Barry Odom and company officially added two high school prospects to the 2025 recruiting class, rounding out the group at 12 members for the cycle. The class currently sits outside the top 90 in the Rivals team recruiting rankings, the program's lowest mark in over a decade.

The Canisius (New York) defender tallied 121 total tackles, 29 tackles for loss and 18.5 sacks during his career, including 43 tackles, 16.0 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks as a senior while helping Canisius to a state championship appearance.

At 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds, Alnutt is a seamless fit at defensive end in Mike Scherer's defense, showing great instincts and having a nose for the football. Alnutt has an intriguing blend of strength and speed that made him a game wrecker from his the defensive end post in high school.

2025 athlete Maxwell Barbee announced Tuesday night that he has committed to the Boilermakers. The Woodrow Wilson (Calif.) standout held another offer from New Mexico, which he picked up in late January. Barbee took an official visit to Purdue and wound up choosing the Boilermakers prior to signing day.

Barbee played both ways at Woodrow Wilson, having 68 catches for 1,220 yards and 12 touchdowns on offense, as well as 55 total tackles, seven interceptions and 17 pass breakups as a defensive back.

Barbee's addition is key following the dismissal of three-star defensive back Antonio Parker, who had signed with the Boilermakers in December, but is now off the team after less than a month on campus.

The top rated recruit in the class, four-star cornerback Zyntreacs Otey, earns the honor of biggest addition in the 2025 cycle as far as high school recruits go. The Tennessee native was initially in the 2026 class, but re-classified to head to West Lafayette a year earlier than expected. Despite the coaching change, Otey stayed true to his commitment and remained locked in with the Boilermakers and new head coach Barry Odom.

Otey adds an uber-talented and versatile defender for Charles Clark in the Purdue secondary, where he can play any position on the back end for the Boilermakers. Otey thrives as a ball hawking safety, which fits the zone heavy scheme of defensive coordinator Mike Scherer. The highly touted freshmen won't get to campus until June, but he is the most intriguing of all 12 incoming freshmen in 2025.

Of all the players to de-commit and flip elsewhere in the cycle, four-star linebacker Grant Beerman's departure looms large for the Boilermakers. Beerman was one of three four-star prospects in the class at one time, but amid Purdue's struggles and uncertainty of Ryan Walters' future, he flipped to Illinois in November.

His new landing spot adds insult to injury, but Beerman could have been a difference maker in Mike Scherer's defense as a rangy middle linebacker that can do a little bit of everything. Purdue has two linebackers entering the mix in the class, with Sam Steward and Parker Meese, but Beerman would have been the cherry on top of an intriguing group had he wound up in West Lafayette.

The lone holdover, as far as position coaches go, kept his group intact in the class. Running backs coach Lamar Conard was retained by Barry Odom and netted a pair of intriguing running backs in the 2025 recruiting class.

Three-star tailbacks Ziaire Stevens and Jaron Thomas join the Purdue backfield in 2025 after standout careers at the prep level. That tandem grabs the title of top position group in the class for the Boilermakers and could wind up serving as compliments to each other in the future, as Stevens is a home run threat every time he touches the ball and Thomas is a bigger, bulky back that is the thunder to Stevens' lightning.

As Purdue moves to a more run heavy approach on the offensive side of the ball, Thomas and Stevens provide talented options out of the backfield and the running back position offers more depth than the rest of the positions in the class.

The class is filled with potential sleeper prospects, but one offers a particularly intriguing outlook for their college career. Two-star linebacker Sam Steward's addition to the class by the previous staff flew under the radar, much like he did for the masses. Steward possesses impressive speed and instincts for the linebacker position, which could be valuable for Mike Scherer and company down the line.

Steward was very productive during his time at Homestead (Ind.), racking up 168 total tackles, 36.0 tackles for loss and 16.5 sacks over his last two years at the high school level. He played a swiss-army-knife role for Homestead but should find himself as a will linebacker for the Boilermakers, making the most of his physical traits.

Purdue was his only offer out of high school, but he could be a diamond in the rough in a couple of years for Barry Odom and staff.