Since becoming the crown jewel of Purdue's 2021 recruiting class, the career of Yanni Karlaftis hasn't gone to plan.
The former four-star prospect missed nearly his entire senior season at West Lafayette High School as a result of a lingering hamstring issue. He enrolled in the spring of 2021 at Purdue and aimed to contribute at the Sam linebacker spot in his first season.
Karlaftis played in four games during his true freshman season but was then moved to the LEO position to serve in more of a pass-rushing role by the previous defensive staff and ended up taking a redshirt for the rest of the season.
A broken finger slowed the developmental process for Karlaftis in his second season, but he suited up in nine games and made four tackles during his redshirt-freshman campaign.
As a new era of Purdue football begins, so does another positional switch for the 6'3", 230-pound linebacker as he now calls the inside linebacker spot home.
"I've been fitting in like around the middle backer spot, played a little bit of Mike and Will. It's been really nice. Coach Kane's been able to explain it to us really well, so the transition's been good," Karlaftis said.
Despite all of the adversity thrown his way, the redshirt sophomore feels like his new opportunity is a long time coming.
"It's been all around, and I feel like I've been ready to make an impact for a long time. So I've really been anxious and just kind of getting excited," Karlaftis said.
A move to inside linebacker in Ryan Walters and Kevin Kane's system could be the change that leads to Karlaftis finally making the impact on the Boilermakers' defense in 2023 that he'd envisioned two seasons ago and the name on the back of his jersey implies.
Karlaftis joins Kevin Kane's stable of linebackers alongside OC Brothers, Jacob Wahlberg, Clyde Washington, and Ben Kreul. Opportunities lie ahead for the group after Kieren Douglas, Semisi Fakasiieiki and linebacker-safety hybrid Jalen Graham left the program this off-season.
While Brothers and Wahlberg have stood out early in spring practice, Karlaftis could emerge as another contributor for Kane.
The Boilermakers' defensive coordinator has been impressed by Karlaftis' performances this spring and shared the advantage his new linebacker may have over his peers.
"Yanni's awesome. He provides a different skill set. He's the one guy that, coming in here, that had played on the edge and been a linebacker, so he kind of has a one-up on a lot of guys because he's got some pass rush ability, but he's also been in the box," Kane said.
