Purdue Football Rebuilding; Question is: How Good Will They Be?

Not since the years after the Civil War has there been a bigger reconstruction project than the one facing Barry Odom in his first few months as Purdue football head coach.

OK, so I’m exaggerating but let the numbers tell the story of how the Boilermaker program is being rebuilt from the studs.

25

That’s how many Boilermakers entered the transfer portal at the conclusion of spring football practice. Eighteen were on scholarship, most notably nose tackle Mo Omonode. The West Lafayette graduate played 33 games before heading north to Minnesota. Following Omonode to the Twin Cities is promising offensive lineman Jaden Ball.

Linebacker Hudson Miller, a former walk-on, started five games a year ago. Long snapper Nick Levy is off to his third school, Wisconsin. Former four-star recruit Joe Strickland, a standout defensive end at Brebeuf, is headed to Liberty. Indiana’s 2023 Mr. Wide Receiver, Donovan Hamilton, hopes to find playing time at Ball State.

29

The number of Boilermakers to enter the transfer portal immediately after the 2024 season. Notable losses include All-American Dillon Thieneman to Oregon, tight end Max Klare to Ohio State, defensive end Will Heldt to Clemson, linebacker Yanni Karlaftis to Northwestern, offensive tackle Mahamane Moussa to Louisville, guard D.J. Wingfield to USC, nose tackle Cole Brevard to Texas, defensive linemen Jeffrey M’Ba and Damarjhe Lewis to SMU, and punter Keelan Crimmins to Illinois.

8

Remaining players from former coach Ryan Walters’ first recruiting class at Purdue. Possible starters this fall out of that number include quarterback Ryan Browne, tight end George Burhenn, defensive tackle Jamarrion Harkless and linebacker Winston Berglund.

6

Players remaining from Walters’ top 10 ranked transfer class of 2024: Defensive lineman Jamarius Dinkins, defensive end C.J. Madden, quarterback Bennett Meredith, wide receiver De’Nylon Morrissette, defensive end Trey Smith and offensive tackle Joey Tanona.

10

That’s how many high school and junior college recruits remain from the 2024 class. Kicker Spencer Porath was the only impact player as a freshman.

To sum it up, that’s 54 departures to just 24 players remaining from Walters’ recruiting efforts. Add starting running back Devin Mockobee, a holdover from the Jeff Brohm era, and Odom has had a long shopping list to fill up to 105 roster spots.

Happily for two former walk-ons, offensive lineman Ethan Trent of Carmel and defensive back Sterling Smith of Cathedral via Holy Cross, they impressed Odom enough to earn scholarships. And in Smith’s case, exchanging uniform No. 46 for No. 3.  Single-digit numbers usually indicate a player who is likely to see playing time.

Odom is no stranger to reconstruction projects.

Before his arrival at UNLV, the Runnin’ Rebels had had one winning season in 22 years. Odom led UNLV to consecutive Mountain West Conference championship games, was named Mountain West Coach of the Year in 2023 and compiled a 19-8 record.

The foundation of that turnaround was 50 transfers in 2023 and 55 in 2024. So it should come as no surprise that as of Wednesday, Odom has brought in 52 transfers. Eight of the transfers followed Odom from UNLV.

To put this into context, Curt Cignetti brought in 31 transfers after taking the Indiana job a year ago. Thirteen of them played for Cignetti at James Madison. Most of them were instrumental in helping Cignetti transform the Hoosiers from a 3-9 squad to a school record 11-2 team that made the College Football Playoff.* (*This is not a prediction Odom will perform a similar turnaround at Purdue).

Of Purdue’s 25 spring transfer portal additions, it’s obvious the positions Odom and his staff believed needed upgrading: Four wide receivers, two linebackers, five offensive linemen, five defensive linemen and five defensive backs.

Add the pre-spring practice transfers and the totals jump to 11 defensive backs, six linebackers, eight defensive linemen, 10 offensive linemen and eight wide receivers.

Also, the likely first-string punter, Jack McCallister, came in from Nebraska via Washington. Kicker/punter Seth Turner arrived from Connecticut as competition for McCallister, former Arkansas punter Sam Dubwig and incumbent kicker Spencer Porath.

The 2025 freshman class is comprised of five former UNLV commitments, five who stuck with Purdue after Walters departed and defensive back Maxwell Barbee, who signed with the Boilermakers in February.

That’s 63 new players who, depending on their enrollment date, will have from eight months to weeks to learn Odom’s system and form a bond. Welcome to the new reality of college football.

A frequently asked question by Purdue fans this fall will be, “who’s he?” I suggest printing out the official roster from purduesports.com before the season opener Aug. 30 against Ball State.

Another honor for Smith

Point guard Braden Smith on Wednesday was selected the Ricks Family Male Athlete of the Year at Purdue. Volleyball standout Raven Colvin, the daughter of former Purdue and NFL star Rosevelt Colvin, earned the Female Athlete award.

“Braden established himself as the premier point guard in all of men’s college basketball,” Purdue athletic director Mike Bobinski said of the junior who earned consensus first-team All-America honors. He also was named Big Ten Player of the Year as well as the Bob Cousy Award winner as the nation’s best point guard. “Raven capped off a remarkable volleyball career … etching her name throughout our record books and standing out as one of the Big Ten’s most dominant defensive players.”

Smith averaged 15.8 points, 8.7 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game. He broke the 47-year-old school record for career assists during the 2024-25 season.

Colvin earned second-team All-America honors in 2024, leading the Big Ten and ranking third nationally with 1.56 blocks per set.

Going for five

The Purdue men’s basketball team will seek to add the Baha Mar Championship to its string of four consecutive multi-team event titles the week before Thanksgiving.

The Baha Mar is part of what is expected to be a challenging non-conference schedule that will feature preseason No. 13 Iowa State, No. 15 Auburn in Indianapolis, a trip to No. 21 Alabama and a home game with traditional power Marquette. Purdue also has scheduled an exhibition game at No. 10 Kentucky.

GoldandBlack.com and other media reports have indicated the Baha Mar field will include Memphis and Wake Forest. Former Boilermaker guard Myles Colvin transferred to Wake Forest after the 2024-25 season.

Since 2021, Purdue has brought home first-place trophies from the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament in Uncasville, Conn., the Phil Knight Legacy in Portland, the Maui Invitational and last season’s Rady Children’s Invitational in San Diego.

Regarded as one of the national championship favorites in 2026, Purdue officially opens the season Nov. 4 vs. Evansville. The non-conference slate also includes NCAA Tournament teams Oakland (Nov. 7 at home) and Akron (Nov. 16 at home).

Oakland (2024 NCAA Tournament second round), Akron (2025 MAC regular-season and Tournament champion) and Kent State (NIT Quarterfinalist). NIT quarterfinalist Kent State comes to Mackey Arena on Dec. 29.

Kenny Thompson is the former sports editor for the Lafayette Journal & Courier and an award-winning journalist. He has covered Purdue athletics for many years.