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Welcome to this week's “BOILING OVER,” GoldandBlack.com’s weekly information-clearinghouse and analysis column meant for our site members and site members only. We appreciate everyone’s cooperation in helping us keep what is sometimes delicate or proprietary information confined to this message board. This feature allows us to be more flexible in our reporting, to our readers' benefit, and we lose that ability if we can't keep this feature secure and the value of our site's membership at its peak. Additionally, we address recruiting and hiring processes in-depth and often without filter in this feature and we do it behind a subscription-protected barrier for a reason, in hopes of avoiding situations where our reporting can impact the recruiting process, which can happen occasionally.
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PURDUE FOOTBALL RECRUITING
So, even after adding Mo Omonode to its recruiting class, Purdue remains in the defensive tackle market, offering Texas nose tackle-type Connor Lingren this week.
Mark Hagen's knowledge of the lay of the land in Texas again coming into play. Lingren is from College Station, where Hagen coached for a few years before also working at Texas last year.
The 6-foot-6, 312-pound nose tackle said Purdue is trying to get him up for an official visit for the Indiana game next weekend, but he doesn't have his playoff draw yet, and may get a Saturday game, which would obviously be a problem.
A December visit might be most likely, as Lingren decides between Purdue, Vandy (who he's already visited) and Air Force. Incarnate Word has also offered.
In other DT news, one-time Purdue target Enyce Sledge is back on the market after de-committing from Baylor. We would not anticipate Purdue bending over backwards to get back involved with him at this point, but you never know. He officially visited back in June.
You might expect Purdue to be active in the transfer portal at DT this spring, too.
PURDUE FOOTBALL
Soon as the regular season ends, Purdue will hit the transfer portal hard once again, but the most important veteran it might add to next season's roster might be the guy playing quarterback now.
Playing the best football of his college career to finish out his senior season, Aidan O'Connell still would have the option to take his COVID year next year, which would provide Purdue some offensive continuity and buy some extra time for the young quarterbacks in the program to develop.
We asked both O'Connell and Jeff Brohm about the possibility this week, and both kicked the can down the road until after the season, but sixth-year returnees would seem like a discussion point with senior day coming up next weekend. Nothing stops a player from going through senior day, then coming back. Jackson Anthrop and Greg Long did last year, though that was the weirdest senior day ever.
A couple things regarding O'Connell that could factor into his decision.
We know for a fact that some NFL head coaches took note of O'Connell while scouting Rondale Moore. O'Connell threw for Moore at his on-campus workouts — at Moore's request, by the way, even though the two never actually played in a game together — with all those NFL people in attendance.
That said, that was basically just his arm that they saw. Closer scrutiny on the total package would be something very different, but O'Connell would be viewed as having an NFL arm. Whether he'd get drafted or not, who knows?
That said, another year spent presumably as a starting quarterback with Jeff Brohm might be a worthwhile experience in that context. It probably bears mentioning that both Mike White and David Blough were coached by Brohm and have found places for themselves in the NFL, White as a fifth-round journeyman and Blough an undrafted free agent.
Second, it is sort of public that O'Connell is dating volleyball player Jael Johnson, also a senior. Not to delve into anyone's personal life here, but people do have lives outside of their athletic careers, too, that factor into these decisions.
We'll see what happens here, but O'Connell has left the door open all season to a potential return and It would seem like a pretty big deal for Purdue if it happens, in terms of the opportunity to build on this season's success. (BN)
PURDUE BASKETBALL RECRUITING
Don't have much more for you on the upcoming visit from Swedish center William Berg other than every indication and reasonable assumption suggesting that Purdue's the likely landing spot for the big man. He's also considering Utah State, but had also been offered by Illinois and others.
We do also fully expect, though, Purdue to be active on the transfer for bigs, too. They have to brace themselves for the potential of Zach Edey going pro, too. Or if not, then bringing In a transfer could allow for a potential redshirt for Berg, If Purdue has the scholarship space to handle all that when the time comes.
But we are telling you here that the possibility of Edey departing could be a very real one before long, and Purdue is going to need to try to cover itself in case it loses both its centers off this team. (BN)
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