Ryan Walters fattens Purdue roster with help from more robust collective

The eating was good for Ryan Walters while on the recruiting trail.

“Got to eat a lot good food,” he said. “I hate to say it, but I’ve gained like 12 pounds through this time period. Worked out for the first day yesterday in five weeks. So, gotta definitely get back on that.”

The few extra pounds were worth it for Walters, who seemed pleased with his second Purdue class. Today was the first day players could ink letters-of-intent. And Walters reeled in 25 players: 23 from the high school ranks and two JC transfers.

There is size, speed, athletic ability and, of course, … potential. Always loads of potential. Positions leading the way: Six offensive linemen were inked along with seven defensive backs and four wideouts. And Purdue signed a QB: Marcos Davila.

“Really excited about Marcos,” said Walters, who went 4-8 in his debut. “Even more excited he’s going to be here at semester. He’s big, 6-3, 220-plus, very confident. Played a lot of ball. Thrown for over 9,000 yards in his career, so has logged a lot of winning football from that standpoint.

“Big arm. Extremely talented. Can make every throw. Strong. Accurate. All the things that you need to be hopefully an elite level quarterback. He’s got those intangibles, tools, so very excited about his career here.”

Also of note: It was smooth sailing on Signing Day.

“There were no surprises today, so that’s awesome,” said Walters. “When you got a signing day and you’re not like, ‘Oh, snap! What’s going on?’ So, that’s usually a good day. So, nothing really wild or out of the ordinary.”

Something else not out of the ordinary: For Walters to be asked about NIL while on the recruiting trail.

“I think every coach in the country will tell you the amount of times you’re not asked about it are shocking,” said Walters. “You’re like, ‘Whoa. You don’t care about NIL?’ It’s just the nature of college football right now.”

Without a robust collective supporting NIL, a school will have little chance of being competitive. The Boilermaker Alliance is the collective that supports the NIL cause of Purdue athletics. And it has continued to evolve and improve.

“Absolutely,” said Walters when asked if Purdue’s NIL situation has improved. “There’s been a lot of talk, a lot of meetings and a lot of support. I think Purdue faithful is understanding the importance, understanding the impact that having a strong collective has and how that effect can have direct correlation with success or lack thereof when it comes to competition.”

Not only is a strong collective vital to attracting talent, especially talent from the transfer portal, but it also is key to retaining talent. No doubt, the Boilermaker Alliance was key in helping Purdue retain standout OLBs Nic Scourton and Kydran Jenkins.

“Relationships matter,” said Walters. “The Boilermaker Alliance matters. Retention is at the forefront of what we’re trying to do. That’s of the utmost importance. Right now, there is like one guy that I’m like, damn — excuses my language — man, I wished we still had him. …

“So, I feel good from that standpoint just on the retention. But retention is not possible and the guys we have committed from the transfer portal is not possible without the Alliance. I think people need to understand that.”

Walters didn’t have as much NIL support last year in assembling his roster. But he still netted some productive players from the portal. Purdue has been furiously working the portal, securing commitments from eight players so far. More are to come.

“You look at where we were a year ago, we had some transfer portal guys come in and played some quality minutes for us where we did not have help from the Alliance,” said Walters. “So, I’m looking forward to see what that looks like in terms of productivity come the fall (having had a strong NIL situation at work for this cycle).

What’s next? There is a second signing period that starts February 7th. Will Purdue add anymore prep players?

“I think from a high school standpoint, we’re probably about done,” said Walters. “Like I said, we got 23 (high school) guys that are committed and signed. You know, there are a couple more portal guys out there that we’re hoping to close here pretty quickly.”

MORE: Purdue 2024 commitments | Purdue commitment breakdown | Signing Day notebook