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Purdue wide receiver David Bell (3) reaches out for a pass in the end zone but fails to hold on during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 20, 2021 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Cfb Purdue Vs Northwestern
Note: I’m using the same intro for all of the articles in this series. Here are the links to the other articles in this series:
Quarterback
Tight End
Running Back
Offensive Tackle
Interior Offensive Line
The NCAA announced they are moving forward with a rule change that eliminates redshirts and allows five seasons of eligibility as long as you are enrolled by the time you’re 19. This, in part, was a reaction to the influx of European professionals into college basketball last season. It also clears up the eligibility issues regarding junior college recruits after Diego Pavia received an additional year of eligibility through a court injunction. In theory, these new rules will take effect for any player who enrolls on or after January 1, 2027, while players who enroll before next year will get whichever set of rules is most beneficial for them.
To boil that down to its essence, athletes who played as “true freshmen” under the old system will get an extra year of eligibility, and JuCo players who spend 2 years in JuCo get 3 seasons of eligibility instead of 3 seasons to play 2.
You can read the press release from the NCAA here .
Wide Receiver
# Name Pos Recruiting Class HS/JuCo/Portal Home State High School HS Rating Juco/Port JuCo/Port Rating Seasons at PU Eligibility Name 5 Chauncey Magwood WR 21 Portal GA Lee County 3*(85.8) Kentucky/UCF 3*(83.4) 1 1 Chauncey Magwood 8 De’Nylon Morrissette WR 22 Portal GA North Cobb 4*(91.7) Georgia 3*(87.2) 2 1/2 De’Nylon Morrissette 3 Xavier Townsend WR 22 Portal FL Berkeley Prep 3*(87.6) UCF/Iowa St. 3*(86.5) 0 1 Xavier Townsend 17 Bisi Owens WR 22 Portal MD Glenelg NR Penn 3*(86.5) 0 1 Bisi Owens 83 Andrew Adkison WR 23 HS CA St. Francis NR NA NA 3 2 Andrew Adkison 84 Nolan Buckman WR 23 HS IN Brebeuf Jesuit NR NA NA 3 2 Nolan Buckman 19 Asaad Waseem WR 23 Portal FL Wekiva 3*(84.4) Colorado/FAU 3*(86.5) 0 2 Asaad Waseem 13 Ricky Sampson WR 23 JuCo NV Legacy NR Victor Valley C. 3*(85.3) 0 3 Rickey Sampson 12 Corey Smith WR 24 Poral IN Brownsburg 3*(86.7) Tulsa 3*(86) 1 3 Corey Smith 10 Jesse Watson WR 24 HS IL East St. Louis 3*(85.3) NA NA 2 3 Jesse Watson 11 Tra’Mar Harris WR 24 HS OH Winton Woods 3*(87.8) NA NA 2 3 Tra’Mar Harris 0 Jaylan Hornsby WR 24 Portal NJ Winslow Township 3*(88.5) Syracuse 3*(85.5) 0 3 Jaylan Hornsby 9 Jalil Hall WR 25 HS PA Monsignor Bonner 4*(89.8) NA NA 1 4 Jalil Hall 33 Quinn Rosenkranz WR 25 HS CA Servite NR NA NA 1 4 Quinn Rosenkranz 80 Brandon Kinsey WR 26 HS FL Miami Central 3*(84.2) NA NA 0 5 Brandon Kinsey 88 JoJo Johnson WR 26 HS VA Benedictine 3*(84.9) NA NA 0 5 JoJo Johnson
Eligibility Changes
Ricky Sampson, a junior college transfer, will have three seasons of eligibility instead of two.
Corey Smith played as a true freshman at Tulsa; he essentially gets that season back. He has three seasons of eligibility instead of two.
Thoughts
Purdue’s three leading receivers in 2025, Michael Jackson III, Nitro Tuggle, and EJ Horton, were all similar receivers. They were around 6’0”, 190, give or take an inch and a couple of pounds either direction. Those three have either graduated or left to seek their football fortunes elsewhere. Tiggle is a talented player; losing him hurt, but overall, Purdue will have a more diverse and significantly more talented group of receivers in 2026. I see this as a major area of improvement.
I wasn’t the only one who noticed Purdue’s lack of size on the outside last season. It looks like the coaching staff was well aware of that shortcoming and brought in a couple of big bodies for the outside in 2026. Bisi Owens is a 6’4”, 215-pound security blanket for Ryan Browne. The former Penn standout has 26 starts under his belt in the Ivy League and is looking to add 12 more in the Big 12. He’s more of a possession receiver than a downfield burner, but his ability to go up and get the ball allows him to be both a downfield and redzone threat.
On the other hand, 6’4”, 210-pound junior college transfer Ricky Sampson could very well be the downfield burner. Sampson is a former quarterback who started seven games for Webber International before transferring to Victor Valley College and taking up wide receiver. He had 49 receptions for 606 yards and 3 touchdowns in his first season of being a pass catcher instead of a pass thrower. Note that 2 of those 3 touchdowns were good for over 50 yards. He gets an extra season to work on his craft with the new eligibility rules, making him an even better pickup for both the short and long term. He has the ability to scare opposing defenses on the outside with his combination of size and speed.
Jaylan Hornsby started three games for Syracuse last season as a redshirt freshman. He’s listed at 6’3”, 215, and similar to Bisi Owens in terms of style of play. He’s got a big frame, and he uses it to box out defenders both on the sideline and over the middle. He’ll be part of the rotation in some fashion this season and could be more of a factor moving forward in his career.
While the portal guy / juco guys should help right away, Purdue could also get an injection of talent from their own roster if former 4* receiver Jalil Hall can come all the way back from a knee injury he sustained in the season opener against Ball State last season. At 6’4”, 185, Hall was going to get significant action on the outside in 2025 if he stayed healthy, which, of course, he did not. Bringing Sampson in allows the staff to work Hall back in at his own pace. Hall has WR1 potential in the future.
Purdue made it a point to get bigger on the perimeter, but their most experienced signings operate out of the slot. Xavier Townsend was UCF’s starting slot receiver and punt returner in 2023. He caught 33 passes for 325 yards and 3 touchdo...
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