Coach Walters and company are trying to keep 3 different balls up in the air at the same time as they attempt to fill holes on the upcoming ‘23/’24 roster, play catch up with the seniors in the ‘24/’25 class, and build relationships and momentum in the ‘25/’26 class.

‘23/24

Outgoing

Corey Gammage

It’s rare in the current transfer portal world for a player to stick out as indecisive, but Gammage, if nothing else, is elite at changing his mine. The former Marshall receiver entered the transfer portal on January 18th, 2023. On January 23rd he committed to Memphis. That lasted into May, when he decommitted from the Tigers and threw his lot in with the Boilermakers. That lasted until June, when he decided that Central Florida was actually where he needed to play football.

I get it, every time we go to a new restaurant my wife vacillates between two menu items, weighing their pros and cons only to pick something totally different when it comes down to decision time. He’s got to be comfortable with his choice and he decided that opportunity to play near his Delray Beach home was too alluring to pass up. I hope he finds what he’s looking for in Orlando.

Incoming

Jayden Dixon-Veal

Gammage deciding to ply his trade elsewhere left Purdue in scramble mode. They need an immediate impact receiver for ‘23/24 and the pickings in June are slim. Instead of snagging a transfer, the staff went another route and managed to convince ‘23/’24 Oregon State JuCo commit Jayden Dixon Veal to fill the hole left by Gammage.

The 3*, 6’0, 180 pound receiver out of the College of San Mateo in California was considered by 247 sports to be the 15th best junior college receiver in the ‘23/’24 class. Before committing to Oregon State he also held an offer from Illinois. I assume that’s where is Purdue connection comes from. Gammage was going to play in the slot, and Dixon-Veal should fill a similar role. He’s not as proven as the Marshall transfer, but for me, it’s a 1 for 1 trade. Purdue needed an immediate impact slot guy, and Jayden fills that role.

‘24/25

Outgoing

Mason Dossett

Dossett, a 3*, 6’0”, 180 pound athlete (Purdue recruiting him as a slot receiver, Baylor has him as a safety) out of Missouri, Texas decommitted on June 6th, spurning the Boilermakers for in-state Baylor. His dad played at Baylor, and honestly, I’m not sure why he originally committed to Purdue before flipping to the team he clearly wanted to play for. It’s possible Baylor switched his offer from “wait and see” to “active”, either way, he’s an interesting prospect but 3* athletes are a dime a dozen. He could be great, but whoever Purdue replaces him with has an equal shot to be great. If you’re going to lose a guy, it’s best to lose him early when other options are readily available.

Incoming

Luke Williams

This was big for Purdue. Williams is a composite 4*, 6’1”, 175 pound athlete out of Naperville, Illinois. Safety is Coach Walters pet position, and he and Coach Kane landed a good one. This was a battle between Purdue and Illinois, with the Boilermakers coming out on top. This one has to sting for the Illini.

Luke plays both wide receiver and safety in high school and will need to refine his technique in the secondary (that can be said about 99% of all high school recruits) but the raw material is intriguing. On offense he can go up and get the ball, making contested catches look easy. On defense he’s a ball hawk looking to make game changing plays. When he makes a play on the ball, he’s looking to bring it down, not knock it down. There are pros/cons to that style of play, but Purdue is going to run an aggressive defense, and Williams is an aggressive safety.

He’s the second 4* recruit of the class, joining 4* quarterback Marcos Davila.

Jo’Ziah Edmond

Edmond is rated slightly behind Williams, but is no less important for ‘24/’25 class. The 3* 6’1”, 180 pound cornerback out of Northwood High School in Nappanee, Indiana picked the Boilermakers over offers from Wisconsin, Ole Miss, Kentucky, Iowa State, and Baylor (take that Bears!), no idea how many of those were actionable offers, but it’s clear teams across the nation consider him a player.

The former Warren Central player played in all 3 phases last season. As a junior in ‘22 he threw 2 passes, ran the ball 23 times, and caught 7 passes on offense and pulled down 5 interceptions on defense. He fits the long, athletic build Coach Kane and Walters like to utilize in the secondary, and much like Luke Williams, he tries to make the big play at every opportunity.

He’s the highest rated corner prospect Purdue has signed in over a decade (seriously, I went back to 2010, where he narrowly edged out Ricardo Allen .8759 to .8756. Needless to say, cornerback recruiting wasn’t a strong suit for the Brohm staff.

Dynamic Duo

‘25/’26

Incoming

Keylan Abrams

Purdue’s first commit in the ‘25/’26 class, Keylan Abrams, is a 6’0”, 195 pound linebacker out of Desoto, Texas. He’ll most likely play “edge” for Purdue. He may be small (at the moment, he just finished his sophomore year of high school) but he’s fast and relentless. Last season at Desoto he put up 74 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss, and 10.5 sacks in power house Desoto’s 6A-DII Texas State Championship season.

I’m excited about potentially adding an explosive edge rusher like Abrams to the program, but 2025 is a long way off, and West Lafayette is a long way from DeSoto. Purdue beat out North Texas and Fresno State for his commitment. It will be interesting to see if anything changes if one of the big Texas programs throws down an offer over the next 2 seasons. Maybe he ends up at Purdue, maybe he doesn’t, but I’d rather be Purdue than any other school trying to secure his commitment.

Overall

June’s been a little bumpy with a late decommit from a ‘23 portal guy and an early decommit from a ‘24 kid, but all-in-all, June has been a good month for the Boilermakers. Adding Williams and Edmond as potential cornerstones in the secondary is huge. Coach Walters just helped several of his former charges at Illinois get drafted and I’m sure that didn’t hurt Purdue’s chances.

Outside of Davila, it’s been slow going on the offensive side of the ball, but a hot start from the newly constituted Graham Harrell offense would be a huge boost for the ‘24/’25 class, but like in most coaching changes, you should have ‘25/’26 circled. That’s the first group Purdue won’t be playing catch-up with and will be a true example of this staff’s recruiting chops. That said, ‘24/’25 is shaping up to be better than most of Purdue’s recent classes. That’s not bad from a new head coach and young staff.