Ohio State Buckeyes 2025 Opponent Preview: Purdue Boilermakers

After a rough 1-11 season last year, Purdue decided to fire head coach Ryan Walters and replace him with former UNLV head coach Barry Odom this offseason. In his two seasons with the Running Rebels, Odom led his squad to a 20-8 record with a bowl game victory against California Golden Bears in 2024. He made it clear that he wanted a fresh start for the program, as Odom signed 28 players in the transfer portal this spring.

One unit that will have a slew of new faces is the offensive line, with the Boilermakers signing 11 transfer portal players up front this offseason. Right guard Bradyn Joyner played in 10 games for the Auburn Tigers last season, while left guard Jalen St. John played in 11 games over the past two seasons for the Arkansas Razorbacks.

Despite losing most of their production on the offensive side of the ball from 2024, the Boilermakers managed to return the program's leading rusher from last year in Devin Mockobee. The senior back finished his third year with the program with 687 rushing yards and four touchdowns 138 attempts. Mockobee has managed to average five yards per carry in two of his three seasons with the Boilermakers, so the veteran playmaker will greatly benefit from the new additions on the offensive line in 2025.

On defense, Odom continued the transfer portal-trend in the program's secondary unit. Four out of the five projected defensive back starters were acquired in the portal this offseason, including the Purdue's newest cornerback duo of Tony Grimes and Ryan Turner. Grimes tallied over 90 tackles and 19 pass deflections in 29 starts for the North Carolina Tar Heels the past three seasons, while Turner had one start in 2024 for Boston College.

Purdue's Weaknesses

With former quarterback Hudson Card out of the picture, Odom is set to turn the starting position role to sophomore Ryan Browne for the 2025 season. Browne saw some playing time last season, throwing for 532 yards and completing 56.6 percent of his attempts. And while the young talent spent the spring with North Carolina, Browne is back with the program.

Even though the Boilermakers will have a returning quarterback leading the offense this year, Purdue lost a majority of their top pass catchers this offseason, including Ohio State's very own Max Klare. Junior wide receiver De'Nylon Morrissette is the lone receiver to return, which means Odom must rely on his transfer portal additions of wide receivers Charles Ross and Nitro Tuggle. Both players did not receive ample amounts of playing time at their previous schools, making it a major concern for the Boilermakers in 2025.

Looking at the defense, Purdue was statistically one of the worst unit in the Big Ten Conference in 2024. They ranked last in yards allowed per game (452.7), passing yards allowed per game (252.7), rushing yards allowed per game (200) and points allowed per game (39.9), which was one of the key reasons why the program was unable to find success last year. To make matters worse, the Boilermakers lost their sack leader in defensive end Kydran Jenkins. With all the additions Odom made to the defense this offseason, the unit should see some improvements in 2025. However, the battle becomes whether or not the new transfers can gel together under the new coaching staff.

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