Purdue’s Class of 2020 continued to fill up with the verbal commitment of Ryan Brandt on Tuesday.

A product of Angola (Ind.) High, the three-star prospect is the 11th member of the 2020 Purdue class. The 6-1, 205-pound Brandt is listed as a safety by Rivals.com, but Brandt may be ticketed to be an outside linebacker in West Lafayette. The Boilermakers have commitments from two other linebackers in the 2020 class: Ben Kreul and Clyde Washington. Purdue also has commitments from two safeties: Sanoussi Kane and Antonio Stevens.

GoldandBlack.com spoke with Andy Thomas, Brandt’s coach at Angola High--located in the northeast corner of the state--to get the low-down on Purdue’s first July commitment.

GoldandBlack.com: What does Ryan do well?

Thomas: He is big, strong, fast and he loves contact. He absolutely relishes contact. You always have a chance to be good when your best players are humble, team-first, great leaders. He was elected a captain as a junior last year. Certainly, he will be elected captain again this year. He is a big, strong, well-spoken articulate kid that likes to run into people at full speed. He is a dream to coach. One of those type of kids.

GoldandBlack.com: Does he play offense?

Thomas: He will a lot this year. He will get the ball as a slot on jet sweeps, bubble screens, things like that.

GoldandBlack.com: How fast is he?

Thomas: He ran 4.5 something at his first Purdue camp a couple of years ago. He is a pretty consistent high 4.5 guy, 4.6.

GoldandBlack.com: Why do you think he picked Purdue?

Thomas: He likes the coaching staff, he liked Coach (Jeff) Brohm, he liked Coach (Anthony) Poindexter. And he liked all of the guys he met. He gets the feeling they are on the rise as a football program. Certainly, their facilities are second to none in the state--for at least anyone he looked at. And what they have as far as taking care of athletes is incredible. He liked all of those things. And he’s a serious student, too. He is a 3.8 student. So, he wanted to go somewhere he could get a good education. And he knows Purdue is one of those places.

GoldandBlack.com: What other schools did he like?

Thomas: He really liked Wisconsin and Michigan State. I know those were in the mix. As far as MAC schools, he liked Ball State, Eastern Michigan. Air Force recruited him. Navy, Army. I don’t think he was gonna go that (military academy) route. But they all offered. Purdue was the clear-cut No. 1 from the beginning. Even with other Big Ten schools.

GoldandBlack.com: Does he play any other sports?

Thomas: He was an all-conference baseball player. He led our league in stolen bases. He played center field.

GoldandBlack.com: What do his parents do?

Thomas: Great family. His dad is a pharmacist and his mom is a principal at an area elementary school. He has a little brother who is a sophomore linebacker. He has two older sisters who were athletes who are at Ball State now.

GoldandBlack.com: What type of a program is Angola High?

Thomas: We are a 4A school. We have been real good the last two years. We haven’t lost a regular-season game since October of 2016. We won’t have as much depth this year, but we have more kids who are supremely talented. It just depends on how fast our young guys grow up. I think we have a chance again. We lost to Fort Wayne Dwenger in the regional the last two years.

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