Early Signing Day: Three-star ATH Jaheim Merriweather signs NLI to Purdue

A future member of Lamar Conard's running backs room made things official on Wednesday as Tennessee athlete Jaheim Merriweather signed his National Letter of Intent to Purdue. Merriweather, a three-star recruit out of Bearden, Tennessee, is also rated as the 20th-best prospect out of his home state and the 38th ranked athlete in the class.

Merriweather gave Purdue its running back for the class fairly early in the cycle, committing in late-April. The Bearden product also had offers from Michigan, Ole Miss, Kentucky, Louisville, Mississippi State and West Virginia, among others.

"Me and Coach Conard have a close relationship," Merriweather told Rivals this spring. "He always keeps it real with me. He's texted me almost every day since my 10th grade year to check on me and my family. He calls and checks on my Mom. He's like a father figure."

The future Purdue running back missed time as a senior, but rushed for over 900 yards and 11 touchdowns during his standout junior campaign at Gallatin High School before transferring to Bearden to wrap up his high school career.

Merriweather is one of the sleepers of the class for Purdue, not having as much buzz as four-stars Tayvion Galloway and Marcos Davila, but possessing just as much talent. At 6'2" and 200 pounds, he can run between the tackles or get outside and take nearly any run to the house. Despite being a touch taller, he has tremendous balance and can lower the boom when needed.

The Volunteer State native is also coming into a situation that could see him see the field from the start as Purdue does not have any experienced running backs behind starter Devin Mockobee and recent portal addition Reggie Love III. Unseating both of those veterans for the starting role may not be in the cards, but I expect Merriweather to have a role offensively for Purdue as a true freshmen, barring any other additions to the group.