When the news of Jeff Brohm's departure broke last week, Ryan Walters might not have been at the forefront of the Purdue faithful's mind. As names like Jim Leonhard, Todd Monken, and Chris Klieman were mentioned, the buzz surrounding Walters remained minimal.

Purdue athletic director Mike Bobinski chose to hire the 36-year-old to lead a new era of Boilermakers football. Walters will take over in West Lafayette and look to continue the program's trajectory moving forward.

Let's get to know Purdue's new head football coach, Ryan Walters.

Ryan Walters enjoyed a lot of success during his two seasons in the Big Ten West with the Illini. Illinois secured its first 8-win season since 2007 and was backed by a stellar defense. With Walters at the helm, the Illini defense became one of the best teams in the Big Ten.

Illinois was the home of the best scoring defense in the nation, allowing 12.25 points per game this season. They forced the most turnovers in the country, with 30. Walters' unit was also second in total defense, trailing only Air Force in that category.

Walters had a star-studded cast on the defensive side of the ball at Illinois. Cornerback Devon Witherspoon and defensive tackle Jer'Zhan Newton were named All-Americans by the Associated Press this season. Witherspoon was one of two Big Ten defenders to make first-team AP All-American.

The Illini also had several players earn All-Big Ten selections this season. Along with Witherspoon and Newton, cornerback Sydney Brown was named All-Big Ten defense first team. Jartavius Martin and Keith Randolph were named All-Big Ten selections as well.

Walters was named a Frank Broyles Award finalist after his work this season. The award goes to the top assistant coach in college football. He was also named the "Defensive Coordinator of the Year" by several different publications.

Purdue took a different route in hiring Walters as opposed to the candidates it had brought to West Lafayette historically. Walters has grown his reputation as a defensive mastermind and will now get the chance to lead his own program.

Walters' defenses have ranked among the top 25 in scoring in three out of his last four seasons as a defensive coordinator.

Jeff Brohm was very complimentary of Walters' defense before Purdue's win over the Illini in November. Brohm said, "It works because, like I said, they've got guys up on the line of scrimmage, guys in the box. It's hard to run against, and when you pass, you've got to get it out faster because they get a lot of guys up there coming after the quarterback, and their secondary's played well."

Purdue was the only team to crack the code against Illinois, scoring 31 points in the matchup this season. That was the most the Illini had allowed in a single game, with the second most being 23. Illinois also held a top-five scoring offense in Michigan to a season-low 19 points.

Walters takes pride in leading a stout defensive unit, more so than many of the "up and coming" college coaches in the game today. In October, Walters said, "We've been telling recruits all the way back to last year what was going to happen," and later said, "Now that it's out there, and you can see proof, it definitely helps on the recruiting trail. This isn't a surprise to anybody in the building."

Since he entered the coaching ranks, Walters has been a defensive backs coach and/or defensive coordinator at every stop.

Walters played safety at Colorado from 2004-2008 and was named team captain during his senior season with the Buffaloes. Over his five years in Boulder, Walters totaled 205 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, and 6 interceptions. This month, he was a finalist for the job at his alma mater before Colorado hired Deion Sanders as the team's next head coach.

Prior to his two years with Illinois, Walters spent six seasons at Missouri. After a season as the team's safeties coach, he was promoted to co-defensive coordinator in addition to his previous responsibilities. Walters was named the lone defensive coordinator in 2018 and held the position until he left following the 2020 season.

His best season as defensive coordinator for the Tigers came in 2019. Walters led Missouri to the 16th-lowest points per game allowed mark in the country that year. The team was also 20th in total defense, allowing 334 yards per game. For context, Purdue was 96th that year, allowing over 100 yards more per game.

At Missouri, he coached future NFL draft picks Charles Harris, Nick Bolton, Tyree Gillespie, Terry Beckner Jr, and Joshua Bledsoe.

Walters spent time at Oklahoma, Arizona, Colorado, Memphis, and North Texas, each as a cornerbacks coach. During his stint at Oklahoma, the Sooners went 10-3 and appeared in the Cotton Bowl.

Head coaches that Walters has worked under include Bob Stoops, Bret Bielema, Justin Fuente, and Gary Pinkel.

Athletic director Mike Bobinski went with an up-and-coming coaching candidate, Ryan Walters. The 36-year-old is not what Purdue would typically look for in a head coach, but he has proved he can build defenses at the highest level of college football.

Walters has a lot of work to do over the next week as the Boilermakers have lost a number of recruits in the class of 2023. It will also be interesting to see if Walters can bring any players from Illinois with him to West Lafayette. There will be more news about who Walters will tab to join his staff with the Boilermakers.