Purdue football: Top stories of 2019

A lot went on in 2019. With the calendar flipped to 2020, let’s take a look back at the 16 biggest football stories from the past year.

1. Injuries. They were everywhere in 2019. Three captains were hurt: QB Elijah Sindelar, LB Markus Bailey and DT Lorenzo Neal, who never suited up. The injury absurdity was epitomized in the Minnesota game, when Sindelar and WR Rondale Moore suffered season-ending injuries … on the same play!

2. Talent haul, Part 1. Last February, Purdue put the finishing touches on a 26-man recruiting class that ranked No. 26 in the nation by Rivals. It was the program's best recruiting class in almost 15 years. The class included six, four-star players: WR David Bell, DE George Karlaftis, WR Mershawn Rice, WR Milton Wright, DT Steven Faucheux and S Marvin Grant.

3. Talent haul, Part 2. Purdue got a terrific start to building a strong 2020 recruiting class earlier last month when 20 players inked letters-of-intent. The class currently ranks No. 27 in the nation by Rivals and includes four, four-star players: WR Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen, DE Greg Hudgins, WR Maliq Carr and QB Michael Alaimo. Jeff Brohm will put the finishing touches on the class in February. We could see the addition of some grad transfers for the o-line, linebacking unit and defensive tackle spot. And could we see another QB added? A freshman? A grad transfer?

4. Nick Holt out. A day after the football banquet, Purdue parted ways with defensive coordinator Nick Holt. The move wasn’t a total shock. Still, Holt had been at Brohm’s side for six seasons dating to 2014. The Boilermaker defense struggled dating back to 2018, which ended with a 63-14 Music City Bowl loss to Auburn. A Yahoo! report indicates Purdue will hire Bob Diaco to run its defense. He did a good job last year at Louisiana Tech, has coordinated defenses at places like Nebraska and Notre Dame and been head coach at UConn.

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5. Losing record. No one expected the Boilermakers to contend for the Big Ten West in 2019. But no one also anticipated a 4-8 season that ended a mini-run of back-to-back bowls in Jeff Brohm’s first two seasons. Purdue was projected by most to go to a lower-level bowl in Brohm’s third season as he continued to rebuild a program that had been in disrepair when he arrived from Western Kentucky.

6. Transfers. The transfer portal is bursting with Boilermakers. Nine—count ‘em—nine Purdue players have entered the portal. And more could be coming. Some already have found homes: TE Darius Pittman (Temple) and DL Giovanni Reviere (Chattanooga). The biggest name to date: LB Cornel Jones. The mercurial senior was famous for his undisciplined play. Still, he was a difference-maker at times and projected to be the best linebacker on a defense that is bereft of linebacking talent.

7. Draft streak ended. For the first time since 1997, Purdue had no players selected in the NFL Draft—a span of 21 years. The streak began in 1998, when the Giants selected wideout Brian Alford in the third round with the 70th pick. And the streak continued on in 2018 with linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley being tabbed in the fifth round with the 143rd pick by the Patriots. In the 21 drafts from 1998-2018, the Boilermakers had 48 picks.

8. New hires. Jeff Brohm’s staff had changes after the 2018 season. Special teams/tight ends coach Mark Tommerdahl left to coach at Texas Tech and cornerbacks coach Derrick Jackson bolted for Northern Illinois. Purdue promoted Ryan Wallace to coach tight ends and help with special teams, while d-line coach Kevin Wolthausen added special teams coordinator duties. Purdue also hired Greg Brown from Auburn to coach cornerbacks.

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9. Freshman phenoms. DE George Karlaftis and WR David Bell lived up to their considerable hype as true freshmen in 2019. Karlaftis capped a sensational debut season by being named second-team All-Big Ten by the media. He earned honorable mention honors from the coaches. Karlaftis led Big Ten freshmen in sacks with 7.5 and the West Lafayette High School product also paced Big Ten freshmen in tackles for loss with 17. Bell was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and was a second-team All-Big Ten selection by the media and a third-team pick by the coaches. He led the conference with 86 receptions in 2019. Bell finished the season with 1,035 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.

10. Youth is served. How young was Purdue last season? The squad used 34 true or redshirt freshmen, including 13 starters. Call them the “Baby Boilermakers.”

11. Star tight end. Brycen Hopkins capped his career by being named the Big Ten Tight End of the Year. Hopkins finished his final collegiate season with 61 receptions for 830 yards and seven touchdowns. His reception and yardage totals for the season were the most by a Purdue tight end since Dustin Keller finished with 68 catches for 881 yards in 2007.

12. Sindelar is gone. Following an injury-marred career, Elijah Sindelar opted not to return for a sixth season of eligibility. He had been awarded the extra year in the spring. Sindelar had dealt with knee, oblique and collarbone issues in addition to suffering a concussion.

13. Where is Nick Holt? When the season began with a game at Nevada, DC Nick Holt was positioned in the press box and not on the sideline—where he had worked in every game during his Purdue tenure. The Boilermakers suffered a crushing defeat in Reno, blowing a 31-17 third quarter lead to fall 34-31 on a stunning 56-yard field goal in the final minute.

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14. Walk-on wonder. With Elijah Sindelar and Jack Plummer both out with injury, Purdue had to turn to Aidan O’Connell, a sophomore walk-on who never had played a snap. And O’Connell impressed. He engineered two game-winning drives and started the final three games of the season while throwing for 1,101 yards with eight TDs and four picks. It was the third time since 1962 that Purdue had three different signal-callers win games in a season. O’Connell could be a viable option for the future.

15. Ben Holt. A grad transfer linebacker from Western Kentucky—and the son of DC Nick Holt—Ben Holt was a plug-and-play revelation at linebacker. His 114 tackles ranked second in the Big Ten.

16. Rohrman Field. Purdue is in the process of raising $120 million for a renovation of Ross-Ade Stadium. And the school took a big step toward that fund-raising goal when the Rohrman family donated $15 million to have the playing surface named Rohrman Field at Purdue's Ross-Ade Stadium beginning in 2020. It was the largest gift the athletic department ever has received. Brace for more parts of Ross-Ade Stadium to be sponsored.

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