Purdue Football Recruiting: Indiana 2019

Purdue is off to a somewhat slow start in terms of recruiting numbers, but as we saw last year, Coach Brohm likes to take it slow and execute his plan.

The Boilermakers have hit up numerous states with recruiting offers. In fact, there are so many offers out there, that it is kind of pointless to update each new offer at this point. This staff isn’t shy about shooting their shot, and that should pay off with a few unexpected surprises.

In an unusual occurrence, at least in terms of recruiting rankings, the state of Indiana is flush with top level 2019 talent, and Purdue is in on quite a few of the marquee names. It’s going to be a fight to land 1 or 2 of these guys, but I’m confident Purdue comes out with at least two 4* in-state recruits this cycle....I just don’t know which two.

Note: I use the 247 composite rankings

1. David Bell - Warren Central - WR - 6’2, 185 - 4* (.95) - Uncommitted

If you asked my at Christmas where David Bell would sign, I would have quickly said, “O.S.U.” and asked you to please move on and stop with your wild dreaming. Things have changed however, and Purdue now has a punchers chance to land the top player in-state player.

Purdue has a dynamic offense and would give Bell a better chance to showcase his talent than O.S.U. Urban Myer is not known for his ability to produce NFL talent. Every year they bring in top receiving talent, and Michael Thomas is the only WR to make an impact in the NFL during Urban’s tenure in Columbus. Truth is, he didn’t produce any true impact wide receivers at Florida either, considering the wealth of talent he had at his disposal, this should be a major talking point for Purdue as they move forward in recruiting.

If I had to bet my house, I would still bet on O.S.U., but Purdue is going to grinding hard for this in-state stud, and I really like the young, dynamic recruiters Purdue has on staff.

2. Sampson James - Avon - RB - 6’1, 210 - 4* (.93) - O.S.U. commit

Sampson James can obviously make up his own mind regarding where he wants to go to school, and right now, he wants to be a Buckeye. That tends to be a dangerous proposition for Indiana kids, but maybe Sampson can break the mold.

What I do know is that O.S.U. is flush with running back talent after taking 3 backs in the 2017 class. I also doubt James will be O.S.U.’s highest rated RB take in this class. He’s going to have to a steep hill to climb to find the field in Columbus, but he is certainly a talented, and capable back.

Purdue will continue to keep tabs on James, but for now, he’s a lock for O.S.U.

3. George Karlaftis - West Lafayette - DE - 6’5, 260 - 4* (.93) - Purdue commit

I know, I know, Karlaftis is going to take all 5 of his visits, and that usually doesn’t bode well for Purdue. That said, I would rather be Purdue than any other team, in terms of landing Karlaftis.

Purdue happily accepted the Karlaftis commitment, knowing full well he was going to explore all his options. Purdue isn’t in a position to say, “you’re either committed or you’re not committed” at this point in the programs development. George will take all of his recruiting trips, and I hope he has a good time before coming back home to Purdue.

The coaching staff certainly won’t be complacent when it comes to Karlaftis. I expect you’ll see at least one, if not multiple coaches, at every West Lafayette home game this season. Purdue can put on a full out recruiting blitz every week while expending very few resources.

He might look around, but I’m confident he ends up a Boilermaker when all is said and done. It just makes too much sense.

4. Beau Robbins - Carmel - DE - 6’4, 240 - 4* (.90) - Uncommitted

Robbins would make a great book end for Karlaftis in this class, but the Boilermakers haven’t gained much traction yet. If you like analogies - Robbins : Indiana :: Karaftis : Purdue.

I.U. is going to put the full court press on Robbins, and he has been on campus several times. I would venture to say he is the top attainable priority on I.U.’s board. Purdue has a serious outside chance, but they’re going to need an Indiana collapse and a great season and recruiting momentum to get Robbins to listen.

Right now the 3 teams leading the way for Robbins are I.U., M.S.U., and Iowa.

4. Cameron Williams - Andrean - DE - 6’3, 205 - 4* (.89) - Uncommitted

Williams is a tough one to figure out. Opinions are somewhat varied on Williams in terms of rankings, with some services seeing him as a 4* and others as a high to mid 3*. Regardless, he is a stud athlete and would certainly be a nice addition to Purdue’s recruiting class.

The problem is, Purdue hasn’t offered Williams yet, or at least, I can’t find a site that has Purdue listed as an offer. That could change, and it’s possible that Purdue has offered, seeing as how Williams was on campus April 18th, per his twitter account.

Needless to say, if a 4* linebacker called Purdue on the phone today and told the staff he wanted to commit, I’m pretty sure they would accept the commitment and throw a party. Brohm might even headbutt a wall in celebration.

Cameron is a guy that has really taken off in terms of recruiting, and I expect Purdue to at least shoot their shot when it comes this talented instate athlete. It’s just hard to tell where Williams is right now in terms of his favorites.

That wraps up the 247 composite 4*’s for now. I think a few more Indiana players may sneak up into the 4* range a little later on in the season. Overall, this is a stacked in-state year and Purdue needs to hit a few homeruns.