The wave of now former UNLV coaches coming to West Lafayette continues as Purdue announced the hiring of Cornell Ford as the program's wide receivers coach and assistant head coach.

"I am excited to have Coach Ford join our staff at Purdue," said Odom. "He has worked for a number of years in the Midwest (Toledo, Missouri, and now Purdue) and has always recruited at an extremely high level while producing great playmakers on the field. His impact will be tremendous on our program."

Ford spent the last two seasons with the Rebels under Odom, coaching running backs. During that stint in Las Vegas, Ford helped elevate the backfield to new heights. The Rebels ranked fifth in the country in rushing yards per game, averaging 251.2 yards on the ground, to go along with 28 touchdowns.

With Lamar Conard remaining on staff as running backs coach for the Boilermakers, Ford will shift to oversee the wide receivers in West Lafayette. Ford has coached various position groups dating back to his days as a graduate assistant at Toledo in 1991. He has coached cornerbacks, safeties, receivers, and quarterbacks over the course of his career.

Ford reunites with Barry Odom once again, marking the third time the pair have worked alongside each other. The two initially coached together at Missouri, when Ford was the cornerbacks coach from 2004-15 and the assistant head coach and running backs coach from 2016-19.

Purdue now has four coaches locked in on the offensive side of the ball, with Ford joining the aforementioned Conard, offensive coordinator/tight ends coach Josh Henson, and quarterbacks coach Darin Hinshaw.