Welcome to this week's rendition of the Weekly Upload, which has gone splendidly over the course of the last month or so. Please feel free to ask any questions or cite any concerns and I will do my best to respond to you guys. This week is a heavy focus on football.
The often talked about transfer portal and the impatience by many, myself included in the movement that Purdue Fans believe we will need. In the end, rather than scour the portal and flip a roster like many new coaches did and I do not totally agree with, Coach Walters recruited the roster he already inherited.
I know, crazy right? Like it is 2017 again! While the Boilermakers are thin at some positions, which the coaching staff is very much aware of, they opted in trying to retain the team they had. This will allow the brand-new coaching staff to evaluate the roster that they have on campus. It is not like Coach Walters and his staff has stood by the wayside with this portal window opening, but they went big, offering highly sought-after portal prospects.
In the end, with just 5 days left of this first opening, they hit one home run with highly touted transfer quarterback, Hudson Card. They hit on another quarterback as well, retaining Brady Allen, after he entered the portal the day after Christmas.
There are still some offers going out, in hopes that they may commit before the end of the portal date, January 18th. But remember, Grad Transfers can commit whenever, so while the portal may not be open again until May, there will still be offers, and maybe commits, to Purdue that have graduated from their previous institution.
Personally, the May portal opening will be an interesting two weeks. The players on campus will have had a spring season with the new staff, some may climb the depth chart, so may fall. My guess is that some will enter the portal then as well, which again, is the nature of the beast.
I personally love that he recruited the heck out of the roster he inherited, almost an old-school approach, and by old school, I mean like fours ago.
purdue.rivals.com
With all of that in mind from above, by my count in my very accurate scholarship count, Travis and I have Purdue with 4 scholarships currently open on this team. I went ahead and included Dylan Downing on the scholarship, as that has been rumored. I am also assuming Tyrone Tracy Jr will be back since he is listed on the 2023 roster and just was named student-athlete of the week for Purdue Football, a new weekly award they are doing, emphasizing their academic lives.
So, with only 4 scholarships open, as of right now, they have to be a little bit picky about who gets offers. (Counting Gilbert and Burhenn)
Just looking it over though, after posting by offense and defense roster reviews earlier in the week, Purdue could stand to get some help at Linebacker, Corner, and Offensive Line. Those positions are probably the most immediate positions of need. A lot of people have been clamoring for wide receiver help, I am not sure Purdue really needs any there. I believe there are 13 wide receivers on scholarship and then walk-on, Andrew Sowinski played quite a bit last season. Within those 13 scholarship wide receivers, there is plenty of talent available. Broc Thompson, Sheffield, Rice, Yaseen, Canion, Burks, etc. The question is, can one of those scholarship wide receivers step up and be the guy? Under Brohm we always had a feature wide receiver, that doesn’t have to be the case with the new offense, but it is nice to have.
purdue.rivals.com
purdue.rivals.com
Purdue is also thin at running back, but it will be hard to convince a transfer portal running back to come here to be the backup to Devin Mockobee, that is just a hard sell. He is here for three more seasons. Purdue will need to do a bang-up job with the 2024 class to ensure they get an incoming running back. Dylan Downing and Kentrell Marks will serve as backups in 2023, maybe Tyrone Tracy Jr can work in the backfield a bit as well.
The lone outlier, by my count that could give Purdue an extra scholarship, is if the NCAA denies Bryce Hampton a 7th year of eligibility. He is petitioning for it, the NCAA grants these things more often than not now, my hope is he will be with the Boilermakers in 2023.
Hell, the NCAA gave an Oregon Tight End a NINTH(!) year of eligibility back in November.
Boiler Upload Scholarship Chart
I also want to note, that coaches can get back on the road to recruit high schoolers starting today. I would expect Walters and the staff to be busy. They will continue to work on Glibert and Burhenn, but are still targeting other 2023s for the February 1st signing day, as well as the portal that remains open. Don't be surprised to see a commit before the portal closes.
Travis has reached out to the leaders of the Boilermaker Alliance and is trying to schedule a date to talk about the NIL workings of Purdue with them. Most of the people involved have days jobs, like being lawyers, in business, etc. So, we are trying to get you guys some inside information on how Purdue attacks this aspect of college athletics.
While some places like the U, use the money to recruit players to campus, like what they did in the Nijel Pack situation, or Louisville allegedly has a bag man, Purdue is using it a bit differently. From what I understand, NIL is understood in our athletic department, but it is currently being used with players that are already here, rather than Coach Walters showing up with a suitcase full of 100s to a recruit's doorstep, which would be illegal.
Speaking of NIL, here is a great story that was told at the AFCA convention last weekend. Ball State Transfer Carson Steele is headed to UCLA, allegedly Chip Kelly rented out the 4 best restaurants in Muncie and told Carson to choose where to go (jokes about nice places to eat in Muncie can go here), and Steele chose some steak house. There, the NIL plan was outlined (roughly under a million allegedly) and he committed the next day.
Anyway, coaches are not supposed to use NIL as a recruiting tool, but, you guys know as well as I do, that is not the case. NIL has turned College Athletics into the wild west to an extent. Purdue is focused on who is at Purdue and rewarding them, from what it seems, rather than saying “Hey recruit X, here is 250K, come here!”.
Purdue has ALWAYS done things the right way, do not expect that to change. I think that is a big reason that I personally love the university and its athletics programs, and probably a big reason why you do as well.
Jace put out a great story for his “End of the Road” series, highlighting graduating Purdue Football Players that are not returning. Last night, he put out a great one with the 7th-year player, Semisi Fakasiieiki. who came to campus when Hazell was still our coach and Barack Obama was still President of the United States. Crazy to think about, right?
Follow along with this series. So far, he has talked to Mitchell Fineran and Semisi Fakasiieiki.
purdue.rivals.com
purdue.rivals.com
Wave 1 of Transfer Portal Closing
The often talked about transfer portal and the impatience by many, myself included in the movement that Purdue Fans believe we will need. In the end, rather than scour the portal and flip a roster like many new coaches did and I do not totally agree with, Coach Walters recruited the roster he already inherited.
I know, crazy right? Like it is 2017 again! While the Boilermakers are thin at some positions, which the coaching staff is very much aware of, they opted in trying to retain the team they had. This will allow the brand-new coaching staff to evaluate the roster that they have on campus. It is not like Coach Walters and his staff has stood by the wayside with this portal window opening, but they went big, offering highly sought-after portal prospects.
In the end, with just 5 days left of this first opening, they hit one home run with highly touted transfer quarterback, Hudson Card. They hit on another quarterback as well, retaining Brady Allen, after he entered the portal the day after Christmas.
There are still some offers going out, in hopes that they may commit before the end of the portal date, January 18th. But remember, Grad Transfers can commit whenever, so while the portal may not be open again until May, there will still be offers, and maybe commits, to Purdue that have graduated from their previous institution.
Personally, the May portal opening will be an interesting two weeks. The players on campus will have had a spring season with the new staff, some may climb the depth chart, so may fall. My guess is that some will enter the portal then as well, which again, is the nature of the beast.
I personally love that he recruited the heck out of the roster he inherited, almost an old-school approach, and by old school, I mean like fours ago.
Purdue Football Transfer Portal Tracker
Your official 2022-2023 Purdue football Transfer Portal tracker
Scholarship Situation
With all of that in mind from above, by my count in my very accurate scholarship count, Travis and I have Purdue with 4 scholarships currently open on this team. I went ahead and included Dylan Downing on the scholarship, as that has been rumored. I am also assuming Tyrone Tracy Jr will be back since he is listed on the 2023 roster and just was named student-athlete of the week for Purdue Football, a new weekly award they are doing, emphasizing their academic lives.
So, with only 4 scholarships open, as of right now, they have to be a little bit picky about who gets offers. (Counting Gilbert and Burhenn)
Just looking it over though, after posting by offense and defense roster reviews earlier in the week, Purdue could stand to get some help at Linebacker, Corner, and Offensive Line. Those positions are probably the most immediate positions of need. A lot of people have been clamoring for wide receiver help, I am not sure Purdue really needs any there. I believe there are 13 wide receivers on scholarship and then walk-on, Andrew Sowinski played quite a bit last season. Within those 13 scholarship wide receivers, there is plenty of talent available. Broc Thompson, Sheffield, Rice, Yaseen, Canion, Burks, etc. The question is, can one of those scholarship wide receivers step up and be the guy? Under Brohm we always had a feature wide receiver, that doesn’t have to be the case with the new offense, but it is nice to have.
Roster Review: Offensive Positional Breakdown
What does the offensive roster look like for the Boilermakers currently?
Roster Review: The Purdue Defense
What does Coach Ryan Walters have on the defensive side of the ball headed into the spring?
Purdue is also thin at running back, but it will be hard to convince a transfer portal running back to come here to be the backup to Devin Mockobee, that is just a hard sell. He is here for three more seasons. Purdue will need to do a bang-up job with the 2024 class to ensure they get an incoming running back. Dylan Downing and Kentrell Marks will serve as backups in 2023, maybe Tyrone Tracy Jr can work in the backfield a bit as well.
The lone outlier, by my count that could give Purdue an extra scholarship, is if the NCAA denies Bryce Hampton a 7th year of eligibility. He is petitioning for it, the NCAA grants these things more often than not now, my hope is he will be with the Boilermakers in 2023.
Hell, the NCAA gave an Oregon Tight End a NINTH(!) year of eligibility back in November.
Boiler Upload Scholarship Chart
I also want to note, that coaches can get back on the road to recruit high schoolers starting today. I would expect Walters and the staff to be busy. They will continue to work on Glibert and Burhenn, but are still targeting other 2023s for the February 1st signing day, as well as the portal that remains open. Don't be surprised to see a commit before the portal closes.
NIL
Travis has reached out to the leaders of the Boilermaker Alliance and is trying to schedule a date to talk about the NIL workings of Purdue with them. Most of the people involved have days jobs, like being lawyers, in business, etc. So, we are trying to get you guys some inside information on how Purdue attacks this aspect of college athletics.
While some places like the U, use the money to recruit players to campus, like what they did in the Nijel Pack situation, or Louisville allegedly has a bag man, Purdue is using it a bit differently. From what I understand, NIL is understood in our athletic department, but it is currently being used with players that are already here, rather than Coach Walters showing up with a suitcase full of 100s to a recruit's doorstep, which would be illegal.
Speaking of NIL, here is a great story that was told at the AFCA convention last weekend. Ball State Transfer Carson Steele is headed to UCLA, allegedly Chip Kelly rented out the 4 best restaurants in Muncie and told Carson to choose where to go (jokes about nice places to eat in Muncie can go here), and Steele chose some steak house. There, the NIL plan was outlined (roughly under a million allegedly) and he committed the next day.
Anyway, coaches are not supposed to use NIL as a recruiting tool, but, you guys know as well as I do, that is not the case. NIL has turned College Athletics into the wild west to an extent. Purdue is focused on who is at Purdue and rewarding them, from what it seems, rather than saying “Hey recruit X, here is 250K, come here!”.
Purdue has ALWAYS done things the right way, do not expect that to change. I think that is a big reason that I personally love the university and its athletics programs, and probably a big reason why you do as well.
End of the Road Series
Jace put out a great story for his “End of the Road” series, highlighting graduating Purdue Football Players that are not returning. Last night, he put out a great one with the 7th-year player, Semisi Fakasiieiki. who came to campus when Hazell was still our coach and Barack Obama was still President of the United States. Crazy to think about, right?
Follow along with this series. So far, he has talked to Mitchell Fineran and Semisi Fakasiieiki.
End of the Road: Semisi Fakasiieiki
Semisi Fakasiieiki reflects on his seven years with Purdue football, his favorite memories and what the future holds.
End Of The Road: Mitchell Fineran
Mitchell Fineran reflects on his two years at Purdue and gives a glimpse into what the future holds.
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