Football Visitors This Weekend
Purdue hosted a plethora of visitors last weekend, landing Junior College offensive tackle Issiah Walker. Aside from Walker, Chrisdasson Saint-Jean had visits scheduled elsewhere, Colorado being one of them and has canceled them. Making his visit to Purdue last weekend his last college visit before National Signing Day on February 1st.
Speaking of visitors, Purdue will host several this weekend. This is the last weekend before National Signing Day on Wednesday, so Purdue has a chance to make a last impression on the prospects coming this weekend.
2023 Visitors
Arhmad Branch, who has burst onto the scene since Purdue offered him, will be on campus this weekend. Rivals now ranks the athlete as a 3-star prospect. His film speaks for itself, he is an impressive athlete. He could potentially play at wide receiver or cornerback, but Wide Receivers Coach Cory Patterson is the one who found Branch and offered him. It is thought that Branch could commit this weekend.Mondrell Dean and Purdue have gained traction since he was offered early in the week. Dean, who is listed as an athlete, played a variety of positions in high school, including running back. Personally, I see him more as a Tight End or a Defensive End. At 6-4, 240 pounds, he is freakishly athletic and explosive but does not have the burst to be a running back at Purdue.
Kendrick Gilbert will be here this weekend before he goes for an unofficial at Kentucky. Kentucky has long pursued Gilbert and will try and make a late push Saturday and Sunday. Gilbert is on campus now, I believe. It is thought that he is solid with Purdue, but Kentucky has been a thorn in the side of Purdue since he verbaled to the previous staff.
2024 Visitors
Brauntae Johnson’s teammate will be here this weekend, Jordan King is scheduled to make a visit. The 6-5, 310-pound offensive lineman is a massive human being, which has been the theme with the offensive linemen the new staff is going after. If you remember right, the old staff liked to take thinner OL and put the bulk on them, it does not seem to be the case any longer. IU and Louisville have offered King.
Purdue will also host Franklin Central Cornerback, Hudauri Hines. He will be a priority for the 2024 class as the team is very thin at cornerback.
Hudauri Hines 2024 Cornerback Purdue
Hudauri Hines - 3 Star Cornerback for Purdue on BoilerUpload
Jo'Ziah Edmond will be here this weekend as well. His teammate, Nitro Tuggle visited last weekend.
Jo Ziah Edmond 2024 Cornerback Michigan
Jo’Ziah Edmond - 4 Star Cornerback for Michigan on Maize&BlueReview
Under the radar Offensive Lineman, Matt Hofer will be on campus this weekend. He is an in-state prospect from Valpo.
Matt Hofer 2024 Offensive Tackle Toledo
Matt Hofer - 2 Star Offensive tackle for Toledo on TheRocketNation
2024 Out-of-State Prospects Visiting This Weekend:
Austin Alexander 2024 Cornerback Kansas
Austin Alexander - 4 Star Cornerback for Kansas on JayhawkSlant
Tysean Griffin FRESHMAN Wide Receiver Illinois
Tysean Griffin - Wide receiver for Illinois on OrangeandBlueNews
Luke Williams 2024 Safety Purdue
Luke Williams - 3 Star Safety for Purdue on BoilerUpload
Darrion Dupree FRESHMAN Running Back Wisconsin
Darrion Dupree - Running back for Wisconsin on BadgerBlitz
More on the 2023 Class.
From everything we have heard, George Burhenn should be set to sign on Wednesday, unless something happens at the eleventh hour. The 6-5, 215-pound tight end wavered after the last staff left. But Louisville did sign a 4-star tight end, which bodes well for Purdue.
I am unsure if I mentioned this in previous posts, but these freshmen of the 2023 class are already on campus. This gives them a semester head start, allows them to learn the new offensive and defensive scheme early and maybe most importantly gets these guys in a college weight room.
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2022/jimmy-liston-269057?view=pv
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2023/dillon-thieneman-277485
Transfer Portal
Purdue is starting to dive into the cornerback market. Looking for grad transfer students currently and will address it more in the second portal opening. Cornerback is probably the biggest hole left on the roster.
Travis Perry and Flory Bidunga
Coach Painter a couple of weeks ago went down to Kentucky to see 4-star guard, Travis Perry. Perry, a 2024 prospect, then reciprocated by coming last weekend and will be back this Sunday for the matinee against Michigan State.This will mark Perry’s fourth time coming to campus, which is never a bad thing, obviously. I don’t expect a commitment anytime soon, but signs are pointing out that it could happen at some point.
Travis Perry 2024 Point Guard Kentucky
Travis Perry - 2024 4 Star Point guard for Lyon County (Eddyville, KY) on Rivals.com
Coach Painter remains in pursuit of the top 5 player in the nation, Flory Bidunga. He was there to see him play against Tipton the other day. For obvious reasons, Bidunga is a top priority for Purdue. For being a top 5 player in the nation, I personally don’t see him being a one-and-done type player, but more of a multi-year center. I have heard that he has started to warm up to Purdue, and obviously the more successful Purdue is will help in the pursuit of any player.
Flory Bidunga FRESHMAN Power Forward Kansas
Flory Bidunga - Power forward for Kansas on JayhawkSlant
Football Scholarships
I wanted to repost the scholarship grid that I put out there earlier this week. By my count, there are currently four open scholarships. I am pretty confident in saying that there will be more roster attrition as the winter and spring goes on.
Whether players do not vibe with the new staff, they remain as backups during the spring or they want a change of scenery, it is bound to happen.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ihv39xOf0xSYJLGwcc8O7of9gGuOh9yeZdgxCsmLuB4/edit?usp=sharing
New Strength Coach Makes a Statement
Purdue has started to dive into their winter workouts with the new Strength Coach, Kiero Small. I talked to a couple of players and they said it is MUCH different than the last staff. The first order of business was cleaning up the locker room under Kiero Small, the player told me many lockers were a disaster and Coach wants them nice and neat. No chewing gum in the weight room is one of the many new rules.
I asked if they believed it to be a good thing and the player said “yes, we need this to be successful.”
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