WEST LAFAYETTE — Seeing De’Nylon Morrissette walking through Purdue’s Kuzoch Football Performance Complex early during the 2025 season without the assistance of crutches, a curiosity peaks.
How soon will you be back?
“Soon,” Morrissette replies, flashing his trademark smile through a challenging rehab schedule.
In the coming weeks, Boilermaker head coach Barry Odom would update Morrissette’s status with “he’s getting close” until it became apparent Morrissette wasn’t going to play football last season and the question stopped being asked.
Purdue was in the midst of what would become a 10-game losing streak to end the season, and suddenly Morrissette’s status mattered less as the storyline changed to how the Boilermakers could rectify their football program for 2026.
A fully healthy Morrissette meant more to that than whatever could be salvaged by his return in 2025.
“Me and coach Odom, we just wanted to weigh all our options out,” Morrissette said. “See how long the season had left and see what we could do next year. We wanted to see where next season was at.”
Next season is here and Morrissette is exactly where he was at this time a year ago, fully healthy and as one of the leaders of Purdue’s receiving corps.
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De’Nylon Morrissette’s 2025 injury
A change in scenery seemed to put Morrissette’s past behind him. In two seasons at Georgia, Morrissette helped the Bulldogs win a 2022 national title. In May 2023, Morrissette was arrested on multiple charges, including driving under the influence of drugs. Morrissette entered the transfer portal, moved to West Lafayette and caught two touchdowns for the Boilermakers in 2024 while playing in 11 games.
Through the turmoil of a coaching change, Morrissette watched most of his teammates leave after a 1-11 season, but stayed with Purdue where he ultimately was slotted to be a Day 1 starter for Odom.
“He was a starter last year going into our last scrimmage of fall camp, and it was right in front of me on the sideline,” Odom recalled. “We had moved the scrimmage from outside to indoor because of lightning. It was right toward the tail end of the scrimmage.”
Morrissette caught a pass on an out route, turned and tried to gain extra yards. As he did, he was tackled with the defender coming down on his hip. Morrissette said he made a jumping motion simultaneously, leading to the defender crashing down on his ankle.
Morrissette suffered multiple torn ligaments in his ankle, resulting in tightrope surgery.
“They went in and put a little rope in there with two bolts and that’s basically my ankle now,” Morrissette said.
What De’Nylon Morrissette means to Purdue’s offense in 2026
Even from the sideline, Morrissette became one of Purdue’s leaders in 2025.
Last month, he was one of three invited Purdue players to participate in Big Ten media day in Chicago.
The Boilermakers ranked 123rd out of 136 FBS teams in scoring last season. The leading returning receiver from that team is Corey Smith, who had 14 receptions for 237 yards.
Purdue needed to upgrade its receiving corps and did so with the additions of four transfer portal adds, another from the junior college ranks and two incoming freshmen, including electric playmaker Brandon Kinsey.
But the biggest upgrade might be a healthy Morrissette returning.
“He means the world,” quarterback Ryan Browne said. “Not just because he’s a great player playing receiver, running routes and catching the ball, he does that so well, but when he doesn’t have the ball in his hands, he blocks his butt off and he plays so hard.
“He sets a standard for what it looks like for the rest of the team.”
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Why this Purdue football receiver sat out 2025 season, what he brings for 2026
Reporting by Sam King, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Sam King, Lafayette Journal & Courier | USA TODAY Network
