# 2021 Purdue Boilermakers football team

The 2021 Purdue Boilermakers football team represented Purdue University during the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Boilermakers played their home games at Ross–Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana, and competed as members of the West Division in the Big Ten Conference. This was head coach Jeff Brohm's fifth season with Purdue.

## Offseason
### Coaching changes

On December 17, 2020, Purdue announced that defensive coordinator Bob Diaco would not return to the coaching staff. On January 10, 2021, the school hired Mark Hagen as defensive line coach, replacing Terrance Jamison. Hagen had coached at Purdue from 2000−10 and was most recently at Texas. Later that month, Brad Lambert from Marshall was hired as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, while Ron English from Florida was hired as cornerback coach. In April, Jamal Adams from Navy was hired as cornerback coach. On June 16, Jeff Brohm announced that Lambert, English, and Hagen would all serve as co-defensive coordinators in addition to their regular coaching duties, with Lambert making the game-day play calls. Former graduate assistants Justin Sinz and TJ McCollum would move to recruiting positions. In August, David Elson from Marian University was hired as quality control assistant and Mel Mills was hired as director of player development.

### Transfers

Outgoing
Notable departures from the 2020 squad included:
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Maliq Carr | 6 | Wide receiver | 6'4" | 230 | Sophomore | Oak Park, Michigan | Transferred |
| Amad Anderson | 10 | Wide receiver | 5'11" | 170 | Junior (Redshirt) | Staten Island, New York | Transferred |
| Jared Sparks | 12 | Wide receiver | 6'1" | 200 | Senior (Redshirt) | Geismar, Louisiana | Graduate transfer |
| Geovonte Howard | 13 | Cornerback | 5'11" | 185 | Senior | Missouri City, Texas | Transferred |
| Steven Faucheux | 93 | Linebacker | 6'5" | 272 | Sophomore (Redshirt) | West Chester, Ohio | Transferred |
Incoming
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes | Prev. School |
| Octavius Brothers | 20 | Linebacker | 6'2" | 210 | Sophomore | Brevard County, Florida | Transferred | Auburn |
| Broc Thompson | 29 | Wide receiver | 6'3" | 181 | Junior | Indianapolis, Indiana | Transferred | Marshall |
| Damarjhe Lewis | 34 | Linebacker / Defensive back | 6'3" | 301 | Freshman (Redshirt) | Griffin, Georgia | Transferred | Indiana |
| Dylan Downing | 38 | Running back | 5'11" | 212 | Freshman (Redshirt) | Carmel, Indiana | Transferred | UNLV |
| Tyler Witt | 78 | Offensive lineman | 6'2" | 295 | Graduate | Joliet, Illinois | Graduate transfer | Western Kentucky |
| Joseph Anderson | 95 | Defensive end | 6'4" | 268 | Sophomore | Murfreesboro, Tennessee | Transferred | South Carolina |
| C. J. McWilliams | | Cornerback | 5'11" | 164 | Senior (Redshirt) | Miami, Florida | Graduate transfer | Florida |

### 2021 NFL Draft

Boilermakers who were picked in the 2021 NFL Draft:
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Team |
| 2 | 49 | Rondale Moore | Wide receiver | Arizona Cardinals |
| 4 | 113 | Derrick Barnes | Linebacker | Detroit Lions |

## Preseason
### Recruits

The Boilermakers signed a total of 16 recruits.
College recruiting information (2021) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Yanni Karlaftis LB | West Lafayette, IN | West Lafayette High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Dec 17, 2020 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Preston Terrell WR | Brownsburg, IN | Brownsburg High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 186 lb (84 kg) | Sep 15, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Deion Burks WR | Belleville, MI | Belleville High School | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | May 13, 2020 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Jah'von Grigsby DB | Baton Rouge, LA | Scotlandville Magnet High School | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Dec 5, 2020 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Zach Richards OL | Mooresville, IN | Mooresville High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 285 lb (129 kg) | Apr 24, 2020 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| J. Alstott-VanDeVanter OL | Mooresville, IN | Mooresville High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 275 lb (125 kg) | Jan 9, 2020 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Marcus Mbow OL | Wauwatosa, WI | Wauwatosa East High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 310 lb (140 kg) | Dec 16, 2020 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Rickey Smith DB | Orlando, FL | Jones High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Jul 28, 2020 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Tristan Cox LB | Pulaski County, KY | Pulaski County High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 228 lb (103 kg) | Apr 8, 2020 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Brandon Calloway DB | Griffin, GA | Griffin High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 184 lb (83 kg) | Mar 15, 2020 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Ja'Quez Cross ATH | Fordyce, AR | Fordyce High School | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Oct 30, 2020 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Khordae Sydnor DE | New Rochelle, NY | Iona Preparatory School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | Apr 25, 2020 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Mahamane Moussa OL | Indianapolis, IN | Pike High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 268 lb (122 kg) | Aug 11, 2020 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Drew Biber TE | Cedarburg, WI | Cedarburg High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Oct 18, 2020 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Devin Mockobee RB | Boonville, IN | Boonville High School | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Jun 16, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: |||||||
| Jack Ansell P | Warrnambool, Australia | Brauer College | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 76 Rivals: 76 247Sports: 76 |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Purdue Football Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 27, 2021. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 27, 2021. "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 27, 2021. |||||||

## Schedule

The 2021 schedule consists of 6 home and 6 away games in the regular season.
2021 Purdue Boilermakers season results :
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 4 | 7:00 p.m. | Oregon State* | | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN | FS1 | W 30–21 | 53,656 |
| September 11 | 3:00 p.m. | at UConn* | | Rentschler FieldEast Hartford, CT | CBSSN | W 49–0 | 14,817 |
| September 18 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 12 Notre Dame* | | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN (rivalry) | NBC | L 13–27 | 74,341 |
| September 25 | 3:30 p.m. | Illinois | | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN (Purdue Cannon) | BTN | W 13–9 | 52,840 |
| October 2 | 12:00 p.m. | Minnesota | | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN | BTN | L 13–20 | 51,111 |
| October 16 | 3:30 p.m. | at No. 2 Iowa | | Kinnick StadiumIowa City, IA | ABC | W 24–7 | 69,250 |
| October 23 | 3:00 p.m. | Wisconsin | No. 25 | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN | BTN | L 13–30 | 61,320 |
| October 30 | 3:30 p.m. | at Nebraska | | Memorial StadiumLincoln, NE | ESPN2 | W 28–23 | 85,902 |
| November 6 | 3:30 p.m. | No. 3 Michigan State | | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN | ABC | W 40–29 | 57,748 |
| November 13 | 3:30 p.m. | at No. 4 Ohio State | No. 19 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | ABC | L 31–59 | 101,009 |
| November 20 | 12:00 p.m. | at Northwestern | | Wrigley FieldChicago, IL (Wildcats Classic) | BTN | W 32–14 | 31,500 |
| November 27 | 3:30 p.m. | Indiana | | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN (Old Oaken Bucket) | FS1 | W 44–7 | 61,320 |
| December 30 | 3:00 p.m. | vs. Tennessee* | | Nissan StadiumNashville, TN (Music City Bowl) | ESPN | W 48–45 $^{OT}$ | 69,489 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP and CFP Rankings after November 2All times are in Eastern timeSource: ||||||||

## Awards and honors
### Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released
| Award | Player | Position | Year | Date Awarded |
| Chuck Bednarik Award | George Karlaftis | DE | JR | July 19, 2021 |
| Maxwell Award | David Bell | WR | JR | July 19, 2021 |
| Fred Biletnikoff Award | David Bell | WR | JR | July 22, 2021 |
| Bronko Nagurski Trophy | George Karlaftis | DE | JR | July 27, 2021 |

### Weekly Awards

Weekly Awards :
| Player | Award | Date Awarded |
| David Bell | Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week | October 18, 2021 |
| Cam Allen | Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week | October 18, 2021 |
| Jeff Brohm | Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week | October 19, 2021 |
| David Bell | Maxwell Award Player of the Week | October 19, 2021 |
| Aidan O'Connell | Davey O'Brien National Quarterback of the Week | October 19, 2021 |
| Jalen Graham | Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week | November 1, 2021 |
| Aidan O’Connell | Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week | November 8, 2021 |

### All-Conference Honors

All-Conference Honors :
| Player | Position | Coaches | Media |
| David Bell | WR | 1st Team | 1st Team |
| George Karlaftis | DE | 1st Team | 1st Team |
| Aidan O'Connell | QB | 2nd Team | 2nd Team |
| Payne Durham | TE | HM | |
| Gus Hartwig | OL | | HM |
| Greg Long | OL | HM | |
| Tyler Witt | OL | HM | HM |
| Milton Wright | WR | HM | HM |
| Jaylan Alexander | LB | HM | HM |
| Cam Allen | S | HM | HM |
| Branson Deen | DT | HM | HM |
| Jalen Graham | LB | HM | HM |
| Dedrick Mackey | CB | HM | |
| Mitchell Fineran | K | HM | HM |

### All-American Honors

NCAA Recognized All-American Honors :
| Player | Position | AFCA | AP | FWAA | WCFF | TSN |
| David Bell | WR | 1st Team | 1st Team | 1st Team | 1st Team | 2nd Team |
| George Karlaftis | DL | 1st Team | 3rd Team | | 2nd Team | 2nd Team |

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
| AP | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 25 | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV |
| Coaches | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV |
| CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | — | 19 | — | — | — | — | Not released |

## Season summary
### Oregon State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Oregon St | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 21 |
| Purdue | 7 | 6 | 3 | 14 | 30 |
at Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana
* Date: September 4, 2021
* Game time: 7:15 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Sunny, 68 °F (20 °C)
* Game attendance: 53,656
* Referee: Mark Kluczynski
* TV announcers (FS1): Cory Provus and Robert Smith
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
OSU – B. J. Baylor 9-yard run (Everett Hayes kick), 10:10. Oregon St 7–0. Drive: 3 plays, 64 yards, 1:05.
PUR – Zander Horvath 11-yard run (Mitchell Finneran kick), 3:43. Tie 7–7. Drive: 4 plays, 45 yards, 1:45.
Second quarter
PUR – Mitchell Finneran 49-yard field goal, 8:19. Purdue 10–7. Drive: 8 plays, 47 yards, 3:24.
PUR – Mitchell Finneran 40-yard field goal, 0:06. Purdue 13–7. Drive: 10 plays, 32 yards, 2:14.
Third quarter
PUR – Mitchell Finneran 23-yard field goal, 1:19. Purdue 16–7. Drive: 10 plays, 42 yards, 5:41.
Fourth quarter
OSU – Tyjon Lindsay 7-yard run (Everett Hayes kick), 13:05. Purdue 16–14. Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 3:14.
PUR – Payne Durham 5-yard pass from Jack Plummer (Mitchell Finneran kick), 4:56. Purdue 23–14. Drive: 6 plays, 37 yards, 3:20.
OSU – B.J. Baylor 2-yard run (Everett Hayes kick), 3:13. Purdue 23–21. Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 1:43.
PUR – Payne Durham 50-yard pass from Jack Plummer (Mitchell Finneran kick), 2:09. Purdue 30–21. Drive: 4 plays, 75 yards, 1:04.
Top passers
OSU – Chance Nolan – 10/16, 157 yards
PUR – Jack Plummer – 29/41, 313 yards, 2 TD
Top rushers
OSU – Trey Lowe – 6 rushes, 27 yards
PUR – Zander Horvath – 21 rushes, 81 yards, TD
Top receivers
OSU – Trevon Bradford – 5 receptions, 75 yards
PUR – David Bell – 8 receptions, 134 yards :

### Illinois

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Fighting Illini | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| Boilermakers | 6 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 13 |
at Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana
* Date: September 25
* Game time: 3:30 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Sunny
* Game attendance: 52,840
* Referee: John O'Neill
* TV: BTN
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | ILL | PUR |
| First downs | 17 | 17 |
| Total yards | 275 | 315 |
| Rushes–yards | 42–175 | 26–38 |
| Passing yards | 100 | 277 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 14–27–0 | 24–40–2 |
| Time of possession | 33:45 | 26:15 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Illinois | Passing | Brandon Peters | 14/26, 100 yards |
| Illinois | Rushing | Josh McCray | 24 rushes, 156 yards |
| Illinois | Receiving | Casey Washington | 3 receptions, 31 yards |
| Purdue | Passing | Aidan O'Connell | 12/19, 182 yards, TD, 2 INT |
| Purdue | Rushing | Dylan Downing | 10 rushes, 39 yards |
| Purdue | Receiving | Milton Wright | 7 receptions, 88 yards |
500th game at Ross-Ade Stadium

### Wisconsin

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Badgers | 7 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 30 |
| No. 25 Boilermakers | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
at Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana
* Date: October 23, 2021
* Game time: 2:00 p.m.
* Game weather: Sunny
* Game attendance: 61,320
* Referee: Ron Snodgrass
* TV announcers (BTN): Brandon Gaudin (play-by-play) and Matt Millen (analyst)
Game information :
First quarter
WISC – Braelon Allen 4-yard TD run, (Collin Larsh kick), 2:49. Wisconsin 7–0. Drive: 13 plays, 92 yards, 7:37.
Second quarter
PUR – Payne Durham 10-yard pass from Aidan O'Connell (Mitchell Fineran kick), 14:16. Tie 7–7. Drive: 4 plays, 39 yards, 1:47.
WISC – Collin Larsh 37-yard field goal, 8:54. Wisconsin 10–7. Drive: 10 plays, 56 yards, 5:22.
PUR – George Karlaftis 56-yard fumble return (Mitchell Fineran kick missed), 6:13. Purdue 13–10. Drive: 3 plays, -8 yards, 1:32.
WISC – Collin Larsh 23-yard field goal, 2:06. Tie 13–13. Drive: 4 plays, -3 yards, 0:56.
Third quarter
WISC – Chez Mellusi 20-yard TD run, (Collin Larsh kick), 6:06. Wisconsin 20–13. Drive: 3 plays, 94 yards, 1:01.
Fourth quarter
WISC – Braelon Allen 14-yard TD run, (Collin Larsh kick), 10:13. Wisconsin 27–13. Drive: 6 plays, 72 yards, 2:55.
WISC – Collin Larsh 43-yard field goal, 4:06. Wisconsin 30–13. Drive: 4 plays, -4 yards, 2:32.
Top passers
PUR – Aidan O'Connell – 24/32, 200 yards, TD, 3 INT
WISC – Graham Mertz – 5/8, 52 yards
Top rushers
PUR – King Doerue – 9 rushes, 20 yards
WISC – Chaz Mellusi – 27 rushes, 149 yards, TD
Top receivers
PUR – Payne Durham – 9 receptions, 112 yards, TD
WISC – Jake Ferguson – 2 receptions, 23 yards
Top defenders
PUR – Jaylan Alexander – 15 tackles, TFL, forced fumble
WISC – Leo Chenal – 9 tackles, 5.5 TFL, 3.5 sacks :

### Michigan State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 3 Michigan State | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 29 |
| Purdue | 7 | 14 | 10 | 9 | 40 |
at Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, IN
* Date: November 6, 2021
* Game time: 3:41 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Sunny
* Game attendance: 57,748
* Referee: Larry Smith
* TV announcers (ABC): Dave Pasch (play-by-play), Dusty Dvoracek (analyst), Tom Luginbill (sideline)
* Source
Game information :
First Quarter
(09:12) PUR TD: David Bell 5-yard pass from Aidan O'Connell (Mitchell Fineran kick) PUR 7–0; 9 plays, 52 yards, 3:37
(06:23) MSU TD: Tre Mosley 26-yard pass from Payton Thorne (Stephen Rusnak kick) TIED 7–7; 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:40
Second Quarter
(13:23) PUR TD: Broc Thopson 8-yard pass from Aidan O'Connell (Mitchell Fineran kick) PUR 14–7; 8 plays 70 yards, 3:28
(04:50) PUR TD: Jackson Anthrop 39-yard pass from Aidan O'Connell (Mitchell Fineran kick) PUR 21–7; 4 plays, 51 yards, 1:13
(01:04) MSU TD: Kenneth Walker III 14-yard run (Stephen Rusnak kick) PUR 21–14; 11 plays, 69 yards, 3:41
Third Quarter
(12:19) MSU TD: Payton Thorne 32-yard run (Stephen Rusnak kick) TIED 21–21; 3 plays, 41 yards, 1:00
(09:31) PUR TD: King Doerue 1-yard run (Mitchell Fineran kick) PUR 28–21; 7 plays, 70 yards, 2:44
(06:31) PUR FG: Mitchell Fineran 29-yard field goal PUR 31–21; 7 plays, 51 yards, 1:32
Fourth Quarter
(13:02) PUR FG: Mitchell Fineran 24-yard field goal PUR 34–21; 14 plays, 60 yards, 7:14
(06:48) PUR FG: Mitchell Fineran 23-yard field goal PUR 37–21; 9 plays, 93 yards, 2:24
(05:03) MSU TD: Tre Mosley 11-yard pass from Payton Thorne (Maliq Carr pass) PUR 37–29; 5 plays, 83 yards, 1:45
(00:41) PUR FG: Mitchell Fineran 22-yard field goal PUR 40–29; 10 plays, 76 yards, 4:17
Passing
MSU – Payton Thorne: 20/30, 276 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
PUR – Aidan O'Connell: 40/54, 536 yards, 3TD
Rushing
MSU – Kenneth Walker III: 23 carries, 152 yards, 1 TD
PUR – King Doerue: 13 carries, 33 yards, 1 TD
Receiving
MSU – Jayden Reed: 4 receptions, 73 yards
PUR – David Bell: 11 receptions, 217 yards, 1 TD :