FB Recruiting recap

GoldandBlack.com breaks down all of the happenings in Purdue football recruiting. Visitors from over the weekend, two commitments on Monday morning, another potentially looming and more.

Purdue bulks up 2027 offensive haul:

Purdue bulked up its 2027 recruiting class on Monday morning, netting commitments from New Trier (Ill.) quarterback Jackie Ryder and three-star Chaminade-Madonna (Fla.) running back Amos Bradford. Both 2027 prospects were on campus over the weekend and are now a part of the Boilermakers’ class.

GoldandBlack.com will have more on both this week, but some initial thoughts on the pledges first:

– Ryder is a high upside quarterback, with great size at 6-foot-5 and 210 pounds. He can stand tall in the pocket and move around to make plays down the field with his legs. With a big arm, he can make any throw Josh Henson asks of him.

– As for Bradford, he showed great straight line speed when he gets an opening. He’s not overly big (6-foot-0 and 170 pounds), but can still run through contact, although he is much more of a finesse back at this point in time.

Purdue trending for four-star offensive lineman:

Purdue is trending for another weekend visitor, four-star Brentwood Academy (Tenn.) offensive lineman Li’Marcus Jones, who was on campus for an official visit. The priority target walked away from his visit extremely impressed by the Boilermakers.

“Purdue is number one right now after this visit,” Jones told GoldandBlack.com. “I love Purdue, like, hands down. Being around all the coaches and seeing how real they are, really means a lot to me. Not talking about specific coaches, but there’s a lot of coaches in a game that’s gonna fake it, instead of keeping it real. I love how everything coach Crabtree and coach Odom have told me has been the truth, and it’s been real.”

The Boilermakers have quickly vaulted into pole position for the Mississippi native, who transferred to Brentwood ahead of his senior campaign. At the moment, Purdue is battling Mississippi State and Kentucky, who are both expected to get official visits from Jones.

There is a world in which he does not make it that far and wraps up his recruitment prior to the first weekend in June, but for now, Purdue is in great shape for Jones after the first of three officials on the docket.

Other officials completed over the weekend:

Along with Jones, two other 2027 priorities completed their respective official visits to West Lafayette this weekend, four-star New Palestine (Ind.) tight end Mason Oglesby, and three-star Sioux City East (Iowa) linebacker Kason Clayborne.

Clayborne enjoyed his trip to West Lafayette, where he got to watch the Spring Showcase and got a meeting with Barry Odom on Sunday, which were two things that stood out to the Iowa product.

“It was a great conversation. He definitely is gonna get them back on track here soon. What they have going on is really special. Coach Odom was just emphasizing, I’m one of their top dudes, along with another few of them. So it was really nice just hearing him say that and I definitely felt special and wanted there.”

Clayborne also saw similarities between himself and the heart and soul of the Purdue defense, junior linebacker Charles Correa, who he believes is a good comparison for the type of player he will be at the college level.

“I’m going to be very much similar to Charles. I feel like we played the game a lot similar. He’s really smart with how he takes care of his body. think he’s very superstitious with what he does, because he does stuff a lot at the same exact time, which, I think I’m the same way. I think I’ll bring the table exactly what he does, which is very impressive, because he’s really good.”

Purdue is the first of four officials for Clayborne, who will also hit Michigan State, Arizona, and Minnesota in the next couple of months. All of those are still expected to take place.

Mason Oglesby is among the top tight end prospects in the nation, and has been a big time target for the Boilermakers for some time now. Indiana and Ohio State are still the two favorites for the Indiana native, but Purdue got the first crack at making one final impression on Oglesby. We’ll see how much of an impact the Boilermakers made this weekend.

WR commit Dallas Crescenzo talks recruitment:

One of Purdue’s three commitments in the 2027 class is still considering other options, despite his pledge, but was back on campus on Thursday. Crescenzo’s fit an offense is going to be a big factor in where he goes to school, which Purdue showed him while he was on campus.

“Definitely, the biggest thing is where I could fit into the offense, and what’s going to allow me to produce the best to be able to get drafted and go the next level,” Crescenzo said.

“I definitely think I could fit in the offense. How they throw the ball and just being able to move around the field and creating mismatches, and just overall, being just an all around receiver, just trying to get the ball in my hands,” Crescenzo said.

Developing a stronger relationship with the Purdue coaching staff is another aspect Crescenzo identified as a factor he’s considering.

“I feel like the more I connect with the coaching staff, the further that’s just going to continue to pull ahead. I mean, because besides playing on the field in the offense, you’re going to be around those coaches every day, and if it’s not somebody you can bond with, it’s going to be hard to be satisfied with where you’re at,” Crescenzo said.

Purdue is looking to fight off Oklahoma State, where Crescenzo will take an official visit in June, as well as Kentucky, who has also recently offered. The Pokes are perhaps the biggest threat to swipe Crescenzo away from the Boilermakers, however, as new head coach Eric Morris’ offense is enticing for the talented wide receiver.

This will be a recruitment that is going to take hard work for Purdue to come out on top of, but for now, Crescenzo remains committed to the Boilermakers.

Weekend visitor recap:

Purdue had a ton of talent on campus over the weekend, for the final spring practice, as well as Saturday’s Spring Showcase in Ross-Ade Stadium. A look at the confirmed visitors who made it to West Lafayette in recent days.

2027 three-star Brush (Oh.) EDGE Munir Lewis *Holds Purdue offer*

2027 Bastrop (Fla.) wide receiver Dallas Crescenzo *Purdue commit*

2027 Heritage (Ga.) wide receiver Brayden Stoker *Holds Purdue offer*

2027 New Trier (Ill.) quarterback Jackie Ryder *Holds Purdue offer*

2027 three-star Upperman (Tenn.) tight end Colton Johnson *Holds Purdue offer*

2027 three-star Bolingbrook (Ill.) running back TJ Lewis *Holds Purdue offer*

2027 four-star Warren Central (Ind.) linebacker Sean Fox *Holds Purdue offer*

2027 Westfield (Ind.) offensive lineman Nicholas Schurman *Holds Purdue offer*

2027 three-star Homewood-Flossmoor (Ill.) defensive lineman David Hill *Holds Purdue offer*

2027 three-star Collins Hill (Ga.) offensive lineman Ronald Moore *Holds Purdue offer*

2028 Bishop McNamara (MD.) wide receiver Jordin Williams *Holds Purdue offer*

2028 four-star Bolingbrook (Ill.) EDGE Darieon Prescott *Holds Purdue offer*

2028 four-star De Smet (Mo.) tight end Ridge Janes *Holds Purdue offer*

2028 three-star Mount Vernon (Oh.) tight end Landon Dawson *Holds Purdue offer*

2028 three-star Douglas County (Ga.) tight end Faraji Tucker *Holds Purdue offer*

Official visit tracker: (As of April 13, 2026)

April 10-12:

Four-star New Palestine (Ind.) tight end Mason Oglesby (Completed)

Four-star Callaway (Miss.) offensive tackle Li’Marcus Jones (Completed)

Sioux City East (Iowa.) linebacker Kason Clayborne (Completed)

May 29-31:

Ben Davis (Ind.) cornerback Keontay Toomer

Heritage (Ga.) wide receiver Brayden Stoker

La Marque (Tx.) linebacker Anthony James

Goodpasture Christian School (Tenn.) athlete/defensive back Brandon ‘Slim’ Leavell

Mount Miguel (Calif.) cornerback Gianni Porilio

June 5-7:

Three-star Archbishop Moeller (Oh.) offensive lineman Patrick O’Brien

Three-star Bridge City (Tx.) linebacker Bryce Breeden

Four-star C.E King (Tx.) running back Tristan Willis

Buford (Ga.) defensive back Silas Nuckles

Three-star Riverdale (Tenn.) safety Hudson Fuqua (Mississippi State commit)

Three-star Charles W. Flanigan (Fla.) wide receiver Jacob Thomas (Pitt commit)

Three-star Lakota West (Oh.) cornerback Roman Combs

Three-star Seton Hall Prep (N.J.) safety Taylor Daniels

Three-star Grayson (Ga.) safety London Goggans

Three-star St. Laurence (Ill.) linebacker Sean Rice

Three-star Basha (Ariz.) EDGE TK Cunningham

Westfield (Ind.) offensive lineman Nicholas Schurman

June 12-14:

Three-star Bastrop (Fla.) wide receiver Dallas Crescenzo (Commit)

Three-star Santaluces Community (Fla.) running back Kelsey Gerald

Four-star Yorktown (Ind.) EDGE Chris Wilson

Four-star Corbin (Ky.) defensive lineman Malachi Brown

Three-star Warren Central (Ind.) running back Keyon Thomas

West (Ut.) offensive lineman Titus Lopati

June 19-21:

Three-star Brownsburg (Ind.) wide receiver Branden Sharpe

Three-star Atherton (Ky.) defensive lineman Zai’Vion Meads

Three-star Chaminade-Madonna Prep (Fla.) running back Amos Bradford

Official visitors by position:

Position	Confirmed visitors
Quarterback
Running back	5 – Thomas, Gerald, Willis, Wallace, Bradford
Wide receiver	4 – Sharpe, Crescenzo, Stoker, Thomas
Tight end	1 – Oglesby
Offensive line	3 – Jones, O’Brien, Lopati
Defensive line	2 – Meads, Brown
EDGE	2 – Wilson, Cunningham
Linebacker	4 – Clayborne, James, Breeden, Rice
Cornerback	3 – Nuckles, Toomer, Combs
Safety	3 – Goggans, Daniels, Leavell