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Old National Presents: The 3-2-1 of Purdue football

On3 imageby:Tom Dienhart•03/03/25•

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

Three things learned

1 – Spring ball is here!

Barry Odom will take the wraps off his first spring session on Tuesday with the first of 15 practices. The proceedings will conclude on April 12 with a spring game.

The unknowns? There are many. The real question: Where to begin?

The roster has been torn asunder. Odom has seen 34 players exit via the portal and 29 arrive. He is used to building a roster on the fly, having brought in over 50 new players in each of his two seasons with UNLV.

2 – Recruiting set to heat up

A recruiting dead period ended on Monday, so look for Purdue to start having recruits on campus this week as the push for 2026 commitments picks up more steam.

2026 South Elgin (ll.) High TE Gavin Mueller is supposed to be here Tuesday, and 2026 Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger OT Andrew Trahin is slated to be on campus on Thursday. Expect more visitors to be added as Purdue opens spring practice.

There could be a bunch of visitors for this Saturday’s practice. And look for more names to be added to a growing list of official visitors for this spring.

So far, Odom has one 2026 commit: Rico Schrieber, a massive offensive lineman from the Chicago area.

3 – Get out your stopwatch: Pro Day is coming

Against the backdrop of the start of spring football, Purdue will hold its annual Pro Day on Wednesday.

OL Marcus Mbow, OL Gus Hartwig, QB Hudson Card, OL Corey Stewart, K Ben Freehill, DL Joe Anderson, DE Jireh Ojata, DE Shitta Sillah, RB Reggie Love and LB Kydran Jenkins are expected to workout in Mollenkopf for NFL scouts.

Mbow, who took part in the Senior Bowl, is coming off a good effort in the NFL Combine. The NFL Draft will be April 24-26 in Green Bay. Some pundits think Mbow could be a Top 100 selection.

Two questions

1 – What’s the biggest question looming as spring practice starts?

Yes, as mentioned, there are many questions looming. But the biggest: Who will be the QB?

There are three primary contenders: Malachi Singleton, EJ Colson and Evans Chuba. Is there a favorite? Maybe it’s Singleton, a sophomore from Arkansas. But this battle figures to be a long ways off from being decided.

2 – How does the secondary look?

No unit suffered more turnover than the defensive backfield, with 11 players leaving West Lafayette through the portal.

Maybe that’s not such a bad thing. The DB play left a lot to be desired last year. Truth be told, the entire defense was an abomination. Can new DC Mike Scherer tighten a unit that was among the worst in school history in 2024?

How bad was it last year? Purdue ranked last in the Big Ten in total defense (452.7 ypg); last in scoring defense (39.9 ppg); last in rushing defense (200.0 ypg); last in passing defense (252.7 ypg); last in takeaways (5). The 39.9 points allowed per game was the highest in school history. And that includes Purdue pitching a shutout in one game.

One bold statement: More roster churn coming

There has been a tidal wave of roster tumult this offseason. It’s been well-documented. Brace for more with Purdue adding perhaps as many as 20 more players during the April portal window–which means as many as 20 currently on the roster could be gone, too.

By the time the Boilermakers kick off the 2025 season, over half of the 105-man roster could be new.

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