Mississippi State transfer punter Keelan Crimmins commits to Purdue

Mississippi State transfer punter Keelan Crimmins has found his new home. Crimmins has committed to Purdue, he announced Saturday morning on Twitter.

“I appreciate @Coach_Walters and @CoachPetrilli for the offer to play for Purdue, truly an honor! I’d like to announce my commitment to the @BoilerFootball family,” Keelan Crimmins posted. Can’t wait to see what long snapper jumps in the portal to join me and this very talented specialist room! #BoilerUp“

Keelan Crimmins signed with Mississippi State as the No. 9 punter in the country in the class of 2023, according to the On3 Industry rankings.

He was immediately a contributor for the Bulldogs last season, appearing in all 12 games. Crimmins punted 49 times, averaging 40.9 yards per attempt.

The Melbourne, Australia native had a long punt of 55 yards last season. Of his 49 punts, 13 landed inside the 20 and six went for 50-plus yards.

Crimmins helped Mississippi State to a 5-7 record last season. He is joining a Purdue program that went 4-8 last year under first-year head coach Ryan Walters.

Former Purdue WR TJ Sheffield commits to UConn from the transfer portal

While Purdue is adding Keelan Crimmins from the transfer portal, the Boilermakers also had some departures to the portal this offseason.

One of those was former wide receiver TJ Sheffield, who has committed to UConn.

After spending the last five seasons in West Lafayette, Sheffield entered the portal to end the year. He then originally committed to transfer to Michigan State back in December. However, he decommitted from the Spartans in March. Now, a month later, he has made his new decision to head to Storrs, Connecticut as a sixth-year receiver.

Sheffield left the Boilermakers after catching 118 passes for 1,209 yards and 11 touchdowns in 45 career games. Most of that production came over the past three falls, including career-highs in catches (46) and receiving yards (480) in 2022 and a career-best in touchdowns (five) in 2021.

In 2023, Sheffield posted 32 catches for 381 yards and two scores.

Sheffield, a native of Thompson’s Station, Tennessee just south of Nashville, played high school football at Independence. He was a three-star prospect with the Eagles as the No. 588 overall recruit in the 2019 cycle. That’s according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He also rated as a Top-100 WR and a Top-20 player out of the state.

Sheffield came to Purdue as part of their No. 30 class per On3’s 2019 Industry Football Team Recruiting Rankings. He was one of its 21 three-star talents out of its 26 total commitments.

Sheffield was then one of 24 portal losses for the Boilermakers’ this offseason. That group included seven receivers and eight pass-catchers as part of 13 offensive transfers.