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Old National Presents: The 3-2-1—Athens North?

On3 imageby:Tom Dienhart•04/29/25•

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Three things learned. Two questions. One bold statement. It’s time for The 3-2-1, a look at Purdue football.

Three things learned

1 – Portal shop ’til you drop

The portal commitment count is up to 18 for Barry Odom. And more are on the way. This, after 29 portal transfers were added in December (two of those already have left).

Three more visitors are here today, as Purdue looks to continue its rehabilitation of a roster that has been torn asunder with 25 players leaving in April.

How high could the spring portal addition count go? Maybe as high as 25. So, add it up, and the Boilermakers could have close to 60 players from the portal on the 2025 roster.

2 – Building a better wall

To date, no position on the team has received a bigger portal injection than the offensive line. So far, the staff has brought in five blockers. And, there is plenty of beef on the quintet.

• Georgia’s Marques Easley, 6-5, 315
• Tulanes’s Jude McCoskey, 6-8, 300
• Eastern Kentucky’s Tyrell Green, 6-5, 355
• Kentucky’s Marc Nave, 6-4, 330
• Auburn’s Bradyn Joiner, 6-2, 328

This has to make QB Ryan Browne smile.

And, the scuttlebutt along Northwestern Avenue is this: Purdue isn’t done adding big bricks to its o-line via the portal. Two more offensive linemen could be imported.

Stay tuned.

MORE: Tuesday portal update

3 – Athens North?

The procession of former Georgia Bulldogs to Purdue is fascinating, unique, astounding and probably just coincidence.

In the April portal window, Purdue has added four former Bulldogs: OL Marques Easley, LS Luke Raab and WRs Nitro Tuggle and Michael Jackson. Easley, Tuggle and Raab should start … and need to deliver the goods.

Purdue took four Bulldogs last year: WR De’Nylon Morrissette, WR CJ Smith (now at Memphis), CB Nyland Green (Arizona State) and DE C.J. Madden.

Last year’s foursome was the ultimate mixed bag. Honestly, the quartet was a dud. Smith caught six passes in three games in a season muted by injury, while Green made 23 tackles in eight games and was the lowest graded Purdue 2024 defender per PFF metrics. Madden played the first three games and missed the rest due to injury. Morrissette was the “star” of the group by making 11 catches in 11 games. Morrissette and Madden look poised to play big roles in 2025. Will they deliver?

MORE: Spring portal additions | Spring portal departures | 2026 Purdue commitments | 2025 Roster distribution

Two questions

1 – How many players are left from the 2022 roster that won the Big Ten West?

By my count, only five remain. And just one of those is a scholarship player: RB Devin Mockobee, who was a walk-on in 2022.

The other four still on the roster from 2022 are walk-ons: OL Drew Woodruff, RB Addai Lewellen, OL, Hayden Timosciek (who left and came back) and P Bennett Boehnlein.

Crazy, huh?

3 – Hello? Is Marcus there?

Purdue OL Marcus Mbow was selected in the fifth round of the NFL draft on Saturday. Good to see. But, Mbow was projected to be a Top 100 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Heck, some thought there was a chance Mbow could sneak into the late-first-round.

Doesn’t matter.

Mbow is now a pro. And he can “show ’em” on the field, like RB Tyrone Tracy did with the Giants last year as a fifth-round pick, too.

Mbow was the lone Purdue player drafted. Not a shock. And, as I write this, only four have signed free-agent deals: OL Corey Stewart (Chargers), OL Gus Hartwig (Jets), DE Jireh Ojata (Chiefs), RB Reggie Love (Colts).

No word on QB Hudson Card and LB Kydran Jenkins.

One bold statement: April MVPs, Brandon Lee and Ethan Baxter

Brandon Lee is the general manager and Ethan Baxter is the assistant general manager. The duo has been working overtime to help assemble the Boilermaker roster on the fly via the portal. Lots of names and numbers to balance for this tandem. And the work continues for the two most important men without whistles.

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