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 to 2010 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.
Schedule The 2021 schedule consists of 6 home and 6 away games in the regular season.
Roster
Awards and honors Award watch lists Listed in the order that they were released Chuck Bednarik AwardGeorge KarlaftisDEJRJuly 19, 2021Maxwell Award David Bell WR JRFred Biletnikoff AwardDavid BellWRJRJuly 22, 2021 Bronko Nagurski TrophyGeorge KarlaftisDEJRJuly 27, 2021
Weekly Awards Weekly AwardsPlayerAwardDate AwardedRef.David BellBig Ten Offensive Player of the WeekOctober 18, 2021Cam AllenBig Ten Defensive Player of the WeekJeff BrohmDodd Trophy Coach of the WeekOctober 19, 2021David BellMaxwell Award Player of the WeekAidan O'ConnellDavey O'Brien National Quarterback of the WeekJalen GrahamBig Ten Defensive Player of the WeekNovember 1, 2021Aidan O’ConnellBig Ten Co-Offensive Player of the WeekNovember 8, 2021
All-Conference Honors All-Conference HonorsPlayerPositionCoachesMediaAPDavid BellWR1st Team1st TeamGeorge KarlaftisDE1st Team1st TeamAidan O'ConnellQB2nd Team2nd TeamPayne DurhamTEHMGus HartwigOLHMGreg LongOLHMTyler WittOLHMHMMilton WrightWRHMHMJaylan AlexanderLBHMHMCam AllenSHMHMBranson DeenDTHMHMJalen GrahamLBHMHMDedrick MackeyCBHMMitchell FineranKHMHM
All-American Honors NCAA Recognized All-American HonorsPlayerPositionAFCAAPFWAAWCFFTSNDavid Bell WR 1st Team 1st Team 1st Team 1st Team 2nd TeamGeorge Karlaftis DL 1st Team 3rd Team 2nd Team 2nd Team
Rankings
Season summary
Oregon State
Illinois
Statistics ILLPUR 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 StatisticsIllinois Passing Brandon Peters 14/26, 100 yards Rushing Josh McCray 24 rushes, 156 yards Receiving Casey Washington 3 receptions, 31 yardsPurdue Passing Aidan O'Connell 12/19, 182 yards, TD, 2 INT Rushing Dylan Downing 10 rushes, 39 yards Receiving Milton Wright 7 receptions, 88 yards
500th game at Ross-Ade Stadium
Wisconsin
Michigan State
References