Purdue lands New Mexico transfer offensive lineman DJ Wingfield

The third transfer portal commitment for Purdue football is here, as New Mexico transfer offensive lineman DJ Wingfield announced his decision to join the Boilermakers via X on Sunday afternoon.

Marcus Johnson and Purdue offered Wingfield on November 29th and quickly got him to West Lafayette for an official visit the following weekend, which showed him enough to nab a commitment from the transfer lineman.

Wingfield is originally a JUCO product, playing for El Camino Junior College in California before going to with New Mexico in the class of 2022. In his first year with the Lobos, Wingfield played just six snaps before going down with a torn ACL in 2022. He bounced back this fall, starting nine games at right tackle and performing well in his return to action.

The 6'4", 289-pound tackler held a Pro Football Focus grade of 73.1 this season, including a 79.0 pass blocking grade while allowing just one sack on 316 pass blocking snaps for the Lobos in 2023.

Purdue now adds an experienced tackle into the fold, which was arguably the biggest area of need heading into the off-season. Wingfield's arrival could bump Marcus Mbow back to his more natural position of right guard, where he manned prior to being moved to tackle out of necessity last season.

The Boilermakers return Mbow, along with starters Gus Hartwig and Mahamane Moussa from a year ago. Guards Luke Griffin and Jalen Grant could also fight for playing time after splitting snaps throughout the 2023 campaign.

Wingfield is the third transfer portal addition for the Boilermakers of the cycle, behind Notre Dame transfer Joey Tanona and Ball State transfer Corey Stewart as Ryan Walters and company continue to bulk up the trenches in West Lafayette.