In today's college football climate, loyalty has been put on the back burner.

Frustrated athletes, NIL negotiations, and transfer portal tampering have ravaged the sport in recent years, where players are constantly looking ahead at the next opportunity as opposed to the one right in front of them.

Purdue football has a pair that refrained from such noise and stayed true to the Boilermakers, when nobody would fault them if they didn't. Center Gus Hartwig and linebacker/rush end Kydran Jenkins are two of just six members of the Boilermakers' 2020 recruiting class who have spent their entire careers in West Lafayette.

A fraction of the initial signing day class remains, which is not uncommon, especially when it comes to Purdue. Just five players each in the 2021 and 2022 classes remain a part of the program. The Boilermakers have even lost five players across the 2023 and 2024 classes already as well.

It is the recruiting haul from 2020 that sits in the limelight, however, with Senior Day approaching for Purdue on Saturday. Much of the program's original senior class no longer resides in West Lafayette.

"I mean, everybody is pretty much gone," Jenkins said.

Hartwig and Jenkins are joined only by walk-ons Andrew Sowinski and Ben Furtney for Senior Day festivities as players that joined the program in 2020, while safety Antonio Stevens could return in 2023.

That's it.

Hartwig and Jenkins both had decisions to make a year ago, head to the NFL, enter the transfer portal, or return to Purdue for their fifth and final collegiate seasons. For Hartwig, the opportunity to remain a Boilermaker for the entirety of his career, while stacking degrees, was something he wanted to be able to say about his college experience later on down the line.

"Coaches will come and go, but the school is always gonna be, Purdue's gonna be Purdue. That's not gonna change, and to kind of go through that thing is a really cool aspect that not a lot of people in today's college athletics really get to say. So kinda having that has been an awesome experience," Hartwig said.

It was a complex decision for Jenkins on the other hand, who dove into the choices he had upon the conclusion of last season at Big Ten Media Day in July. Perhaps Purdue's biggest flight risk outside of those who actually departed, came back to boost his NFL Draft stock and walk out of West Lafayette with a degree in hand next month.

"It was a lot after the season, because I didn't know what I was gonna do. I didn't know if I was going to the pros, I didn't know about staying here, I didn't know about trying to transfer. But I knew at the end of the day I needed to come back for another year too, because I wanted to show scouts what I can be on the field. And that would help me get better get drafted higher in the draft," Jenkins said in July.

"I'd say because I've been at Purdue four years and I want to graduate. I graduate in December so I wanted to get my degree from here. I came along way, worked hard to get that and my mom knew that I wanted a Purdue degree and I needed it," Jenkins said.

That has paid off for Jenkins, who will graduate next month and has built on his breakthrough campaign from a year ago. He once again ranks in the top ten in the Big Ten in tackles for loss and sacks, as well as being 6th all-time in sacks and 11th all-time in tackles for loss in school history.

Not only has he evolved into a potential NFL Draft selection, but he has grown as a leader as well.

"The two years I've been with him, [he] has grown immensely in terms of a leadership role, you know, just being able to grab the guys before every series. He's the guy getting fired up and kind of jumping around the sidelines," defensive coordinator Kevin Kane said. "He's extremely talented and he's a great football player, but to see his growth from a leadership standpoint, been awesome to see that."

Hartwig is on a similar track when it comes to his professional aspirations, figuring into NFL Mock Drafts already. The fifth-year center has been a staple of the Purdue offensive line, starting 45 games across those five years.

Their returns spoke to a sense of loyalty and pride both Hartwig and Jenkins have for Purdue. It's something many cannot say in the ever-changing landscape of collegiate sports, even some of their teammates. Of the 17 players going through Senior Day this weekend, nine transferred in from other programs.

"It just shows like, how much like loyalty that we got to Purdue, and like how much we been through. We've been through a lot of things," Jenkins said. " Then it just shows a lot about our character, to think like the guys that still here, they work hard."

"Kind of going through that. I think it kind of builds you into, like, a person, right? Like, you kind of go through those ebbs and flows. Like the school aspect of it, the pride for Purdue," Hartwig said. "Kind of having that pride, like this where I went -- sticking with the same same school."

While Hartwig and Jenkins being back in the fold hasn't translated to team success on the field, as the Boilermakers are three games away from their worst mark since 2013, both hope to have rubbed off on the younger generation of Boilemakers.

"I think it's kind of the way I work, just the way I go about my business, trying to come out and work and put my best foot forward and hopefully leave a mark on some of these younger guys. Just have the ability to go out and be consistent, to be the same guy, go out and do the best I can be," Hartwig said.

"I want to be remember as a great guy that brought a lot to Purdue, and that always had his head up. No matter what, when times got hard, I just kept playing, played my heart out every game. I want to be remembered for being that hard working guy," Jenkins said.

The entire senior class is one that Purdue head coach Ryan Walters holds in high regard, as they either believed in his vision enough to stay or joined the ship via the transfer portal. For the former, no better examples are that of Kydran Jenkins and Gus Hartwig.

"Words can't describe the amount of admiration I have for this group," Walters said. "They either chose to be here and stay or believed in what we're doing as a program to be added to this class."