Brohm on June commits: 'It’s gonna be slower this year than last year'
Last June was a prolific month for Purdue when it came to getting verbal commitments. That month, the Boilermakers saw 13 players verbally commit (Purdue had 12 verbal commits in June 2017 in what was a 24-man class). But Jeff Brohm doesn’t expect a similar watershed of commitments this June.
“It’s gonna be slower this year than last year and that’s on purpose,” said Brohm. “We don’t have as many spots. We also are gonna be a little more selective and make sure we get who we want. I think while we were successful between May and June last year, there were a handful of guys that we waited longer for and we ended up getting.”
For the record, Purdue had TE Garrett Miller, DE Sulaiman Kpaka, DB Cameron Allen, DB Nyles Beverly, LB Crishawn Long, DE Dontay Hunter, P Brooks Cormier, OL Spencer Holstege, OL Dave Monnot III, TE Kyle Bilodeau, QB Paul Piferi, OL Cam Craig and DB Marvin Grant verbally pledge in June 2018.
The first four commitments of 2018 were LB Chase Triplett, DE George Karlaftis, WR Mershawn Rice and RB Da’Joun Hewitt, who all pledged in May 2018 or earlier.
The Boilermakers ended up with a 26-man class in 2019 that ranked 26th in the nation by rivals.com.
“We want to make sure we have enough room to be able to recruit and stay on prospects that may be a little bit more of a long shot, but we are still in it and want to battle it to the end,” said Brohm. “So we probably will leave more room for that.”
Purdue landed DT Steven Faucheux and WR TJ Sheffield in July 2018. Then, the program filled out its 2019 class with six commitments from October 2018 to January 2019. And some of the most touted players in the Class of 2019 committed in that period, led by WRs David Bell and Milton Wright along with S Jalen Graham. Others who committed after the summer were LB Khali Saunders, OL Kyle Jornigan, RB King Doerue and LB Jacob Wahlberg, who flipped from Western Michigan in February and actually will be counted in the 2020 class as a blue shirt. LB Chase Triplett--the second commitment in the Class of 2019--is in a similar position as Wahlberg as he waits to go on scholarship for the Class of 2020 cycle.
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“Sometimes in April and May, (the Boilermakers) weren’t at the top of the list but (recruits) happen to fall into your lap because others have fallen off because (other schools) are starting to fill up,” said Brohm. “And sometimes you get players late because of a great job of recruiting.”
Purdue already has three verbal commitments for the Class of 2020: LB Ben Kreul and OLs Gus Hartwig and Jared Bycznski. Brohm won’t say how many scholarships he has to give for this class.
“I’d rather not tell you that,” he said. “It’s always fluctuating because of people leaving and things like that. Let’s put it his way: We don’t have a lot of seniors. You can count them up yourself compared to last year. That’s what makes it much more difficult.”
According to the roster Purdue issued in the spring, the program has 12 seniors: QB Elijah Sindelar; DT Lorenzo Neal; LB Markus Bailey; RB Tario Fuller; DB Navon Mosley; RB Richie Worship; CB David Day; OL Alex Criddle; OL Matt McCann; WR Malcolm Dotson; TE Brycen Hopkins; DE Kai Higgins.
Day is believed to be a walk-on, which would bring the number of 2019 seniors on scholarship down to 11. And Sindelar could return for a sixth season in 2020, if he wants, which would bring the number of scholarships available to only 10. And--again--players like Wahlberg and Triplett are due scholarships for 2020, pushing the number down even more.
But Purdue has had six scholarship players transfer since last season ended, which will push back up the scholarships available for the staff to use on the Class of 2020. Still, things look tight for the Class of 2020.
Schools are allowed to sign as many as 25 players each year—if they have the scholarships to give. Bottom line: Purdue doesn’t have a lot of wiggle room when it comes to handing out scholarships for its 2020 class, which figures to be a small one.
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