Express Recruiting notes and FB Insider

Recruiting news and football notes from late last week.

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PURDUE FOOTBALL

• BTN was at practice on Wednesday. I caught up with analyst Gerry DiNardo to get a few thoughts:

“Hudson (Card) is as good as I’ve seen. Maybe not the best, but he may be the best. I mean, he can really throw it. It was a non-contact practice. So, if I had to do a deep dive on him, I would try to get to Texas tape to see how he is in live ball. Because, the problem with evaluating quarterbacks is, if they’re not live, which they never are, their eyes are always on the coverage. When you get in the game, if it is a first-time quarterback, the eyes start going to the rush, then, that’s a problem.

“But, he can really, really spin it. I mean, he’s really good. And he’s very, very talented. So, they got one there.

“We haven’t seen Wisconsin and Iowa yet. And we haven’t seen Illinois. But there’s a bunch of people in that grouping. (Purdue has) the toughest schedule of everybody. So, that’s the challenge.

“Like most new programs, they lack depth at the line scrimmage both offensively and defensively, but probably more so offensively.

“The other thing is the defense scheme that they’re bringing with them from Illinois, they’re gonna have to adjust that because playing complementary football at Illinois on defense was a good deal. Bret (Bielema) was gonna possess the ball, he was gonna kill the clock. He’s gonna be really good at special teams and all that stuff. (As opposed to Purdue’s fast-paced Air Raid offense.) So, they may have to adjust what they’re doing on defense. By that I mean, they may have to be a little bit more conservative if they’re gonna be on the field a lot more.”

Not going to bury the lead – Hudson Card was REALLY good. He absolutely put on a show. Tremendous arm, threw from a bunch of different angles – in the pocket, on the run. He is a game-changer and will be one of the better QB’s in the B1G.

Back-up Bennett Meredith was solid too pic.twitter.com/uZdhQgmULM

— Dave Revsine (@BTNDaveRevsine) August 16, 2023

• The tight end room is one of the more promising areas of the squad. It could be very good if Purdue can get Garrett Miller back healthy after a knee injury ruined 2022. He is special … if A-OK physically.

Paul Piferi is solid.

Max Klare is very talented, as is Drew Biber. If those guys can stay healthy, they will continue to grow and be good as they navigate growing pains. They will continue to get better the more they play and mature.

George Burhenn could be the next great one. He’s a high-level talent who doesn’t know how good he can be. The true freshman needs to put on weight and develop physically but has made some impressive plays in camp even though he doesn’t quite yet know what he’s doing. Burhenn has athletic ability, length, speed, hands and toughness … all the physical tools. The ceiling is high. He just needs to learn the nuances of the position and fill his frame out.

• If a game was being played tomorrow, who would start on the offensive line? Things are in flux, but here is a best-guess:
LT- Mahamane Moussa
LG- Preston Nichols
C- Austin Johnson
RG- Jalen Grant
RT- Marcus Mbow

Grant is getting work at center and Ben Farrell is being worked in the mix at right guard, as well, all in pursuit of the best combination up front.

The question is gonna be: Who is the best center? If it is Grant, then the right guard competition will be between Johnson and Farrell. If Johnson is good enough to start at center, then the guards will likely be Grant and Nichols. Bottom line: Grant and Nichols are most likely gonna start somewhere.

The front is set at tackle, with Mbow and Moussa fixtures to start. But it will be interesting to see how Daniel Johnson factors in once he’s fully back from a knee injury suffered in 2022.

In summary, Purdue is pretty well set at guard and tackle. The center spot is up for grabs, at least until Josh Kaltenberger comes back … which could be before the opener, as he fills in for Gus Hartwig. Hartwig’s return? Stay tuned.

Bottom line: The o-line has been pretty solid throughout camp, so far.

• Purdue has one scholarship available. And, it likely will go to a deserving walk-on.

PURDUE FOOTBALL RECRUITING

• Purdue made a big early addition on Tuesday when it got a commitment from 2025 Texas three-star quarterback Sawyer Anderson. The Dallas Parish Episcopal product is listed at just 5-10, but his dad says he’s 6-0.

Speaking of his father, Blake Anderson played baseball at Mississippi State and in the Colorado Rockies organization. His father was former NFL RB Donny Anderson (Packers, Dolphins, Cardinals from 1966-75).

Sawyer Anderson’s athletic ability and dual-threat skill-set are game-changers, which is why he also had offers from the likes of Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Texas Tech and N.C. State, among others. Anderson visited Purdue unofficially at the end of July, when four-star 2025 Findlay, Ohio, quarterback Ryan Montgomery also visited. BTW: Montgomery no longer is considering Purdue.

Anderson is Purdue’s second 2025 commit, joining linebacker Keylan Abrams, who pledged in June.

• Pretty quiet on the recruiting front. DL Demeco Kennedy is believed to be a heavy Purdue lean. He’s expected to announce his school this month. I think we all know where this is headed.

• What’s next? Purdue will have 2024, 2025 and 2026 recruits begin to visit for games, starting with the opener vs. Fresno State on Sept. 2.

PURDUE BASKETBALL RECRUITING

Not much to add here as things are dead for a couple more weeks, but one grassroots machination to make note of: Trent Sisley has moved over to Indiana Elite to play next spring and summer on the adidas circuit.

Doesn’t really impact recruiting, but it will put him on a loaded team. Assuming IE returns the majority of its excellent 2025 team, Sisley will play alongside center Malachi Moreno, wing Braylon Mullins, point guard Luke Ertl, among others.

Purdue is operating for 2025 as if it only has one scholarship and the 4 position is the priority. Sisley has long been their guy, the one they want. Whether they can get him or not, we’ll see. Indiana should be a real factor here even though their transfer-minded approach gives Sisley something to look closely at. There’s time still, too, for some national programs to show up in the spring and maybe alter things, as we have mentioned before. In transfer-and-NIL world, top-100 sorts of guys are not gonna see the same attention they did just a few years ago, especially late attention.

If not IU, then Michigan State and Notre Dame join Purdue as being very much factors.

Sisley will be back at Purdue in October for an unofficial visit.

PURDUE BASKETBALL RECRUITING

So here’s what we think the official visit schedule looks like right now.

Sept 1-2: Travis Perry, Jack Benter, Raleigh Burgess.

Chances Perry commits? We think Purdue is No. 1 ahead of Cincinnati, Michigan, Western Kentucky and Notre Dame, but he’s been so deliberate about this process that he may be inclined to take multiple visits. Him knowing that Purdue would take him and Harris — if he’s aware of the landscape around him – means there may not be huge sense of urgency if he does ultimately get won over by Purdue during the visit.

Sept. 8-9: Gicarri Harris, Kanon Catchings (maybe they’ll be on the same flight from ATL)

Chances Harris commits? We’d be surprised if he didn’t. His mother has wanted him to go through enough of a process to where he is dead certain about Purdue. Otherwise this might have been over months ago.

Catchings, by the way, leaves for Overtime Elite this weekend, we think.

We’ll try too find out next week about any junior official visitors. With scholarship restrictions, not sure this is going to be a typical fall and winter in that regard. Sisley and Jalen Haralson will make unofficial visits.