Purdue football adds 10 to recruiting class, total incoming recruits at 22

WEST LAFAYETTE − Purdue's early signing period group of 12 in December grew to a class of 22 on Wednesday.

The Boilermaker football team added four incoming freshmen to the 12 who signed six weeks ago.

New head coach Ryan Walters added six players from the transfer portal.

More:Inside Purdue football's 2023 early period signing class

The incoming crop includes two quarterbacks, four receivers, three offensive linemen and a tight end for the offense, along with four defensive linemen/defensive ends, one linebacker and six members of the secondary for the defense.

"The initial phase, I got hired and the first signing day was approaching quickly," Walters said. "I wanted to make sure we got the in-state commitments first and try to shore up those relationships and gain those relationships, get them signed and maintain their commitment."

The early signing class included: Winston Berglund (safety/linebacker, Carmel, Ind.), Ryan Browne (quarterback, Venice, Fla./Milford Academy), Drake Carlson (defensive tackle, Nashville, Tenn.), Ethon Cole (safety, Clermont, Fla.), Owen Davis (linebacker, Richwood, Ohio), Zion Gunn (cornerback, Orlando, Fla.), Jamarrion Harkless (defensive tackle, Lexington, Ky.), Will Heldt (defensive end, Carmel, Ind.), Jimmy Liston (offensive line, Hinsdale, Ill./IMG Academy), Ryne Shackelford (receiver, Elyria, Ohio), Jaron Tibbs (receiver, Indianapolis) and Dillon Thieneman (safety, Carmel, Ind.).

The 10 additional signees include: George Burhenn (tight end, McCordsville, Ind.), Isaiah Nichols, defensive line, Springdale, Ark./Arkansas), Hudson Card (quarterback, Austin, Texas/Texas), Salim Turner-Muhammad (cornerback, Corona, N.Y./Stanford), Issiah Walker (offensive tackle, Miami, Fla./Butler Community College), Arhmad Branch (athlete/receiver, Festus, Mo.), Derrick Rogers Jr. (athlete/receiver, Orlando, Fla.), Mondrell Dean (athlete/defensive end, Charleston, W.Va.), Anthony Brown (defensive back, Milan, Tennn./Arkansas) and Jalen Grant (offensive line, Chicago, Ill./Bowling Green).

Here are five pinpoints to come out of Walters' first meeting with the media about the incoming class:

Securing a QB

Walters had two initial things he wanted to accomplish after getting hired: keeping the current in-state players who'd committed to previous coach Jeff Brohm's staff and landing a quarterback out of the transfer portal.

Walters lost two in-state recruits, receiver TJ McWilliams out of Indianapolis, who signed with Minnesota and defensive lineman Kendrick Gilbert out of Indianapolis, who surprisingly flipped his commitment from Purdue to Kentucky on Wednesday.

He did, however, get his quarterback.

"I thought Hudson (Card) was the best quarterback in the portal," Walters said.

The former Texas quarterback already is on campus and committed to Purdue shortly after the early signing period ended.

He brings several traits Walters and offensive coordinator Graham Harrell tried to identify in the position.

"When you watch the tape, the ball comes out of his hand pretty effortlessly and it’s natural," Walters said. "He is also a football player. He’s not just a quarterback. He’s got the ability to extend plays with his legs. He’s very calm and collective and he’s got great poise."

Assist from Kane

Walters had originally tried to recruit Turner-Muhammad to Missouri out of high school.

Turner-Muhammad instead enrolled at Stanford in 2019. Turner-Muhammad is from Corona, N.Y., the same area where Purdue safety Sanoussi Kane hails. The two are friends and offseason workout partners.

"I loved him as an athlete then and that hasn’t changed," Walters said.

Kane was the one to inform Walters that Turner-Muhammad was entering the transfer portal, eliciting Walters to respond, "yeah, let's go."

Turner-Muhammad has three years of eligibility remaining.

Re-recruited

While Walters and staff did their best to mend fences as quickly as possible, Burhenn wasn't so quick to sign away his college football future without doing his due diligence.

The Mt. Vernon (Fortville) tight end was initially committed to Brohm's staff, but took his time before sticking with the Boilermakers.

"The recruiting experience with George Burhenn was a special one," Walters said. "Obviously he had a very tight relationship with the previous staff here. To get him to give us a chance to recruit him and get to know his family, his family is dealing with some things right now, so for them to open up their home to us and get to dive into the real relationships and to be able to be able to sign him today, that as a very humbling and gratifying recruiting experience."

Hidden gem

When Walters became the head coach, he received a congratulatory message from an old friends, A.J. Ofodile, who once worked with Walters at the University of Missouri and is now the head football coach at Festus High in Missouri.

The response was, do you have anyone who can help us?

Enter Arhmad Branch, a virtual unknown at the time with just two years of football experience, who Walters said recently scored 37 points in a high school basketball game with five dunks at 5-foot-11.

"He has the traits and skillset that I think he will be able to play on Sundays someday," Walters said. "When he said that, he’s been pretty accurate in the time I’ve known him, I knew I had to get down there and go see him. I went down there and he was as advertised."

This and that

∎ Walters on what he tried to find in his first recruiting class, "We tried to identify and sign guys that love football for football, not for Twitter likes or Instagram followers. These guys, they love ball."

∎ This incoming group might not be a complete unit yet. The second wave of transfer portal recruitments comes in May and Walters made sure to save some spots in case the Boilermakers develop more areas of need after spring football.

"Going through spring ball and getting an accurate evaluation of exactly what the roster is and how they fit with he scheme on both sides of the ball," Walters said. "It’s one of the reasons we wanted to hold some spots, to be able to attack the transfer portal once we got an accurate depiction of what our needs are."

∎ There's an additional caveat to recruiting that didn't exist even a couple years ago: name, image and likeness (NIL) opportunities. It's something Walters doesn't shy away from.

"That is the reality of where we are," Walters said. "It’s not something to run away from or be shy about. It is the status quo now in college football.

"I think we’ve got a good plan in place there that can lead to sustained success. I am excited. I am not scared NIL. Some people look at it as a challenge. I look at it as an opportunity."

Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Purdue football adds 10 to 2023 class, total incoming recruits at 22