Purdue Football: 12 in the Portal, Why?

Since the end of the season, we have seen 11 players enter the transfer portal to leave Purdue, Darius Pittman announced I believe after one game in 2019.

Why is this happening? What is going on?

Well, first, here are the 12 players leaving the program this summer.

Jordan Rucker - DB

Willie Lane - DL

Devon Connors - DL - (Transferred to program before spring ball and left already)

Kenneth Major - DB (Middle Tennessee)

Cornel Jones - LB (FSU Walk-On)

Byron Perkins - DB

Jack Smith - LB

Giovanni Reviere - DL (Chattanooga)

Tyler Hamilton - WR

Alex Criddle - OL/DL

Jordan Bonner - WR

Noah Ellison - WR

Darius Pittman - TE (Temple)

So, there they are. The sad thing is, most of these guys will not find another home and will be done with football, as that is the case with many transfers in college football.

Of the 12, 8 are from the defensive side of the ball, so, maybe the new scheme and new defensive coordinator played a role in the leaving of some players. Maybe his personality also played a role, as many have said he is 10000% go go go, some players do not gravitate to that.

I do think many of these were planned, especially the transfers that get announced after the spring semester is complete, there had been talks I am sure, but wanted to wait for the semester grades to come out, which I totally get.

We all knew that Purdue oversigned with this 2020 class, another top 30 class loaded with talent and really, you had to. As we are still building this young roster and getting more talent on campus.

But, going against that notion, I believe every single one of these guys that are leaving or being replaced, however you want to put it, were Brohm recruits.

Are these recruiting misses? A little bit, but recruiting over (for better talent) happens all the time in college football.

At some point, the argument “Well we are young” has to go away. In College football it is proven if you want to win games and a lot of them, you need a veteran team, a team that has played a lot of football. Young OL and DL generally get beat up by veteran opponents, that is just how it works (unless you are Karlaftis).

A 18 or 19 year old against a 22 year old senior or RS Junior is tough. At some point, we have to age and keep guys around for 3 or 4 years.

Many players are at home now during this pandemic. That may have played a role in it too. Many voiced around you telling you how things should be, you SHOULD be the starter. Why isn’t coach giving you a fair shot? You are better off leaving. We know those conversations are happening, that isn’t fair to the player or the program. (I think we know this happened with one Purdue Basketball Transfer).

In the end, losing players that have put in 2 or 3 years in the program is tough. Those are guys you expect to contribute or be great depth for your team. Losing 12 players of 85 scholarship players is real tough, we are talking roughly 14% of the roster to be replaced with transfers or freshmen, that now have the same learning curve we just taught those guys.

Either way, I for one am excited for the upcoming season, as it appears news continues to point towards some type of college football this fall.

Stay safe, stay healthy, Boiler Up.