Marcus Mbow

Redshirt Sophomore

Wauwatosa, Wisconsin - Wauwatosa East

6’5 305lbs

Offensive Line (Offensive Guard)

Next up in the countdown is one of the better young offensive line prospects that Purdue has had in the past fifteen to twenty seasons in Marcus Mbow. Mbow appeared in 4 games as a true freshman in 2021 and then started all 14 games for the Boilers in 2022. The 6’5 and 305lb will again be the mainstay at the right tackle position where he had a great season on the offensive line for a Purdue offense that won its’ first West Division title and averaged 121 yards per game on the ground (an almost 40 yards per game improvement from 2021).

Although this goes against what Drew stated in his article for Daniel Johnson, I think Mbow slides outside this season full time and one of the transfers slide inside to the right guard position. Last season in the Minnesota game, Mbow played exclusively at right tackle and Purdue appeared to favor running to the right behind him. In fact, the long Mockobee run to seal the game was initially Mbow who sealed a block that allowed Mockobee to get to the second level (you can see that in the video below). With Mbow and Moussa lining up at the tackles and Hartwig at center, that leaves Daniel Johnson, Jalen Grant, Preston Nichols, and Luke Griffin to battle for those guard positions. Mbow and Moussa are just exponentially more athletic on the outside and with the level of ends they will face, it will be best to have them on the outsides protecting Hudson Card and sealing the edges for Devin Mockobee.

Mbow will likely take another major leap in his development this season and projects to possibly slide into consideration for All B1G honors this season, if he can stay healthy. Although a first team level of play may be beyond him right now, he has the ceiling to be a 2nd or 3rd team type of player this season, especially if the offense is explosive and Purdue can win some games under first year head coach Ryan Walters.

NEXT UP: #62 Ben Kuhns