Transfer portal season is in full swing and early signing day is just a few days away, making the latter half of December a busy time for Ryan Walters and the Boilermakers. Boiler Upload dives into transfers taking official visits, previewing early signing day next Wednesday and more in the Weekly Upload.
Koy Beasley ends rumors in favor of the Boilers:
Earlier this month, four-star safety Koy Beasley made Purdue quite nervous by taking an official visit to Syracuse to see the Orange new head coach Fran Brown, but that drama came to an end this week as Beasley will be signing with the Boilermakers next Wednesday.Purdue was able to fend off Syracuse for its highest-rated prospect in the 2024 recruiting class. Beasley is the No. 194 player in the country and the only incoming freshman inside the Rivals250 at this time.
Despite losing a trio of defensive back commitments in the cycle, Purdue will be able to hold on to arguably the top prospect in the entire class.
Signing Day surprises? Don't count on it
While Beasley offered a glimpse of potential signing day flips, the rest of Purdue's 2024 recruiting class is locked into place, at least as of right now. The Boilermakers have Beasley, four-star prospects Marcos Davila and Tayvion Galloway, along with highly-touted three-stars LeonTre Bradford, Luke Williams, Jaheim Merriweather and the rest of the bunch expected to sign.Purdue could still add to the class, however, as a number of offers are still outstanding to 2024 prospects. Two in particular are JUCO offensive lineman Jaekwon Bouldin and St. Thomas More prep standout Ellis McAdoo. Each have taken visits to Purdue, with Bouldin's being an official at the beginning of the month. The JUCO tackle is also considering Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Arkansas in his recruitment, but was high on the Boilermakers after his trip to West Lafayette.
The Boilermakers are still actively pursuing both and will be players for both leading into Wednesday and possibly into the start of February.
Transfer wide receiver takes official visit:
One of the top areas of need for the Boilermakers this off-season is pass catchers for returning quarterback Hudson Card, and a potential addition is currently on campus. Wake Forest transfer wide receiver Jahmal Banks told Boiler Upload that he is taking an official visit to West Lafayette from Thursday to Friday this week.Over the last two seasons, Banks had 101 catches for 1,289 yards and 13 touchdowns for the Deamon Deacons while being an All-ACC Honorable Mention in 2022. The 6'4" pass catcher is also being pursued by Notre Dame, Wisconsin, and West Virginia, all of which he has taken or is planning to take official visits to.
Transfer offensive lineman eyeing trip to West Lafayette:
Offensive line coach Marcus Johnson has been a busy man early in the portal season, netting commitments from two transfer and a JUCO product to help bulk up the trenches in West Lafayette. That pursuit will not stop there, however. Alongside 2024 recruits, Bouldin and McAdoo, Purdue is also after a number of transfer offensive linemen. One of which is looking to take a visit early in 2024.Holy Cross offensive line transfer Luke Newman plans to be in West Lafayette the weekend of January 12th for an official visit. Newman is one of the top linemen in the portal this cycle after being an FCS All-American in 2023 and an All-Patriot League first team selection each of the last three seasons. The 6'4", 310-pound left tackle had a Pro Football Focus grade of 88.2 last fall as well. To put that into perspective, the highest-graded offensive lineman for Purdue last season was 71.5, belonging to Preston Nichols.
There is no frontrunner for Newman at this point, but he is expected to also take visits to Michigan State, Illinois, Wake Forest, Kentucky and Vanderbilt.
Where are Purdue's portal defectors headed?
As Purdue looks to bring in talent, a number of now former Boilermakers have found new homes for the rest of their collegiate careers, included several Power 5 programs. At the top of that list is Deion Burks, who announced his transfer to Oklahoma earlier this week. Three others that has committed elsewhere are offensive lineman Josh Kaltenberger (Maryland), defensive lineman JP Deeter (Arizona State), wide receiver Trey Firestone (Ball State) and offensive lineman Malachi Preciado(South Alabama).Khordae Sydnor and Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen have both been sought after targets on the portal market and will likely both land another Power 5 opportunity in the near future. The most recent departure, Garrett Miller, reported receiving an offer from Texas A&M shortly after entering the portal yesterday. TJ Sheffield holds offers from Michigan State and Pitt, while Sulaiman Kpaka has been offered by Mississippi State, Arizona State and Georgia Tech as well.
Keep track of where all of the former Boilermakers land with Boiler Upload's transfer portal tracker.
