Purdue football is set to welcome a new class of Boilermakers into the program as National Signing Day is upon us around college football. Despite not having a sitting head coach, Purdue is expected to ink six players in the 2025 recruiting class, a number that will likely increase by the time the February signing period comes around.

Boiler Upload hits on on each new signee as their signings are announced by the program today.

Purdue’s highest rated recruit in the 2025 class stayed true to his commitment through the coaching change and has inked with the Boilermakers, despite having announced he would push back his signing until February earlier in the week. After Purdue fired Ryan Walters, Otey was contacted by Louisville, Kentucky, North Carolina State and Toledo, but declined the pursuits of those programs.

Otey told Boiler Upload that the academic component was key in his decision, and is eager to see who the program decides to bring in as its next head coach.

Otey is a four-star cornerback from Battle Ground Academy (Tenn.) as the 13th ranked player in the state and 36th-ranked cornerback in the country.

The 6-foot cornerback wrapped up his senior season at Battle Ground Academy by tallying 34 total tackles and a pair of interceptions for the State Championship appearing Wildcats. Otey can play free safety, outside cornerback or in the slot with his versatility, shifting between a ballhawking safety, man press cornerback or strong safety making an impact in the run game during his senior season.

His role with the Boilermakers remains to be seen with an unknown new staff coming in ahead of next season, but the talent and versatility makes him an intriguing talent in the secondary.

The crown jewel of Purdue’s 2025 recruiting class, three-star quarterback Sawyer Anderson, inked with the Boilermakers despite the program firing Graham Harrell and Ryan Walters. Anderson had interest from other programs with Purdue’s struggles and coaching changes, but remains loyal to the program.

Anderson was cemented himself as one of the best quarterbacks in Texas high school football history, winning three straight TAPPS Division I titles with Parish Episcopal and will be playing for a fourth in a matter of days. He is one of four quarterbacks with 14,000 passing yards or more in state history, which is more than the likes of Drew Brees, Graham Harrell, Kyler Murray, Baker Mayfield and many other eventual NFL signal callers.

During his senior season, Anderson has had his best year to date, with a career high 4,830 yards (which is second in the nation via MaxPreps, 47 touchdowns and seven interceptions, as well as 415 yards and six scores on the ground. At 6-foot, Anderson has a quick release, can make any throw and is deadly accurate, according to his head coach.

"He's a gunslinger. He's the best quarterback I've ever seen at getting the ball out of his hand quickly," Novakov said. "He's a deadly accurate passer. He's the best passer I've ever seen. I mean, that doesn't mean he's got the strongest arm I've ever seen, but his arm is ridiculously strong. His hands are huge. The way he just is able to flick that ball and put it where he wants to put it. I've never seen anything like it."

It remains to be seen which scheme Anderson will play in at Purdue, but his talent and winning pedigree is something the Boilermakers will use for what could be years to come.

Another long time Purdue commit that was courted by other programs before signing with the Boilermakers is three-star defensive end Landon Brooks. Brooks pledged to Purdue back in March and has stayed true to his commitment despite the recent coaching change, struggles from the program and efforts by Indiana, Illinois and Michigan State.

"At the very beginning of my recruitment, a coach from, I don't even remember what school, told me, they said, 'Fall in love with the campus. Don't fall in love with the coaches' and in terms of Purdue, I mean, I fell in love with that school as soon as I stepped on campus, I was like, this place is for me," Brooks told Boiler Upload in a prior interview.

Along with those three schools, Brooks also held offers from West Virginia, Toledo and Missouri. Brooks is a three-star prospect in the class, with a 5.5 Rivals Rating, but was not ranked positionally or the state. Across three years at the varsity level for Delta (Ind.) High School, Brooks racked up 171 total tackles, 33.5 tackles for loss and 14.0 sacks, along with 26 hurries.

Brooks was a perfect fit for Purdue’s rush end position under Ryan Walters, at 6-foot-6 and 230 pounds. Despite the expected shifts in defensive scheme, Brooks has the frame to serve as an athletic pass rusher off the edge in any defense. As evident by his production at the high school level, the Muncie, Indiana, native can get into the backfield to disrupt plays in the run and passing games. Adding more muscle will be key for Brooks as he gets to campus as an early enrollee, but he has all the attributes of a potential game-wrecker off the edge for the Boilermakers.

The first of two running back commits in the class resides in Indiana, Concord (Ind.) standout Jaron Thomas, who offers an intriguing talent coming to West Lafayette. Thomas earned an offer with a stellar camp performance over the summer and committed on the spot, choosing the Boilermakers over the likes of Ball State, Western Michigan, Southern Illinois, Army and Navy.

"For one, I mean it's really close to home. A big time, Big Ten team like that. That's a really good school for one, education, as well as football," Thomas told Boiler Upload on why he chose the Boilermakers.

Thomas was a standout on both sides of the ball for Concord, splitting time between running back and linebacker. The 6-foot-1 talent ran for 1,443 yards and 21 touchdowns on the ground, while tallying 146 total tackles, seven tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks on defense.

Thomas is explosive out of the backfield, threatening as a home run threat every time he touches the football, possessing impressive breakaway speed while also having the ability to run between the tackles. Purdue has a depth issue at both running back and linebacker, so his position under a new staff will be something to watch.

The other running back in the class, three-star Akron East (Oh.) standout Ziaire Stevens, forms a potential 1-2 punch with Thomas out of the backfield for the new coaching staff in West Lafayette.

Stevens is a three-star recruit with a 5.5 Rivals Rating, but is unranked positionally and on the state level. He committed to Purdue in November 2023, turning down other offers from Pittsburgh, Boston College, Indiana, Cincinnati, Toledo, UConn, Bowling Green and others to join the Boilermakers. A season ago, he rushed for 2,0001 yards and 20 touchdowns for Akron East.

The 5-foot-10, 190-pound tailback has blazing speed, getting clocked as fast as 4.45 in front of the old Purdue coaching staff last May. He is elusive between the tackles and possesses the speed to create big runs. He is perhaps more explosive than Thomas, who can also crack off big runs as well, making for an intriguing tandem coming to West Lafayette next season.

The final member of the class to sign on Wednesday is my pick as the biggest sleeper in the class. Two-star linebacker Sam Steward had no offers prior to the Boilermakers extending him one in June, ultimately committing two months later.

The Homestead (Ind.) product played all over the field during his high school career, spending time at running back, edge rusher and linebacker, where he made an impact wherever he was lined up. Across his last two seasons at Homestead, he racked up 168 total tackles, 36 tackles for loss and 16.5 sacks defensively, and rushed for 139 yards and two scores as a senior.

Steward’s speed and instincts jump out on film as he flys to the football and can run sideline to sideline from his linebacker post. He routinely makes big plays in the run game and is athletic enough to be serviceable in coverage.

That versatility makes for question marks regarding where the 6-foot-2, 215-pound athlete will play at the college level. The last staff has toyed with the idea of Steward playing both safety safety spots, as well as inside linebacker. When the new staff comes in, he could likely play strong safety or either middle or outside linebacker, depending on the scheme.

As we reported on Monday, three-star defensive end Rashad Jones is not planning to sign with the Boilermakers at this point, but remains committed. Jones is processing the firing of Ryan Walters and plans to make a decision around the February signing period.

Legacy recruit and three-star offensive lineman Cameron Gorin is not signing on Wednesday, and there is some uncertainty surrounding his status with the Boilermakers moving forward. It will be something to monitor over the next few days and potentially weeks.