2020 Purdue Football Recruiting: Malachi Melton Commits

The parade of commitments continues as Purdue grabbed its 13th commitment for 2020.

Melton is listed as a 3-star athlete per Rivals. He is also a 3-star per ESPN and 247. He comes from Egg Harbor City, New Jersey and Purdue got him over offers from Rutgers and Boston College. He plays both cornerback and wide receiver at his school, but will likely be a cornerback at Purdue.

This is taking a major dump in Rutgers’ yard, as his brother is a receiver for the Scarlet Knights. Bo Melton is a junior that had 28 receptions for 245 yards last season for Rutgers, so next season when Rutgers comes to Purdue we could have Melton vs. Melton much like how we had Jared Sparks vs. Adam Sparks in the Purdue-Missouri series the last two years. His parents also both played sports at Rutgers.

This also starts to squeeze the scholarship situation just a bit as well. Per the updated grid, we’re down to two open spots for the 2020 season.

This is obviously a fluid situation. Every year there is turnover and attrition from players who leave, so we probably have room for 4-5 more to be sure. The smaller graduating classes each of the next two years (9 or 10 this year, 11 or 12 next year) make for smaller recruiting classes. I have this number in flux because Alex Criddle did not play last year after playing in 2016 and 2017, so that was his “redshirt” year and he could have a fifth year next year.

We’re also well under the limit for this coming season with only 76 scholarship players and the hard limit of 25 new scholarships that pushed Jacob Wahlberg and Chase Triplett to classify as 2020 guys. It probably means some deserving walk-ons will get scholarships after fall camp when they can, but for now those spots are open.