BOILING OVER: Purdue football news, recruiting and more

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PURDUE FOOTBALL

Ryan Walters’ first staff is taking shape.

OC Graham Harrell and DC Kevin Kane have been announced. Other reported hires are WR Cory Patterson, OLB Joe Dineen, DB Grant O’Brien, DL Brick Haley and now TE coach Seth Doege. And Kiero Small is coming aboard as strength coach.

Who else could be coming?

Walters is being methodical, wanting to make prudent hires. His desire is to get this right coming out of the gate. One thing is certain: This staff will be young, giving it a much different vibe than the previous regime.

We don’t believe Eastern Michigan RB coach Sam Sewell—a prep teammate of Walters’—is a target.

Walters still needs the following assistants: Running backs, offensive line and special teams. (TD)

PURDUE FOOTBALL

Never too early to start thinking about spring ball. The Brohm Regime liked to start early, usually the last week of February. It’s thought Ryan Walters won’t start that early. 

Look for Purdue to spend the first eight weeks of the second semester lifting and conditioning. Spring ball probably would begin the week after spring break, which is March 13-18. Spring ball probably would take place over a five-week period. 

The thought of waiting to start spring ball: The players will be more ready for action physically after weeks of conditioning. (TD)

PURDUE FOOTBALL RECRUITING

Purdue did just have transfer wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa, who’s transferring out of Hillsdale College, on campus for an official visit. We’ll try to get a hold of him, but he’s probably getting pulled in a bunch of directions right now, with a bunch of big-time offers having come his way and a bunch of visits to take.

Arkansas, Miami, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Colorado and Texas A&M are among those who’ve offered him, as he’s been pretty popular among new staffs. That he visited Purdue right away would seem like a positive sign for their chances. He is from Hudsonville, Mich., so perhaps the Big Ten would have some particular appeal. (BN)

Here’s video.

PURDUE BASKETBALL RECRUITING

Yeah, so JT Rock is now off the board as the Class of 2024 7-footer from South Dakota committed to Iowa State, which was long the most likely landing spot for him due in part to proximity to home, which was always going to be a big deal for him.

Rock had officially and unofficially visited Purdue.

His commitment elsewhere just takes a name off the board at a stage of the process where there’s plenty of time and plenty of options. Purdue has two commitments in that class already, but offers out to Raleigh Burgess and Flory Bidunga as post players. Burgess would be a much more realistic possibility than his summer teammate, Bidunga, but we’re not aware of a favorite, per se. One would think Ohio State would be a real factor for Burgess. He will visit Purdue for the Michigan State home game.

Purdue does have two and three more years, respectively, of Caleb Furst and Trey Kaufman-Renn, should their careers reach their full terms, and four of 7-footer Will Berg. Speaking of, Berg looked really good at a recent Boilermaker practice, clearly back from his injury and in better shape than he was this summer, last we saw him. He looked quick, relatively speaking, and capable of scoring in the post. Long way to go still, but there’s some promise there, it seems, and here’s guessing practicing against Zach Edey this season can help him. (BN)

PURDUE BASKETBALL RECRUITING

• Kanon Catchings‘ updated season stats: 19.4 points and 5.3 rebounds. He’s making 40 percent of his threes.

• Jack Benter‘s season stats: 30.6 points, 8.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists and just under two steals. He’s shooting 83 percent at the foul line and 56 percent from the floor. His three-point percentage has dipped to 34 percent — it was 44 percent last season — but volume plus the loss of a key player for Brownstown Central to injury plus a recent bout with illness probably accounts for some of that. (BN)