34 Days to Purdue Football: Ben Van Noord

We are less than five weeks away from the start of Purdue football season. Today we take a look at a walk-on wide receiver.

Ben Van Noord - Sophomore. (RS)

Springfield, OH (Springfield HS)

6’2”, 210 pounds

Wide Receiver

2023 Projection: Reserve

Van Noord came to Purdue as a walk on after being named All Conference in high school. His senior season saw him catch 29 passes for 539 yards and six touchdowns. Van Noord didn’t see the field during the 2021 season so it essentially counts as a redshirt though with walk-ons you just never know how or if they will use that additional year.

During the 2022 season Van Noord appeared in two games, and I’m guessing you know which ones. That would be the blowout victory over Indiana State in which the benches were cleared and the blowout loss to LSU in which, again, the benches were cleared but this time for the exact opposite reason. Van Noord did not record a reception in either of these games.

As we’ve noted on the site, the wide receiver position is a huge question mark heading into Ryan Walters first year as head coach. However, Van Noord still faces a steep hill if he wants to become a key contributor this year. Though the WR room is light on experience there is certainly talent there that was heavily recruited by the prior coaching staff. The hope is that the skill was just being blocked by the likes of Rondale Moore, David Bell, and Charlie Jones and is in fact a solid group. Van Noord will look to impress the new staff and try to find a niche for himself in this untested group.