Top 30 Players: Reggie Love
Purdue will begin preparations for the 2024 campaign soon in training camp, gearing toward the season-opener on August 31 at home vs Indiana State. Let’s count down the top 30 Boilermakers as we march to the start of Ryan Walters‘ second season in West Lafayette.
No. 16 Reggie Love, RB, Senior
Trust. That’s a big reason why Reggie Love transferred from Illinois to Purdue in the offseason for his final year of eligibility.
Love played at Illinois from 2019-23, working under a host of coaches who are now in West Lafayette. Chief among those is Boilermaker wideout coach Cory Patterson, whose roots with Love go back to high school when he was Love’s head coach at Trinity Catholic High in St. Louis.
“I got one more year to do everything right. Him having a good opinion of (running backs coach Lamar) Coach Conard, having trust in him, it was easy for me to talk with Coach Conard and have my trust in him,” said Love. “So, the biggest word for me right now is trust.”
The 5-11, 205-pound Love brings a solid resume to Purdue, having rushed for 883 yards and six touchdowns the past two seasons at Illinois and 1,053 yards on 240 carries in four years with the Illini. He has 15 career receptions.
Last season, Love led the Fighting Illini in carries (116), rushing yards (567) and rushing TDs (4), playing in eight games and starting seven.
What’s Love bring to the field?
Love is expected to be the sidekick to No. 1 back Devin Mockobee. The only other scholarship running back on the roster is true freshman Jaheim Merriweather.
“Knowing that Mock is an established guy, it takes a lot of stress off of me because I know I have somebody that I trust, somebody that made plays in this league that can go out there and ball,” Love said.
Love wants to do his part to punctuate his career on a positive note.
“When I was in the portal, I wanted to get around a guy that trusted me, trusted my talents, and was going to ask the best out of me every single day,” Love said. “That’s what I get here, so I love it.”
TOP 30 PURDUE PLAYER COUNTDOWN
