Brohm talks recruiting, injuries, freshmen, transfers and T-shirts

When it comes to assembling the 2020 recruiting class, it's so far, so good ... as far as Jeff Brohm is concerned.

"I think we are definitely pleased with where we are at this year," Brohm said on Tuesday night at a John Purdue Club event in Fishers, Ind. "We feel we need to go much slower. There are going to be some limited spots where we cannot take the full signing class we did the previous year just due to the amount of seniors we have on the team."

So far, Purdue has five verbal commitments for the Class of 2020, which is expected to be a smaller class for the program with limited scholarships to hand out. The Boilermakers have had just two verbal commitments this June--each occurred late last week. Purdue also got a commitment in January, March and April.

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).

"I think last (June) was magical," said Brohm. "It doesn’t mean this year is. The spring recruiting cycle is from April 1 til the end of June. It really makes the month of June really active. A lot of times, you’ll get some decisions after (recruits visit in June) or decisions before the season which normally means before August. I don’t know if June will be as hectic as it was last year, but I could see some things shaking before August 1."

Brohm thinks June has become an active month for commitments because of the early signing period, which began with the Class of 2018.

"A lot of them want to get it out of the way before they start their season because when their season is over, signing day on December 20 is right around the corner," said Brohm. "And they wanna know where they are going and not have to focus on trying to fit visits in when the season is over."

Things remain steady on the injury front, according to Brohm. The one player who has a murky future is RB Richie Worship.

"We are still trying to see exactly where he is at," said Brohm. "We gave him quite a bit of time off to see if that would help. It’ll probably be a late July-August decision of where we go from there. But there has been improvement. With Richie, it’s just gonna be hard to tell. The others, I think they all should be healthy. Any bumps and bruises we had, hopefully they should be ready to go."

DT Lorenzo Neal (knee), LB Markus Bailey (hip), QB Elijah Sindelar (knee), C Viktor Beach (back), DE Derrick Barnes (thumb), DT Anthony Watts (foot), S Brennan Thieneman (leg), LB Cornel Jones (foot) are key players who missed part, most or all of spring drills.

Brohm has liked what he has seen from the incoming freshmen.

"It is good to get everyone in town for the summer," said Brohm. "All of our freshmen are here. It’s a big group. We are excited to see those guys take the field and see how they perform. We like what we’ve seen to this point. They understand there is a big challenge, but we will play as many young guys as we can. A lot of these freshmen understand that and they are working hard to make sure they are ready on August 1 (when camp opens)."

The staff is able to have some interaction with the players on the field.

"We get to spend some time with them," said Brohm. "There are certain rules and limitations. We can’t have a ball out there when we are doing that. But we get to see them move around and work out. I think we have a good group. It’s a matter of how fast they can adjust to the game, how physically developed they are to withstand a rigorous season of work. But I like what I have seen to this point. They are eager to get going.

Brohm was asked if any transfers have been added.

"We have no one to date," he said.

Fans many have noticed on social media players wearing T-shirts that say "Salty." What's up with that?

"Coach (Sean) Pugh, our director of player development, definitely believes in staying salty, which means to us making sure we are all life preservers and we are all doing our part to keep everything going, keep everything healthy," said Brohm. "I think our guys to this point understand that everyone has to do their part and everyone has to put in the work. You never know who is gonna play and we are gonna play whoever is ready. It doesn't matter what age. I think all of those guys are buying in."

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