When Drake Carlson first started getting recruited, his parents gave him valuable advice.

"Coaches can help along the way with recruiting, but you never know what could happen. They can leave. You have to fall in love with the school, too," Carlson said of the advice he received.

That advice came in handy as National Signing Day was approaching in December and his future with the Boilermakers was uncertain. Jeff Brohm abruptly left the program to take the head coaching job at his alma mater, Louisville. The decision left Carlson and his 2023 Purdue recruiting classmates with some decisions themselves.

One by one, the Boilermakers' recruiting class dwindled down from 19 to just 11 as eight players de-committed less than two weeks until National Signing Day. One of the commits that stayed true to the Boilermakers was Carlson, and it was a simple choice for the three-star recruit.

"I liked Purdue. I felt most comfortable at Purdue. You know, it just luckily happened that I knew most of the coaches from Illinois, and them just coming in and filling that role of the new coach staff here at Purdue just made me stay," Carlson said.

While Purdue brought in a new staff, Carlson had a prior relationship with several of the defensive coaches Ryan Walters brought with him from Champaign. Illinois pursued the Nashville native during his recruitment before committing to the Boilermakers in June of 2022.

Carlson was a three-star recruit from Nashville, Tennessee, where he starred for Father Ryan High School. The defensive lineman was the 20th-best player in the state of Tennessee and the 38th-best defensive tackle in his class.

The Boilermakers landed the 6'3 ", 280-pound lineman over the likes of Tennessee, Virginia Tech, Mississippi State, Stanford, West Virginia, Illinois, and Vanderbilt, among others.