Looking back at Purdue football coaches as recruits

Purdue football has picked up steam on the recruiting trail in July, netting four top targets, as it looks to build the 2025 class. While Ryan Walters and company continue to have success on the recruiting trail since arriving in West Lafayette, Boiler Upload takes a look back at members of the coaching staff when they were coming out of high school during the Rivals era.

The leader of Purdue's football program and defensive minded head coach actually began his career as a quarterback in Colorado, where he signed to the Buffs out of high school. Ryan Walters followed in the footsteps of his father, playing for his home state school after being a three-star dual-threat quarterback. Other programs in the mix for Walters at the time were Oregon, UCLA, Arizona State, and Colorado, among others.

Walters wound up switching to the defensive side of the ball once he got to Boulder, turning into a difference maker in the secondary. He tallied 205 total tackles and six interceptions for his career with the Buffs, which earned him All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors as a senior.

What did Rivals have to say about Walters back then?

"Colorado is now two-for-two in the home state as they have offered two players, Garrett Collins and Ryan Walters, and both are now Buffs. Walters made it official yesterday. It has been a long time coming with him as CU actually extended the offer after his freshman year. After viewing tape on Walters some people have compared him to Seneca Wallace and others to Darian Hagan. That should give you an idea of what kind of talent The Buffs just reeled in."

Walters wasn't the only quarterback in the 2004 class to now coach for the Boilermakers, as former four-star quarterback Graham Harrell was one of the top signal callers in the class as well. Purdue's offensive coordinator was the No. 7 quarterback in the cycle and a national recruit coming out of Ennis (Tx.) and the highest-rated recruit of anyone on the Purdue coaching staff now.

Harrell actually held an offer from Purdue and visited West Lafayette before ultimately landing with Mike Leach and Texas Tech over the likes of Georgia, Arizona State, North Carolina State, Baylor, Wisconsin and others.

Harrell evolved into one of the most prolific passers in college football history during his time in Lubbock. He is top five all-time in passing yards (15,793) and touchdowns (134), setting the all-time mark in scores through the air before being passed by Case Keenum and Kellen Moore in 2011. Those marks earned him All-American honors in 2008, which also saw him finish fourth in the Heisman voting that year.

What did Rivals have to say about Harrell back then?

"Graham Harrell will be one of the top quarterbacks in not only the state, but also the nation next year. With his gaudy statistics, intelligence and his ability to throw and run the ball he should be a big time quarterback for a top Division One program within three to four years."

Purdue defensive coordinator Kevin Kane is one of three current Boilermaker coaches that played their college ball at Kansas. A two-star recruit out of Kansas City, Missouri, Kane was being heavily recruited by Colorado State, Missouri, and Boston College, along with the Jayhawks.

Kane was a mainstay in the Kansas defense his last two seasons in Lawrence, racking up 147 total tackles and four interceptions, along with a pick six against his father's alma mater Nebraska. He was also a two-time All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honoree with the Jayhawks.

Outside linebackers/rush ends coach Joe Dineen not only played for Kansas, but was coached by Purdue defensive coordinator Kevin Kane while he was a linebackers coach in Lawrence in 2015.

"It's always been special," Dineen told Rivals at the time of his commitment. "I've grown up here (Lawrence). You see all the blue and red and hear a lot about KU. It feels good to carry on the tradition in my family. I really liked the coaching staff and I get to play in front of a lot of people I know."

Dineen was a three-star safety in the 2014 class, while also playing quarterback coming out of Free State (Kan.), but moved to linebacker in what turned out to be a successful endeavor.

Dineen was the first Jayhawk to earn All-American honors in over a decade with his stellar senior season that included 147 total tackles, 11 tackles for loss and three sacks. That season he led the country in solo tackles and became the school's all-time leader in tackles for loss. For his career, Dineen racked up 391 tackles, 45.5 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks and an interception.

Yet another two-way player that signed as a quarterback before flipping to the defensive side of the ball in college, cornerbacks coach Sam Carter was a three-star signal caller that landed at TCU in the recruiting process.

Carter was also being pursued by several big name schools around the country, including Miami, Baylor, Houston, Louisville, Oklahoma State, and SMU before ultimately landing with the Horned Frogs.

"I think TCU has everything I'm looking for" Carter said of TCU during his recruitment. "They play great football and they graduate more than 80% of their players, that's what I'm looking for. I want to get my masters degree while I'm in school and maybe go to the NFL and TCU would give me the opportunity to do that. Another thing is that they win games and that fits me, I like to win."

Once arriving in Fort Worth, Carter put together a stellar career as a defensive back. He tallied 13 interceptions and eight passes defended, along with 175 total tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks across four years of playing time.

Senior defensive analyst and pass rush specialist Preston Gordon had one of the quieter recruitments on this list, signing with Rice out of high school, which was his lone offer on the recruiting trail. After redshirting his first year on campus, Gordon became a multi-year starter for the Owls, racking up 87 total tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks.

Gordon transferred after four years in the Conference USA and had much more interest than his first go-around in recruiting, as he chose Texas Tech over the likes of West Virginia, Kansas, Tulane and others.

In his lone season with the Red Raiders, Gordon played in all 12 games and has three starts, where he finished with 21 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss.

The lone current Boilermaker coach to have signed with Purdue out of high school on this list, former two-star athlete Justin Sinz was a part of Danny Hope's 2010 recruiting class in West Lafayette. The Boilermakers were one of two schools to offer during his recruitment, along with Illinois State, but Wisconsin, Northwestern and Notre Dame all showed interest in the Wisconsin native.

Sinz was another high school quarterback that switched positions and found a home at tight end, where he has 80 catches for 670 yards and seven touchdowns in 50 appearances with the Boilermakers. That included a team-high 41 receptions and four touchdowns as a redshirt junior in 2013.

The third ex-Jayhawk on the list is former three-star outside linebacker recruit turned defensive graduate assistant and outside linebackers assistant Courtney Arnick. Arnick chose Kansas over offers from Houston, Colorado State, Boise State, Memphis, Arkansas State, New Mexico, North Texas and UTEP.

Arnick had a successful stint in Lawrence, racking up 191 career tackles, including 15.5 tackles for loss and three sacks, along with nine passes defended in four years. Arnick was a teammate of Joe Dineen at Kansas, where the duo was coached by Kevin Kane in 2015.

A recent addition to the staff in West Lafayette, offensive graduate assistant Keith Towbridge, was one of the more touted prospects that are now coaching with the Boilermakers. The three-star tight end out of Ohio held offers from Purdue, Illinois, Nebraska, Cincinnati, Toledo, Kentucky and Bowling Green, but turned down such interest to play for Louisville.

"I'm committed to Louisville… I'm a Cardinal," Towbridge said at the time of his commitment. "I've been thinking about it since I took the visit on Tuesday. I told my mom I wanted to commit right then and there, but she said when I get home we would talk about it."

Towbridge finished his collegiate career with 21 receptions for 283 yards and three touchdowns in four years before spending three seasons on NFL rosters with the Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans, and Washington Commanders.

Purdue's Director of Football Strength and Conditioning Kiero Small was a two-way standout at Hartnell Community College prior to getting a Power 5 opportunity with Arkansas as a tough-nosed fullback in the 2011 class, which was his lone offer.

"Blocking first is my strength," Small told Rivals at the time of his commitment. "They want me to block first, catch the football and also run the football some. My toughness is also my strength. I can catch the football pretty well too out of the backfield."

Small didn't see his role expand until his final collegiate season with the Razorbacks, which saw him rush for 151 yards and having another 128 yards through the air with five scores in 2013. That showing led to him being selected in the seventh round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks.

One of the newest additions to the Purdue coaching staff, offensive analyst Angel Matute, had an interesting journey during his playing days.

Matute went the JUCO route out of high school as a quarterback before switching to tight end during his first year at Golden West College before making another move to offensive tackle at San Antonio Community College (Calif.), which earned him an SEC opportunity. Matute committed to Missouri over other offers from Coastal Carolina, Liberty, and UMass.

"I'm just really thankful for the coaches at Missouri for believing in me and taking a chance on me and I'm going to do my best everyday to let them know they made the right decision," Matute told Rivals when he committed to Missouri.

Matute played just one game with the Tigers in 2019 before medically retiring and becoming a student assistant and graduating in 2021.

Perhaps the most well-traveled player of any on this list is defensive analyst TJ McCollum, who suited up for three programs during his collegiate career. The Alabama product began his career at UAB, where he was a safety before transferring to Western Kentucky following his redshirt freshman campaign. McCollum became a Conference USA Honorable Mention honoree, as well as being named to the 2016 Preseason All-Conference-USA First Team by Athlon the following year.

After two years with the Hilltoppers, McCollum followed Jeff Brohm to West Lafayette for the 2017 season, his final at the college level. With the Boilermakers, he racked up 69 total tackles, including six tackles for loss and three sacks. For his career, McCollum finished with 267 total tackles, 21.5 tackles for loss and six sacks.

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