Purdue adds commitment from in-state defender Ryan Brandt
Purdue seemed like the place Ryan Brandt always wanted to be, from the outset of his recruiting process, from the moment Jeff Brohm and his staff offered him a scholarship as a junior.
"They were my first D1 offer and my only Big Ten offer," Brandt said. "They believed in me from the start and I wanted to go there for a while."
This week, Brohm made it reality, adding the multi-sport, multi-positional athlete from Angola to his 2020 class.
"Coach Brohm said that by being an in-state guy that it’ll mean a lot more to me to wear the 'Purdue' across my chest and that I’ll be a high-motor kind of guy," Brandt said. "He said my athleticism and ability to play three different positions is awesome for him and the staff."
The Rivals.com three-star prospect and long-standing Boilermaker target is a high school safety primarily, but was recruited by Purdue to play linebacker, a position where he'd join fellow 2020 commitments Ben Kreul and Clyde Washington.
"Coach Brohm told me that they could possibly see me fitting as a safety, nickel or outside linebacker," Brandt said. "So it will come down to how I grow and what position I can be the most successful at."
The starting point, at least, is likely to be linebacker, and the current 6-foot-1, 205-pounder believes he can grow into "215-225 pretty easy with their weight training and dieting." Brandt plays strong safety for Angola High School, but carries a variety of roles at that position, playing at the line of scrimmage as much as he drops back.
"I believe I'm aggressive and I have good quickness to fly around and make plays," Brandt said about the attributes that might be compatible with linebacker at the next level.
Brandt, a frequent visitor for Purdue games and practices over the years — though baseball conflicts prevented him from attending camp or visiting in June — committed to Purdue over offers from Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan, among others, but also had been drawing interest from Michigan State, Indiana and others.
It was Purdue all along, though.
"At first the facilities were just absolutely mind blowing," Brandt said of the draw to Purdue. "Then I started to develop such a genuine relationship with all of the staff and was treated like family before I even committed. Every time I visited it felt more and more like home."
He is Purdue's 11th commitment toward the 2020 class.
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