Before today Purdue had lost mostly reserves to the transfer portal. Unfortunately, the latest to enter is already huge loss to a struggling defense:
#Purdue LB is latest Boilermaker to enter the portal. https://t.co/sqrkvbRqXq
— Tom Dienhart (@TomDienhart1) December 20, 2019
This one sucks, really. Jones was entering his final year of eligibility and was essentially going to be a three year starter at a position of dire need. After being a top reserve as true freshman in 2017 he moved into the starter’s role at linebacker in 2018. He finished the year with 69 tackles, 12.5 for loss, and 3.5 sacks. It was a great season, but in 2019 injuries limited him to 25 tackles across six games. Since he played in 6 games he was unable to use his redshirt, so he has just one year of eligibility remaining. He can either try to graduate and transfer immediately or sit one to play one.
This is a huge blow to Purdue’s defense. Purdue was counting on him as a starter along with Jaylan Alexander and DaMarcus Mitchell for a strong linebacking trio. Mitchell likely takes over on the outside with Semisi Fakasiieiki filling the gap in the middle.
We wish Cornel luck, but man, his loss is big.