting to watch. Texas transfer Jerrick Gibson was the first portal commit, the top portal get (according to On3, and perceived RB1, but now Ijeboi and Travis Terrell join the fray to build some competition.

Ijeboi has the talent to be a workhorse in the Big Ten. Travis Terrell has home run ability every time he touches the football. And not to mention Antonio Harris, who the Purdue staff knows well and was respectable out of the backfield for the Boilermakers behind Mockobee. Plus, Izaiah Wright stepped on campus this weekend, who is a freshman that Barry Odom said could help Purdue immediately.

Gibson could still be considered the frontrunner to land the lead tailback job for Purdue, but he is going to be pushed by Ijeboi, Terrell and the rest of the Boilermaker backfield.

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