Recruiting News and Notes

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PURDUE BASKETBALL RECRUITING

Purdue did have Ohio’s Antione West on campus Monday for an unofficial visit, which was his second visit to West Lafayette after he came to a game late last season.

Long way to go here, but Purdue does figure to have a chance for the scoring-equipped combo guard. The Boilermaker program has become known for big men while also blowing out of the water lately the old tropes about it not being guard-friendly. Carsen Edwards and Jaden Ivey have each been All-Americans in recent years and Braden Smith may be right on the cusp.

Anyway, West will come back for an official visit, likely in the fall.

Xavier is going to be a real contender here, too, from what we understand, and Cincinnati, Ohio State, Michigan, etc., will also keep on him.

Again, Purdue has gone from recruiting for one scholarship in 2025 to recruiting for as many as three in anticipation of NCAA revenue sharing and roster limits being set.

Thus the new offers to Braylon Mullins and West to go along with the long-standing prioritization of Trent Sisley, who seems like he is going to take things into the fall. As we have told you for months, there is really nothing else Purdue or anyone else knee-deep in this can show him or tell him. He’s been recruited forever and made a million visits.

There are pro-Purdue sentiments around him, but presumably also some cultural pull toward Indiana given that it’s that part of the state and both his older siblings went there. That’s a fun place to be and all those social visits are something no one else can match.

There have to be real basketball concerns, though, given the tenuous situation Mike Woodson is in and given the transfer culture down there that can cannibalize multi-year freshman recruits very easily if you’re not really good from Day 1.

We’ll see how this plays out long-term, but the longer it goes, the more it suggests part of it is about rationalizing going to IU from basketball and fit perspectives.

Purdue’s trying to get Mullins on campus for a visit at the end of this month.

• This weekend is the Charlie Hughes Shootout in the Carmel area. It’s an evaluation period. Sisley, Mullins and Steven Reynolds are among those Purdue targets who’ll be there. We’ll have some coverage on Saturday. (BN)

PURDUE BASKETBALL

Daniel Jacobsen is on campus now and should practice today, though it may go easy on him given his busy past few weeks.

Purdue now ought to have its whole roster around until Camden Heide and Will Berg go overseas later this summer. Braden Smith — with the help of Purdue and the Pacers — has been trying to get into Chris Paul’s point guard camp this summer, also, but not aware of that having been decided yet.

Couple other quick-hitters …

• Trey Kaufman-Renn has really worked on form-shooting fundamentals for the first time, hoping they translate to his three-point shot and foul shooting. One of his trainers, Courtney Moses, told me last week that she found him out in their facility shooting at 5 a.m. one morning.

• Raleigh Burgess looked good Tuesday. There was some unknown there given that he might not have been the best version of himself as a senior after getting hurt as a junior.

• Haven’t posted these yet for some reason, but our pre-enrollment interviews with Purdue’s two freshman guards.

• Still waiting on this Auburn game to be finalized, and a reminder what we reported last week: That Purdue is planning to play a charity game at Creighton in October. (BN)

PURDUE FOOTBALL RECRUITING

• The group of 2025 o-line targets remains in flux. 2025 Franklinton (La.) Pine Jackson Jones will not be taking his OV this weekend, as he committed to TCU on Wednesday. And Purdue saw two 2025 offensive linemen set to OV June 19-21 commit elsewhere last weekend. Taren Hedrick committed to Ole Miss and Kevin Peay pledged to Georgia Tech. Neither will visit West Lafayette.

On a positive note: 2025 Centerville (Ohio) OL Kuol Kuol has had a shotgun marriage with Purdue, earning an offer last week. Now, he’s headed to West Lafayette for an OV this weekend. His only other OV for now: Boston College June 21-23.

And Purdue added another OL OV for this weekend: 2025 Houston Lamar OL Dramodd Odoms, who has offers from the likes of Texas A&M, SMU, LSU, Tennessee and Baylor. He was supposed to come last weekend then switched to this weekend.

The OL position isn’t a top priority after if was fortified with 10 players last offseason.

• Purdue added the seventh commitment of its 2025 class on Tuesday when Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph three-star TE Brian Kortovich pledged. He took an OV last weekend, when he committed.

On Monday, Purdue saw another 2025 tight end target commit to Wisconsin: three-star Indianapolis Lawrence Central product Nizyi Davis. He was set to take an OV to Purdue June 21st-23rd. That visit has been scrubbed. Know this: Davis was a secondary guy for Purdue. If it got him, great. If not no worries.

What is Purdue getting in Kortovich? He’s a very athletic kid, a natural route-runner and pass catcher. He’s put on 25 pounds since last season, weighing 225 now. He has a great frame and is a strong kid. He will be a great fit for what Purdue does with its tight end position.

Purdue apparently may not be finished at tight end. It welcomed 2025 Cornelius (N.C.) Community School of Davidson TE Brandon Hettwer on Wednesday. He will be back next Wednesday for Purdue’s Prospect Camp hoping to earn an offer. The staff won’t turn down someone at any position it thinks could be a great player.

• Purdue offered 2025 North Aurora (Ill.) West High WR Terrence Smith this week. And it would like to get him in for a visit. Stay tuned. He’ll visit Minnesota this weekend and then Iowa. He will need to drop one of those trips if he wants to squeeze in a visit to Purdue.

• Purdue offered 2026 four-star Glenville (Ohio) LB Cincere Johnson this week after he worked out for staffers at the Team Camp on Wednesday. He’s a big-timer who is expected to be at Purdue’s last Prospects Camp on Wednesday. Notre Dame looks like an early leader.

• Purdue seems well-position with 2025 Fishers (Ind.) Hamilton Southeastern OL Cameron Gorin, who took an official visit last weekend. The battle for his commitment is a two-horse race: Purdue vs. Louisville. Vanderbilt and Minnesota have been erased from the equation.

Gorin has a tough decision, as he supposedly likes both options. He is difficult to get a great read on. Purdue’s culture plays to its favor in wooing the three-star prospect and Boilermaker legacy.

• 2025 DB Mason Alexander, Gorin’s teammate at Hamilton Southeastern, enjoyed his trip to West Lafayette last weekend and Purdue seems to be the front-runner. He checks a lot of the boxes. Alas, the three-star Alexander may not be the slam dunk he’s perceived to be. Stay tuned. It could be interesting. Alexander’s Purdue commitment window may be closing. His next visit is to Pitt. He took an OV to Wisconsin May 31-June 2. Alexander tells us he’ll go public with his choice August 17 but that he’ll be committed before then.

• There have been predictions that 2025 Columbus (Ohio) Franklin four-star DB Dawayne Galloway will commit to Purdue, where he OV’d last weekend. That appears to be the case, from what we know. Purdue got Galloway’s first OV. Up next: A trip to Syracuse, then Kentucky before a trip to Penn State. Perhaps complicating matters: Galloway received an offer from Nebraska this week. He is telling Purdue all the right things. Galloway is set to make an announcement on July 5.

• We feel Purdue is well-position for Cincinnati Taft three-star DL Drayden Pavey and Nashville Pearl-Cohn three-star DL Kyler Garcia, who both OV’d at Purdue last weekend.

Pavey will still take official visits to Wisconsin and Indiana, dropping a trip to N.C. State. Purdue is thought to feel good about Pavey, but he hasn’t committed yet. It’s probably down to Purdue and Indiana.

Garcia will take an OV to Wisconsin June 14-16 and also is set to OV at Indiana June 21-23; he was at Louisville May 31-June 2 for an OV. Garcia recently netted an offer from Georgia, where he figures to take an OV. Is he a priority for the Bulldogs? Some whisper Purdue is the team to beat for Garica, who is the staff’s top d-line target. He will commit August 23.

“The homely feeling and the new culture there, it was a great time all weekend with them and I could definitely see myself there,” Garcia told us after visiting West Lafayette. “They obviously really care for the players and they see that they’re all trying to accomplish the same goal. Purdue would use me as a 4i-to-zero type of guy on the inside.”

• 2025 West Chester (Ohio) Lakota West three-star ILB Grant Beerman is beyond fired up about Purdue after his visit. He is visiting Michigan State next weekend and then West Virginia.

“A highlight of the trip was spending some time with Coach (Kevin) Kane, really understanding where I fit in to the scheme and talking ball,” said Beerman. “Coach Kane made it clear my speed and height help me add a ton of value as a player who can play multiple spots on the defense.”

• 2025 Cleveland Heights rush end Jayquan Stubbs enjoyed his OV to Purdue last weekend.

“This interaction gave me a real sense of how I could contribute and benefit from the intellectual environment,” said Stubbs.

We get the sense he’d come. Stubbs heads to Minnesota next. He will commit at the end of this month. Will Purdue take him?

• No doubt, the biggest OV this weekend is four-star Shawnee (Kan.) Mill Valley rush end Jayden Woods, who already has been to Wisconsin and Penn State for OVs. He will OV at Tennessee June 21. Purdue rush ends coach Joe Dineen has done a good job recruiting Woods, who is a top priority.

• The courtship of 2025 Hammond (Ind.) Morton Senior WR Lebron Hill continues despite his recent commitment to Louisville, which was a surprise as Purdue was thought to be the favorite. The fact he’s still coming to West Lafayette is a positive. Purdue staffers find themselves squaring off with Jeff Brohm and Louisville for three 2025 recruits: Hill, Gorin and Garcia.

• 2025 QB commit Sawyer Anderson of Dallas Parish Episcopal School is making the trek to West Lafayette this weekend.

The roll call of June 14-16 OVs.

Derrick Simmons will be here mid week 17-20