Purdue: 2021 Recruiting Trail
Last Updated: August 21, 2020
Recruiting is where a majority of a college football roster is built. Obviously a team wants to get the best players they can each year, but no two years are the same on the recruiting trail. Based on what a team is able to do one year the needs and expectations for the next year change. In this feature we will track what the Purdue Boilermakers have done and what they still need to achieve on the trail in the 2021 cycle.
2020 Recruiting Recap
Purdue’s 2020 recruiting class continued an upward recruiting trend for the program. The Boilermakers added five players rated four stars or higher in the 247Sports Composite. All five of those players play on the offensive side of the ball. The talent was spread out across the offense evenly, with a four star at quarterback, running back, receiver, tight end and on the offensive line. Head Coach Jeff Brohm continue to collect weapons to build the Purdue offensive attack.
While the star power on the the offensive side of the ball was abundant, the Boilermakers did not sign any defensive recruits rated four stars or higher. In fact Purdue’s highest rated defensive recruits was the 528th ranked player in the composite. The 2019 class did feature a strong group of defensive prospects including star defensive end George Karlaftis who is already one of the best players at his position. That said the Boilermakers will need to have a strong defensive class in 2021 to stock the cupboard.
Purdue recruits well in state but Indiana does not always have a plethora of highly rated prospects in state. In 2020 the Boilermakers did sign one of the two four star prospects in state. This continues a recent trend of Purdue doing well with some of the better prospects in state. Outside of Indiana, Purdue was able to add two four star prospects from Michigan. This makes it back to back years the Boilermakers have signed at least one four star prospect from Michigan. Purdue has done a good job finding talent across the Big Ten footprint, and will need to continue that trend going forward.
Purdue 2021 Recruiting Landscape
Head Coach Jeff Brohm has brought excitement to the Purdue program though 2019 was not as successful as 2020. The team dealt with major injuries all year and struggled to get any momentum. The program is still headed in the right direction and has raised it’s recruiting profile since Brohm’s arrival. Brohm did shake up his defensive coaching staff adding Bob Diaco as his new defensive coordinator along with a new defensive line coach and special teams coach. It will be interesting to see if the new coaches can build relationships with recruits and get results on the trail in year one.
There is not a lot of premier talent in state this cycle but one of the recruits in state is George Karlaftis’ brother Yanni Karlaftis. Purdue will again have to land some of the limited top talent in state and then search across the Midwest for more talented prospects to bring in. The Boilermakers will have to fight off competition from Notre Dame and Indiana in state. The Fighting Irish lean on their strong tradition and pick off top recruits in Indiana whenever they can. Indiana is the in state rival and had a strong season in 2020 both on the field and on the trail.
Goals For Purdue 2021Recruiting
1. Sign Yanni Karlaftis. He is a good prospect, in state, with a brother on the team. Purdue needs to make sure they keep Karlaftis home at Purdue. They have many built in advantages and if they could sign him this would also assure them landing a top in state recruit as well.
Status: Yanni Karlaftis has narrowed his list down to four schools. Purdue is battling Wisconsin, Cal and Oregon for his commitment.
2. Recruit top prospects from across Big Ten territory. The lack of premier talent in Indiana this cycle makes it even more important for Brohm and his staff to go out of state to find top talent. Purdue has done a good job recruiting the entire Big Ten footprint under Brohm and will need that to continue in 2021.
Status: Purdue has received a commitment from quarterback Sam Jackson from Illinois. This is a good start but the Boilermakers will need to find a couple more quality prospects in the region by signing day.
3. Recruit a few four star defenders. Star rankings aren’t everything but a better prospect does have a better chance to succeed. Purdue added quality defenders in 2019 but will need to continue to add that high end talent to the defense in the 2021 class.
Status: Purdue has not yet received a commitment from a four star rated defensive prospect. Karlaftis would obviously help here as well.
4. Sign at least one four star offensive lineman again. Purdue has recruited well on offense but the majority of that talent has been skill players. In 2020, the Boilermakers signed Center Gus Hartwig who was a four star prospect. The best teams have strong play in the trenches and as Purdue progresses they will have to consistently sign quality offensive linemen.
Status: Purdue has signed three offensive line prospects but none of them are ranked four stars at this time.
This post will be updated throughout the cycle.
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PA080143_jpg image taken by Daniel Hartwig is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
