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Three Thoughts On QB commit Jackie Ryder

by: Dub Jellison04/13/26dubjellison

Purdue football made a splash on Monday morning, landing two commitments in the 2027 recruiting class. The second of which was a key one, in New Trier (Ill.) quarterback Jackie Ryder, who announced his pledge after visiting Friday and netting an offer from the Boilermakers.

GoldandBlack.com offers three thoughts on the commitment, including a scouting report, an eye to the future and more.

Purdue gets its guy:

After several twists and turns in Purdue’s pursuit of a 2027 quarterback, Darin Hinshaw and company have their guy in the class. A number of prospects looked like real possibilities, like Israel Abrams, Kamden Lopati, and Ben Musser, but it turned out to be a potential diamond in the rough that will be the centerpiece of Purdue’s recruiting class.

Ryder does not have an expansive offer sheet, with North Texas, Illinois State, Southern Miss, and North Dakota rounding out the rest of the programs to have extended an offer. While that is the case, Power 4 programs had taken notice prior to his commitment, with Penn State, Michigan State, Tennessee, Kansas, Iowa, Northwestern, Syracuse, all expressing interest and had come out to see him throw in recent months.

Purdue beat all of those schools to the punch with an expansive visit on Friday, where Ryder spent 11 hours in West Lafayette, which included a three-hour film session with Josh Henson and Darin Hinshaw.

New Trier head coach Brian Doll, told GoldandBlack.com that he expected Ryder to start picking up more offers this week, as plenty of Power 4 schools circled the 6-foot-5 signal caller as a potential target.

Now, Purdue gets its guy and has someone to build around in the 2027 cycle.

Scouting report:

Ryder has the frame of a prototypical Big Ten quarterback, standing at 6-foot-5, where he may be closer to 6-foot-6, and 215 pounds. He uses that size, standing tall in the pocket to deliver strikes across the field.

The arm talent is evident on film, where Ryder can push the ball down the field with ease and make elementary throws as well.

“He’s a pro-style, throwing quarterback. That’s what he is. I’ve never had a kid with arm strength like him in well over 20 years of coaching now. So just different the way he throws the ball, the way he delivers it, and the way he can see things,” Doll said.

While Ryder has a big arm and is growing into his 6-foot-5 frame by adding significant strength, he can still get outside the pocket and make plays with his legs. The Illinois native isn’t going to blow by defenders much, but he has sneaky speed to go with his size, and can make throws downfield on the run.

Oozing with upside:

The upside is what is intriguing about Ryder, with his physical traits and mental makeup. He just completed his first year as a starter at New Trier as a junior, where he threw for 1,784 yards and 17 touchdowns to just four interceptions, while completing 54% of his passes, as well as amassing 163 yards and four scores on the ground.

That is the starting mark for the rising senior, who continues to make major strides in his development.

“I had numerous Big Ten offensive coordinators come in and go like, ‘Wow, this kid really has made a big jump from a year ago to today’,” Doll said.

Part of that is his continued work in the weight room, where he’s added muscle to his frame and evolved into a Big Ten level talent.

New Trier puts a lot on his plate and has given him the freedom to change calls at the line of scrimmage. The next step, as far as the mental component, is better identifying blitz packages that are thrown at him and continuing to be a student of the game, which Doll disclosed he has already done a great job of in just one year as the starter.

The arm talent and size are there, now gaining experience on the job will be key for what Ryder looks like when he steps on campus in 2027. When he gets to Purdue, Darin Hinshaw and company will need to continue developing him, but the physical tools and how he approaches the game bode well for future success.

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