Just after Purdue's specialist camp on Saturday, Special Teams Coordinator Chris Petrilli was able to add a piece to his group. The Boilermakers landed Illinois State transfer long snapper Claude Strnad out of the portal, securing the commitment on Sunday afternoon.

Shortly after Strnad entered the transfer portal, Petrilli and Purdue reached out and were interested in bringing in the redshirt freshman for a workout at camp. That invitation has now turned into a brand new opportunity in the Big Ten.

"I had some other FBS and FCS offers, but I kind of risked it all and just wanted to give my best shot for Coach Petrilli and for Purdue, and it obviously worked out. So, I couldn't be happier to be a Boilermaker," Strnad told Boiler Upload.

Strnad was a class of 2023 recruit for Illinois State, where he was a 4.5 star long snapper by Rubio Long Snapping coming out of Loyola Academy in Illinois. After one season with the Redbirds, he now embarks on a new chapter in West Lafayette.

It was an easy decision for the 6-foot-3, 235-pound long snapper, who raved about Chris Petrilli's coaching style that he's already seen firsthand.

"Coach Petrilli, he's a great dude. Obviously values special teams. I actually worked with a coach who kind of reassure me that Coach P is a great guy," Strnad said. "He said now the real work starts. So, obviously I'm just gonna keep working every day and then I should be reporting in July or fall camp."

Strnad now joins fellow portal newcomer Nick Levy, who transferred to Purdue this off-season after an FCS All-American campaign at William & Mary. Levy and Strnad are Purdue's two long snappers ahead of next season, after Daniel Hawthorne and Nick Taylor both left the program. Strnad is excited to get to work and compete with Levy when he gets to campus for the 2024 campaign.

"Nick's a great guy. He's definitely excited to work with me. I'm excited to learn as much as I can from Nick since he's obviously an FCS All-American. Just gonna compete every day with Nick, making him a better snapper and he's gonna make me a better snapper obviously," Strnad said.

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