USC football makes a road trip to West Lafayette, Indiana, this September. The Trojans will visit the Purdue Boilermakers in their Big Ten season opener. ESPN offered an assessment of the Purdue football program:
“Offensive line/defensive line outlook: Get ready to learn new names on both sides of the ball. Purdue lost all five starting offensive linemen from a struggling group in 2024 and went heavily into the portal under the new staff. Transfer arrivals include Jalen St. John, who followed the staff from UNLV to Purdue, Bradyn Joiner (Auburn) and Tyrell Green, an FCS All-America selection at Eastern Kentucky. The defensive line is also transfer-heavy, although some who transferred in before the 2024 season should impact the group. Purdue will rely on transfers such as 2024 All-MAC selection CJ Nunnally IV (Akron) and T.J. Lindsey (Auburn).
“Roster management: The roster is largely unrecognizable from the 2024 version, which, despite the team’s poor performance, featured plenty of talented players — safety Dillon Thieneman, defensive end Will Heldt, tight end Max Klare and cornerback Kyndrich Breedlove — who transferred to other Power 4 programs. Odom and his staff added more than 50 transfers, including some who followed from UNLV, like St. John, cornerback Tony Grimes and tight end Christian Moore. Other notables include Nunnally and cornerback Chad Brown (Nevada).”
New coaching staff, lots of transfers, off-the-radar program. Purdue rates as one of the more mysterious teams in the Big Ten, even though the obvious inclination is to doubt that the Boilermakers will thrive this season. USC can’t assume it can just walk into Indiana and dominate. The Trojans will need to put in the work to make that happen.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC football earlybird preview of the Purdue Boilermakers
Reporting by Matt Zemek / Trojans Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
