Scouting Report | Purdue
Things have changed a lot with Notre Dame and Purdue since they last played in 2021.
Marcus Freeman, then the defensive coordinator, is now Notre Dame’s head coach. Purdue’s head coach, Ryan Walters, was in his first season as the defensive coordinator at Illinois.
A lower tier Big Ten program might not seem like the ideal place to launch a career, but Walters inherited a defense that finished 97th in DF+ (combined FEI and SP+ ranking) and saw them make a massive leap to 24th in that ‘21 season. He followed that up with a top-3 defense in 2022, which led to Purdue hiring him to replace Jeff Brohm.
Walters did not inherit a great roster and didn’t find instant success at Purdue with them going 4-8 in year one of his tenure. They have made some upgrades through the transfer portal and they’re 37th in 247Sports’ team talent composite with 20 blue-chips on their roster. 11 of those were transfers.
They are set up to be a better team than they were last season, but we know very little about them with their only game being a blowout win against FCS Indiana State. It did give us an idea of who they want to be, though, and that’s an offense that attacks every area of the field in the passing game and a defense that attacks offenses constantly with pressure and man coverage.
That philosophy helped Walters get this job and it’s why Notre Dame has to prepare to be challenged on every snap. They are currently 60th in the F+ rankings heading into this game.
Offense
The offense is led by Graham Harrell, who Notre Dame fans should be familiar with from his time at USC. He was the OC there from 2019-2021 when they played the Irish twice.
The rankings for Harrell’s offenses regressed after started at USC from 15th to 25th to 52nd and he didn’t light the world on fire at WVU (40th) or in year one at Purdue (76th). It’s a bit unfair to judge him on what they did last season, though, because they were forced to play much differently than the would have liked to.
A former quarterback at Texas Tech, he’s an Air Raid disciple who was in the top-10 in pass play percentage at USC, but had to adapt at WVU and Purdue based on the personnel he had. They threw the ball only 47.4% of the time in 2023, which is drastically different than when he was throwing the ball close to 60% at SC.
While they replace their top four receivers from last season, they do appear to have the personnel to throw it around the yard more often with some injured players returning and additions to the receiver room. They were 63.8% pass when QB Hudson Card was in the game in week one, which is closer to what we should expect to see from them on Saturday against Notre Dame.
Expected Strengths
While they don’t have a Drake London like Harrell had at USC, they are loaded with players with that same body type at receiver. It’s a lot of big bodies who are capable of stretching the field. Expect them to take plenty of shots with this group and they have tight ends who are basically big receivers as well.
Card is their QB1 and he’s a dual-threat. He doesn’t have the awareness or escapability against the rush to do a ton of damage as a scrambler when pressured, but Notre Dame is going to have to be aware of him at all times as a runner. He can move and will take advantage of an opening when he sees it as well as being used in the run game.
With the way they spread defenses out, it can lead to light boxes and opportunities to gain big chunks in the running game. They have the speed at running back to create explosive runs if Notre Dame isn’t taking care of business up front.
Potential Weaknesses
It just so happens that up front was a major issue for them last season. They were 96th in blown block percentage on designed runs in 2023 and 111th in havoc rate allowed last season. They gave up pressure frequently in protection as well.
They’ve added some players in the transfer portal and have shifted some pieces around, but as we saw with Texas A&M’s line, having a ton of experience without that experience playing together isn’t an ideal situation.
It’s impossible to judge them from what we saw against Indiana State. It was basically a 7 on 7 drill for Card with the pass rush barely getting a whiff of him. He was dealing in that game. He wasn’t dealing last season with a lot more pressure on him.
Fumbles were a huge issue for them last season. They were 119th in the country with 22 and they were extremely fortunate to only lose eight of them. Card and starting RB Devin Mockobee combined for 18 of them.
Personnel notes
#1 QB Hudson Card
- 6-3 210
- previously at Texas
- red hot vs Indiana St, 24 of 25 for 275 and 4 TDs
- had all day to throw, only 10.7% pressure rate
- 58.7% completions, 15 TDs to 9 INTS last season at Purdue
- gained 22 pounds in the last year
- 100th in 3rd down pass efficiency in ‘23
- 90th in ESPN’s QBR in ‘23
- 357, 4.7 YPC as a runner in ‘23
- 10 fumbles
- 82.3 PFF passing grade on short passes, 6th in FBS
- 4.06 short shuttle, 4.77 40, 37.7 vert in HS
- 91% of his throws in ‘23 were with Purdue trailing
- bottom 10 in interceptable pass rate on downfield throws
- pressured on 39.3% of dropbacks
- bottom 5 in explosive pass rate, struggled throwing the deep ball
- was in the bottom 20th percentile in intermediate and deep ball accuracy
- Senior Bowl watchlist
- has the arm to fit it in for intermediate routes
#15 QB Ryan Browne
- 6-4 210
- RS last season
- 6 of 10, 6.2 YPA in mop up time in week 1
- played against Northwestern last season and had 20 rushing attempts for 95 yards
- 12 of 16 6.5 YPA and 2 picks in that game
#5 QB Marcos Davila
- 6-3 244
- DJ Uigalelei type without as big of an arm
#45 RB Devin Mockobee
- 6-0 207
- led the team in rushing with 811, 4.7 YPC
- 8 fumbles last season
- 18 for 100 vs Ohio St in ‘23
- 19 catches last season
- 968, 5.0 YPC in ‘22
- Indiana state champion in long jump, 2nd in 110 hurdles
- 11 for 89 in week 1 -
38 and 44 missed tackles forced in the last two seasons
#23 RB Reggie Love
- 5-11 215
- Illinois transfer
- led Illinois in rushing in ‘23, 4.9 per carry
- 4.19 short shuttle in HS
- 7 for 38 in opener
#33 RB Elijah Jackson
- 5-10 191
- former walk-on
- 100m Indiana state champion in HS
- 69-yard TD in week 1
- KR as well
#3 RB Jaheim Merriweather
- 6-2 210
- true freshman
- 4 for 12 yards in first game, 1 TD
#7 WR Jahmal Erdine
- 6-3 215
- transfer from FAU who tore his ACL and missed last season
- 39 for 570, 6 TDs in 2022 at FAU
- was considered to be their WR1 before the injury
- big body boundary, caught 16 of 29 contested catches in ‘22
- not a big threat after the catch
#8 WR De’Nylon Morrissette
- 6-1 200
- Georgia transfer
- four career catches before this season
- had first career touchdown in week 1
#16 WR Shamar Rigby
- true freshman
- 6-3 187
- teammate of ND DT Sean Sevillano in HS
- long strider, not sudden out of his breaks
#0 WR Jayden Dixon-Veal
- 6-0 190
- previously at Oregon St and a JC
- 5 starts last season, 16 receptions are most returning
- most of work done in quick game
#4 WR Kam Brown
- 6-1 185
- previously at UCLA and Texas A&M
- missed week 1 vs Indiana State with an injury
- will be healthy for ND
- never more than 24 catches in a season, 13 in ‘23
- more build up speed, struggles to separate down the field
#9 WR CJ Smith
- 6-3 195
- Georgia transfer
- missed the first game with an injury
- called the fastest player on the team by Walters, ran a 10.3 100m in HS
- won’t be available for ND game
- 6 catches in 116 yards in garbage time at UGA
#13 WR Jaron Tibbs
- 6-3 214
- five catches in eight games as a freshman
- primarily aligned in the slot
- 4 catches in week 1
#12 WR Leland Smith
- 6-4 220
- Fullerton JC transfer
- one of the five fastest players on the team
- 26.4 per catch last season
- blocked a punt in week 1
- went over the top of a corner to high point the ball on a TD in week 1
#80 WR Ryne Shackleford
- 6-0 175
- redshirt in ‘23
- ran a 4.41 at Ohio St camp
- 10.57 100m, elite long jump
- no snaps in opener
#86 TE Max Klare
- 6-4 240
- 22 catches in 5 games in ‘23, injury knocked him out for the season
- good athlete, natural hands catcher
- a threat after the catch
- 5 for 71 in the opener
- HS QB, alert pass
#82 TE Drew Biber
- 6-5 245
- 2nd TE, good athlete but not a good blocker
#81 TE George Burhenn
- 6-5 240
- Indiana state champion in 110H, 14.31 for a TE is legit
- 5 catches last season, all vs Indiana in the final game
#71 LT Corey Stewart
- 6-6 318
- Ball State transfer
- projected starter who missed week 1 vs Indiana State
- will be healthy for ND
- 1st team All-MAC
- only gave up two pressures in games vs Kentucky and Georgia
- good feet, basketball player in HS
#74 LT Joshua Sales
- 6-6 320
- Indiana transfer
- 324 snaps in 2022, experience at both tackle spots
- started vs Indiana State, will be backup with Stewart healthy
- below average player who struggles with speed
#79 LT Joey Tanona
- 6-5 304
- Was in serious car accident that caused him to medically retire from football
- first year back
- elite throws in shot put and discus in HS
- 27 snaps at LT and LG in week 1 as a backup
#63 RT Marcus Mbow
- 6-5 300
- multi-year starter
- missed the back half of ‘23 with an elbow injury
- projected as a guard in the NFL, could be one of the top iOL in the upcoming draft
- Senior Bowl watchlist
- started at guard in 2022
#78 RT Bakyne Coly
- 6-7 302
- 20 snaps at RT in the opener
- had a penalty and gave up a sack
#77 LG Mahamane Moussa
- 6-4 300
- started at LT previous two years, kicked inside to guard
- 18 career starts
- abused in pass pro last year, flagged six times
- starter at LG
#55 RG DJ Wingfield
- 6-4 315
- New Mexico transfer, prior to that was at a JC
- missed most of the ‘22 season with a knee injury
- starter at RT in ‘23, only allowed 7 pressures in 316 pass block snaps
- 3 came against Texas A&M
- moved to RG, starter
#53 C Gus Hartwig
- 6-5 305
- returning starter, considered one of the best centers in the Big Ten
- over 2,700 career snaps
- Senior Bowl watchlist
- solid in pass pro, had a tougher time with Ohio State’s DTs in ‘23
#75 C/G Jalen Grant
- 6-3 285
- started all 12 games at RG in ‘23
- started out at Bowling Green, multi-year starter
- has started games at all three interior line spots
- struggled in his first year in Big Ten
- backup in ‘24, took reps at LG and C in week 1
Key for Notre Dame
Tackle well in space and get after Card
Purdue will run a lot of RPOs and force Notre Dame to tackle on the perimeter. That’s going to be huge for the Irish to limit yards after the catch and get them into long yardage situations. It’s also going to be big because this pass rush basically had to take last Saturday off with the style of offense they faced last week.
There will be more opportunities to pin their ears back and get after the quarterback and it’s going to be critical to get pressure on Card and force him into bad decisions.
Defense
It wasn’t a great year one for Purdue’s defense under Walters and DC Kevin Kane. They finished 63rd in DF+ and gave up far too many big plays. They pretty much put their chips all-in on playing the same defensive style that produced so much success at Illinois, but didn’t have the personnel to pull it off.
No one plays more man coverage with his corners than Walters. Literally. His defenses at Illinois and Purdue have played a higher percentage of man coverage than everyone else. They’ve been 70% or higher in terms of man coverage.
When the corners can handle it, it can lead to great success because of the freedom it allows with adding extra defenders to stop the run or bringing pressure with additional rushers. When the corners can’t handle it, it can be hit and miss.
His track record speaks for itself, though. Four of his five seasons as a DC saw his defense finish in the top-25 in DF+, so there are reasons for Purdue fans to be optimistic about them playing closer to that level in 2024.
Expected Strengths
While they were only 61st in havoc rate in 2023, I expect them to be closer to top-25 in that category this fall. They had 11 tackles for loss and a 22.6% havoc rate in the opener, which is partly them playing an FCS program and partly the general approach they have.
They blitzed the quarterback on 60% of his dropbacks in week one. Against a young offensive line and a quarterback who is coming off a poor performance, they will likely only ramp up how aggressive they are.
S Dillon Thienamen was sensational last season and is in the conversation with Xavier Watts as one of the top safeties in the country. He’s an elite athlete who can do a little bit of everything for them. He’s on the short list of the best defenders Notre Dame will face this season.
Potential Weaknesses
There is some potential up front, but the strongest part of their defense last season were the two edge rushers. Nic Scourton is now playing for Texas A&M and they moved Kydran Jenkins to linebacker. That’s 92 total pressures they have to replace from those positions and they better hope that someone like Will Heldt are going to be a problem against every team on their schedule. They don’t have much proven pass rush production from the interior either, so they have to really hope that some of their defensive line makes a huge leap this season.
Moving Jenkins to linebacker might have been because that’s where he could fit best in the NFL. I also could see that decision being made because they don’t like what they have at linebacker. It’s a weak spot for them. They didn’t have the corners who could succeed playing so much man coverage last season and I’m not sure they have the corners to succeed there this season.
They finished 131st in PFF’s coverage grades, were 114th in EPA (expected points added) per dropback, and were 126th in receptions of 20+ yards against.
Starting corner Markevious Brown returned and he had some issues. The other starting corner was supposed to be Georgia transfer Nyland Green, but he’s not healthy and Walters has said he is unavailable for this game. That means they are starting a true freshman at the other outside corner spot and he’s someone who reclassified from the 2025 class to 2024. Technically he should be playing his senior season in high school right now. They also have a starting nickel with limited experience at his previous two schools and zero game experience as a slot corner before last week.
There’s a lot of legitimate personnel questions for them on defense at all three levels.
Personnel notes
#15 Edge Will Heldt
- 6-6 250
- true sophomore
- 3 TFLs, 2 sacks in week 1 vs Indiana St
- huge buzz about him in the offseason, picked off a pass in the spring game
- twitchy and long, looks like a dude
- will counter inside quite a bit, can lose contain
#8 Edge CJ Madden
- 6-4 263
- Georgia transfer
- only 52 snaps at UGA
- had two pressures in week 1
#17 Edge Shitta Sillah
- 6-4 251
- Boston College transfer
- little production, only 3 TFLs in ‘23
- never more than 13 pressures in a season
- missed most of 2022 season with an injury
- looks the part, but inconsistent and not great at POA
#99 Edge Jireh Ojata
- 6-4 260
- Franklin College transfer (D-III)
- conference defensive player of the year
- 29 TFLs, blocked four kicks in the last two seasons
- only 9 snaps in garbage time in week 1
#95 DT Joe Anderson
- 6-4 290
- South Carolina transfer
- 6th year player
- missed the opening week vs Indiana St
- expected back for Notre Dame
- rotation player in ‘23
- 3-tech with good traits, but a non-factor during his career
#0 DT Jeffery M’Ba
- 6-6 302
- previously at a JUCO and Auburn
- originally from France
- some flashes as a pass rusher
- plays with high pad level often
#91 DT Cole Brevard
- 6-3 333
- started out at Penn State
- lost 20 pounds from last season
- returning starter at nose guard
- 416 snaps in ‘23 as nose tackle
- good reps standout vs run
#92 DT Mo Omonode
- 6-0 286
- good motor, plus pass rusher
- state runner-up in wrestling in HS
- the best interior pass rusher on the team
#34 DT Damarjhe Lewis
- 6-3 300
- missed the last two seasons with injuries
- disruptive with good leverage, 2 TFLs in week 1
#97 DT Jamarrion Harkless
- 6-3 346
- RS last season
- a load, but doesn’t move well laterally
#55 DT Jamarius Dinkins
- 6-5 280
- Kentucky transfer
- rotation player in ‘23
#4 LB Kydran Jenkins
- 6-1 253
- moved from edge to ILB
- 7.5 sacks, 15.5 havoc plays
- all-state soccer goalie in HS
- had a day 3 grade by NFL scouts after last season
- 4.82 40, 4.56 short shuttle, 32 vert in HS
- should test him in coverage
- expect him to blitz a ton
- had a sack in week 1, two TFLs
#20 LB Winston Berglund
- 6-2 235
- RS in ‘23
- started week 1 with Karlaftis out of the 1st half
- played safety in HS
- missed a couple of tackles and didn’t have great run fits
#14 LB Yanni Karlaftis
- 6-3 235
- 55 tackles in ‘23
- brother of former Purdue star George Karlaftis
- average athlete
- 8 starts last season
- missed the first half of the opener because of targeting from last season
- struggles when matched up in man vs backs
#31 S Dillon Thieneman
- 6-0 207
- All-American candidate
- monster numbers at true freshman
- 6 INTs, 106 tackles, 12 havoc plays
- clocked at 22.3mph on GPS
- Bruce Feldman’s Freaks List
- 4.03 short shuttle
- big time range
#11 S Antonio Stevens
- 6-2 217
- three starts last season
- had more “stops” in week 1 than he had all of last season
- box safety
#13 S Koy Beasley
- 5-10 187
- true freshman
- 10.44 100m, 21.51 200m in HS
- 4.41 40 and 21.7mph on the GPS in HS
- played 5 snaps in week 1
#2 CB Nyland Green
- 6-1 186
- Georgia transfer
- missed week 1 vs Indiana State with an injury
- uncertain status for ND, wouldn’t have played last week
- only two PBUs in 143 career snaps
- former 5-star recruit
- 34.1 vert in HS
- not expected to be healthy for ND
#1 CB Markevious Brown
- 5-11 176 - previously at Ole Miss
- had 11 havoc plays, but was up and down last season at Purdue
- struggled when matched up in the slot, 59.3% 3 TDs
- 60.7% 14.2 per reception, 45.2 PFF grade in man in ‘23
#12 CB Tarrion Grant
- true freshman, started week 1
- re-classified to 2024 class
- 10.71 100m, elite long jump in HS
- 2 catches on 2 targets for 38 yards in man coverage in week 1
#7 CB Salim Turner-Muhammad
- 6-0 195
- Stanford transfer
- 4.59 40, 4.07 short shuttle, 36 vert in HS
- backup, only 6 snaps in opener
- depth player who struggled at Stanford
- allowed a perfect passer rating in ‘23
#1- Nickel Kyndrich Breedlove
- 5-11 185
- previously at Ole Miss and Colorado
- has run a 4.36 40
- first game as a nickel in week 1, wasn’t tested
#19 CB Bottros Alisandro
- 6-1 186
- previously at a JC
- 232 snaps in ‘23
- gave up 20.9 per reception in man last season on 18 targets
Key for Notre Dame
Create explosives in the passing game
The Irish are tied for last in the country with only one reception of 20+ yards this season and it would be a lot more comforting for fans if the answers against Purdue were to run the ball on them all day long, but this is what they’ll have to put up points in this game. And not just points in this game, but put up points all season.
They have to be more explosive in the passing game and Purdue is going to give them opportunities to achieve that. Quarterback play has to be better and Beaux Collins, Kris Mitchell, and Jordan Faison will have to win their matchups outside.
Look for potential matchups with Jeremiyah Love or Jadarian Price against Purdue’s linebackers in man coverage as well because they are unproven.
Special Teams
They are 84th in SF+ and have a true freshman kicker in addition to transfer punter from Mississippi State.
Thienamen is the punt returner this season and returned three for 29 yards in week one. He’s big and can fly so that is someone Notre Dame will have to worry about getting on the ground.
Elijah Jackson had a kick return of 33 yards in the opener and has elite long speed. Another potential player to watch as a returner is freshman Koy Beasley, who made a big impact there in high school.
WR Leland Smith also blocked a punt in the opener.
#35 K Spencer Porath
- 5-11 201
- true freshman
- made all of his extra points in the opener
- hit a long of 48 in HS
- only attempted 7 FGs as a senior, made all 7
#39 KO Ben Freehill
- 6-1 195
- made 6 of 11 FGs last season, long of 44
- 4 touchbacks on 8 kickoffs in week 1
- only 26.3% touchbacks in ‘23
#30 P Keelan Crimmins
- 6-3 223
- Miss St transfer
- Australian, will roll out and kick
- averaged 40.9 per punt at Miss St in ‘23
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