Purdue Football Recruiting: Sam Jackson Decommits

Sam Jackson, Purdue’s top rated recruit in the 2021 class, will look for an opportunity to play elsewhere.

Jackson, originally a Minnesota commit, flipped to the Boilermakers over the summer after Purdue offered him an opportunity to play quarterback. The 5’11, 175 pound athlete out of Naperville Central High School in Naperville, Illinois would have been an interesting addition the the quarterback room, and I was intrigued by his dual threat ability, even if he split time between quarterback and wide receiver.

This leaves Purdue without a quarterback for the 2021 class. That’s not a huge deal because Brohm brought in Austin Burton over the summer, creating a log jam at the position. Paul Piferi moved out to tight end to relieve a little of the congestion, but barring any offseason transfers, Purdue will carry 4 quarterbacks into the 2021 season. Even if they lose one of those quarterbacks to transfer, 3 quarterbacks is sufficient (I also cover Clemson and Kansas State, and they both carry 3) for Brohm’s needs. I don’t expect the coaching staff to look for another quarterback, but I will admit that I don’t have a firm grasp on our recruiting strategy at this moment, and have been surprised before.

This is, however, another blow to a 2021 recruiting class in short supply of top rated talent. Jackson was Purdue’s only 4* star commitment. Losing him puts Purdue in the basement of the Big10 in terms of recruiting (14th) and 82nd nationally. The Boilermakers need to close strong with Yanni Karlaftis and high 3* Alabama running back Jaylin White to avoid (on paper) their lowest rated recruiting class in the ratings era. This a little deceptive because it is now a 12 man class (as it stands at this moment), which hurts in the rankings. The overall quality recruit average of 84, while below the standard set over the last few years, isn’t terrible.