39 Days to Purdue Football: Ben Freehill & Will Chapman

With Zander Horvath off to the NFL we had no No. 40 yesterday, but we’re making up for it today with another double player day.

Ben Freehill - Jr. (RS)

Gibson City, IL (Gibson City Melvin-Sibley)

6’1”, 190 pounds

Kicker

2022 Projection: Kickoff Specialist

Freehill is a redshirt junior, but he is a relative newcomer to the program. He started his career at Oklahoma State. In high school he was the top rated kicker in the state of Illinois during the 2019 recruiting cycle. He was part of consecutive Class 2A state championship teams in the state of Illinois. He also handled punts and kickoffs as his team’s all-around specialist.

Last year was the first that he saw action at Purdue. He served as a kickoff specialist in the final six games, splitting time with Chris Van Eekeren. He finished this year with 15 touchbacks on 42 kickoffs and even got in on three tackles. He will likely have a similar role this year.

Will Chapman - Sr. (RS)

Indianapolis, IN (Cathedral HS)

5’11”, 235 pounds

Running Back

2022 Projection: Reserve

Chapman is one of three players on the roster from Cathedral in Indianapolis, so he knows what it takes to be a champion. He is a two-time Academic all-Big Ten selection and has been with the program for three years before 2022.

That’s a long time to wait, but last season he finally saw action. Due to attrition in the bowl game he played on defense and got his first career tackle. He is listed as a running back this year, so he could see some carries if Purdue is involved in a blowout. As a linebacker at Cathedral he had 113 career tackles.