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Struggling Big Ten Program Receives Major Transfer Portal Boost on Monday

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Nate Lunak | Last updated Mar 31, 2025 1:20 PM ET

Under second-year head coach Ryan Walters, the Purdue Boilermakers had a horrible season, going 1-11 overall and 0-9 in Big Ten matchups.

Quickly after the year ended, Walters was fired, with the Boilermakers eventually hiring Barry Odom to take over, who in the past two seasons guided the UNLV Rebels to a 23-8 record while making two bowl games going 1-1.

Odom has quickly gotten to work in trying to improve the roster for the 2025 season and one of the most popular ways for him and many other programs has been through the transfer portal.

Purdue's latest addition came on Monday in the form of freshman linebacker Sanders Ellis, who spent the previous season with the Tennessee State Tigers.

We locked in, let’s do it!! @Coach_Odom @Mike_Scherer38 @BoilerFootball pic.twitter.com/qzAKy9Spxf
— Sanders Ellis (@SandersEllis4) March 31, 2025

This is major news for Purdue and Odom because in 2024, Ellis was very impressive, accumulating 86 total tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, two pass deflections, and three forced fumbles.

Ellis' strong numbers led to becoming a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award, which is given to the national freshman player of the year at the Division I FCS level and being named to the FCS Freshman All-American team.

Along with Ellis, some other big additions Purdue and Odom have made through the transfer portal include three-star cornerback Ryan Turner, three-star quarterback Malachi Singleton and three-star safety Crew Wakley.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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