Spring Football Showcase: Thoughts & Review

West Lafayette, IN - APRIL 11: Purdue Boilermakers quarterback Ryan Browne (15) runs with the ball during the Purdue Spring game on April 11, 2026 at RossAde Stadium in West Lafayette, IN. (Photo by Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

It was the second installment of a spring showcase for Purdue Head Coach Barry Odom and this spring seemed like the program took a step forward from where the program had been left following the worst two year stretch in program history. With the advent of the transfer portal and NIL, Odom seems to have a handle on what Purdue needs to continue finding success as they loaded up on talent from across the spectrum of college football. From bigger offensive lineman to more athletic skill positions, it seemed Odom was only happy with his QB room as he will rely on QB’s Ryan Browne, Evans Chuba, and Bennett Meredith again this season.

Let’s get into some thoughts and review:

Browne Takes A Step Forward

Barry Odom has hitched his wagon to QB Ryan Browne and the signal caller seems to have taken another step in the right direction. Although Browne struggled last season completing 58.9% (199/338) for 2153 yards with 9 TD’s and 10 interceptions, a lot of that might have been due to an offensive line that performed well below average in almost every regard last season. Browne is a big signal caller at 6’4 and 220lbs, but the redshirt junior needed this spring to develop more into a P-5 QB.

Browne appears to have taken a step forward in that development but some things seemed to still be lacking from him. He still seems slow to read the defense as he missed open receivers often and seemed to hold onto the ball for far too long. One play in particular, Browne missed a receiver down the left sideline and then held onto the ball far too long as he scrambled out of the pocket. He eventually chucked it downfield but the throw was very underthrown and was caught be another receiver who was running what appeared to be running a deep-in. The initial receiver should have caught the ball in stride down the sideline for a touchdown 30+ yards down the field. Instead, it was a duck that was luckily caught and not intercepted.

Browne has more opportunities to work with his offensive staff and they seem to like his ability to make plays outside of the pocket and in the running game. The issue is there seems to be a severe drop-off behind Brown with Evans Chuba and Bennett Meredith. Chuba seems like a decent backup but I don’t think he serves any realistic threat to unseat Browne. It may be in Odom’s best interest to find someone who has yet to find a home in the portal to come in and push Browne and serve as a higher-end backup.

The issues is with the new portal windows, there just isn’t a lot left over at this point in time.

Better Skill at Running Back and Inside Receiver

One of the bright spots of the spring has been the emergence of some explosive players at two positions that was clearly lacking last season. The guy that has stuck on the most is Fame Ijeboi, a 6’, 210lb running back transfer from Minnesota. Initially a strong 3-star recruit, Ijeboi chose Minnesota over Nebraska, Northwestern, Rutgers, Vanderbilt, and Virginia Tech. He appears to be the main back that’ll take over for Devin Mockobee following the beloved back’s graduation (cue up Irena Cara’s ‘Fame’ for when the back has a big play).

A player that Purdue fans will remember from last season (a rarity it seems in today’s landscape) is Antonio Harris. Harris has added size with his speed and is a solid option in the backfield who showed flashes last season following Mockobee’s injury running for 305 yards on 69 carries (4.4 yards per attempt) and 2 touchdowns.

Along with Harris and Ijeboi, Texas transfer Jerrick Gibson is a player to watch. A player who seems to have been vastly underused in his time at Texas, Gibson is a former 4-star, top 70 recruit out of Bradenton, Florida. A downhill runner, the trio of Ijeboi, Harris, and Gibson should provide a stable of backs that finally fits into the B1G. That means nothing however if the offensive line can’t get figured out.

At the inside receiver spots, Xavier Townsend (Iowa State) and Jaylan Hornsby (Syracuse) were the most impressive getting in and out of breaks and catching the ball. Those two looked like they may be the mainstays at the slot receiver positions but the outside seems to still be lacking a true playmaker.

Chauncey Magwood and De’nylon Morissette have gotten the first crack but the staff has three players coming in the summer that’ll push everyone in the receiver room. Jojo Johnson (6’4 180-Fr), Bisi Owens (6’4 215-Penn), and Rickey Sampson (6’4 210-Victor Valley College JuCo) add much needed size on the outside. Of that group, watch for Bisi Owens to make the jump from the Ivy League to the B1G as he was a first team All Ivy League last season with 66 receptions for 696 yards (10.5 yards per reception) and 5 touchdowns.

Offensive Line Looks the Part…But Will They Play Like It?

The offensive line was clearly an area of focus for Purdue as Barry Odom was not happy with how that unit performed last season. They lacked size and athleticism at those positions and that showed up every single Saturday as they failed to provide running lanes to the backs and time for the quarterbacks to operate. Did the coaches get it right though.

Well, they certainly look much bigger as it appears the transfers all have the legit size to compete in the B1G. There are some earth movers in the group with guys like Jatavius Shivers (6’6 330-South Carolina), Marques Easley (6’6 320-Georgia), Jude McCoskey (6’6 320-Indiana St), Marc Nave, Jr (6’4 355-Kentucky), Micah Banuelos (6’2 315-USC), Nuku Mafi (6’4 330-Okie St), Makai Saina (6’4 300-USC), and Boaz Stanley (6’4 315-South Carolina). The issue will be molding that group into a set of starters and depth pieces that can generate points for an offense that was, kindly put, putrid last season.

Odom went out and hired Zach Crabtree from Fresno State and pushed Offensive Coordinator Josh Henson to Tight Ends. Crabtree is on the younger side but spent time in the NFL after a successful college career at Oklahoma State and spent time on staff with Henson at USC. It’ll be up to him to get the unit prepared because the offense was incredibly limited last season in what Henson could do based on the limitations of his offensive line. It looks, at least on paper, much more promising than it did at any point last season.

At the very least, we don’t have a team of offensive line that looks like it was smaller than what Carmel and Westfield would trot out on a Friday night last season.

TE Jackson Berryman is One to Watch For

I’m not sure if he’ll get a lot of opportunities early in the season or not, but it is hard not to see Jackson Berryman and be excited. At 6’8 and 260lbs, the redshirt freshman is oozing with potential that needs to be developed. That’s a big body on the football field looks more suited to be inside Mackey Arena at the power forward position, but Berryman moves really well for his size and showed good hands. He might be a year away from making a bigger impact with guys on the roster like George Burhenn, Luca Puccinelli (Wake Forest), and Kylan Fox (UCF), but Berryman possess a unique skillset at that size that an OC would be silly not to figure out how to use.

Purdue’s Got A Set of Linebackers to Build Around

Coming from UNLV with HC Barry Odom, Charles Correra stepped in and stepped up for the Boilers last season. The ability jumped off the page quickly as he 96 total tackles, 7.5 TFL’s, and 3 sacks and led the Purdue defense. It was a big win for Odom and staff to retain him but it was obvious he was going to need help. Insert Anthony Speca.

Speca is a transfter from Penn State who has appeared in 17 games total in his two seasons. A former 4-star recruit who was ranked at the 11th overall player at his position in high school, Speca seems to have talent that needs to continue to develop as he just wasn’t getting the opportunities at Penn State. The Boilers also bolstered their linebackers room with Illinois transfer Jojo Hayden. Hayden had a solid season for the Illini last season, totaling 26 tackles, 1.5 TFL’s, and 1 fumble recovery in 11 games. Another former 4-star recruit, Hayden was a top 25 player at his position coming out of high school.

Paired with Correra, the trio appeared to play well together during the showcase and will likely be the anchor of the defense that has plenty of areas of improvement.