As Purdue looks to overhaul the defense heading into 2025, a key cog in that effort will be the play of defensive backs coach Charles Clark's unit. Clark joined Barry Odom's staff after a successful stint at Memphis and now makes the jump to the Big Ten to run his own room.

Clark met with the media for the first time to discuss Purdue's additions to the secondary out of the transfer portal, thoughts on a pair of returners, why he decided to join Odom's staff in West Lafayette and more.

"First guy we got our hands on was Tahj Ra-El, who actually played for me at Memphis, which was last place I was at, and he was able to transfer, and was able to get him here. So it's good to have him here, just knowing his abilities, knowing kind of where he's at, as far as a football player in the defensive back and you know how you should be able to come and contribute.

"Then Crew Wakley played at a BYU. He's a really good player. Was very productive over there, kind of split time. He kind of wanted to go somewhere he could have the potential to be the guy with two years left to play. I thought he was a great addition for us as well."

"Chad Brown, you know, was out in the Mountain West. Actually, was kind of funny story. So when, you know, UNLV played Nevada last year, I guess he made some plays on the sideline, and him and coach Odom kind of had some back and forth. So that was good. So when he had an opportunity to go on the portal, it's good to get him."

"Richard Tony was another guy that, at TCU was behind an All-American, you know, in Bud Clark over there, you know. So again, opportunity to come in and play and play in the Big Ten. You know, he saw a lot of value that in that."

"Ryan Turner, another guy that actually started at (Boston College), but was kind of looking for, whether it's coaches or whatever the case, scheme or whatever the case may have been, but you know, he's signed out of high school at Ohio State, you know, so a guy that has potential to play at this level already, to be able to return back to it. I just saw a lot of value in those guys.

"Tony Grimes. He has stepped up and accepted probably being a leader in that back end, you know, done a great job of communicating with guys. Yes, he's doing a lot of good stuff on the field, but I tell you what, all the great teams I've been a part of have leaders, and he's definitely one, and I look forward to watching him continue to watch him grow on the field, but also in the leadership role as well."

"I know it's a lot of turnover, to be honest, which I don't know how much, because I wasn't here, but you know, I see the guys in the weight room and on the field in conditioning and stuff moving around well, Here in a couple of weeks, when we hit the field, we'll get a feel for all those guys."

"Those two guys, you know, first and foremost thing, they got really high football IQs, along with some other guys that was already here as well. You know, they move around in drills and stuff right now. I have a good feeling about them, but you know, once we get the pads and stuff on and really get to playing football, we'll get a better feel for them but I love the fact those guys here, they played college football before, along with some of the other guys that are here as well, and looking forward to this spring."

"I mean, that's huge. That's the one thing we cannot substitute for. I don't care how much we practice, game day experience is critical at that position. Because, whether it's a good play or a bad play, you got to be able to clear that play and be ready to play the next one. Because we make a mistake on the back end, we know how that result turns out, and so we can't afford those. So the guys that have played a lot of football, seen a lot of football, is always good, if you can find those guys on the portal."

"Well, first and foremost, I mean, just Purdue and the tradition that it has had before. Actually, one of my high school teammates played here, Cliff Avril, me and him played on same high school team. So just going back, even before then, had a lot of great tradition. You know, won a lot of games here and just couple of years ago. I mean, they went to the Big Ten Championship. So I think we have all the resources needed to do that. We have the facilities, we have a fan base, I think we got the coaching staff now and then also, you know, we just got to go and get the players and return back to that. So, just opportunity being in the Big Ten conference. The last place I was at, they won a lot of games, and wouldn't be surprised if they make a jump at some point. But just also coach Odom and coach Scherer, just talking to them. And everybody that I asked around in the coaching profession about, those two guys are great men, first, and then just great coaches as well. Played great defense everywhere they've been. I played a lot of good defense everywhere I've been. So just that opportunity, you know, I thought it was a great opportunity to make that next step."

"That's an interesting question we kind of talked about as a staff, because as you continue, you always want to add depth, right? You always want to add better guys. That's recruiting us for, right? Just try to go get guys that's just as good or better than the guys you got, and that's not going to stop, but with the number being reduced down to 105, we got to kind of make sure we're on the same page across the board, across the team with that. We'll have a better understanding of where the depth is at, but if you can add better guys and build some depth, that's always great. So again, we have to go through the spring first and get a feel for kind of where we're at right now and where the numbers need to be, as far as what things we're going to do on defense. And I think, you know, that's a better question for the end of the spring to kind of see where we're at."