Five Breakout Candidates for Purdue Football in 2026 After Spring Practice

As spring practice wraps up in West Lafayette, Boilermaker fans got their first look at the 2026 squad during Saturday’s Spring Showcase. Here are the names to watch out for this upcoming season.

The maiden voyage of the Barry Odom era did not go as well as anyone had hoped. Last season’s roster was essentially thrown together from the moment the 2023 Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year stepped onto the plane to his new home on the banks of the Wabash River. Coach Odom and his staff brought in a mindboggling, FBS-leading 83 newcomers between the transfer portal and high school recruiting classes, with 45 of them added after spring practice had already ended.

From last spring to now, stability has been the biggest difference. Although Purdue added 53 newcomers this season, nearly all of them have already been integrated into the program. This is the first time Barry Odom has truly been able to build a roster rather than simply trying to assemble one. With so many new faces and unfamiliar names in today’s world of college football, here are five players who have the potential to break out this season for the Old Gold and Black.

Fame Ijeboi

The Folcroft, Pennsylvania native joins the Boilermakers after a solid freshman season as the second-string running back at Minnesota. Standing at 6-foot-0, 210 pounds, Fame (FAH-may) Ijeboi (EE-jeh-boy) carried the ball 97 times for 441 yards and two touchdowns. He also showcased his ability to catch the ball, adding 12 receptions for 54 yards and a 22-yard touchdown during the 2025 campaign. 

Ijeboi is explosive, elusive in space, and physically built for Big Ten play. Throughout the spring, he has looked like a legitimate contender for the top running back spot. With an improved offensive line expected to create more running lanes, he could be poised for a standout season.

Bisi Owens

It’s not too bold to say that the wide receiver room struggled last season. Drops were a persistent issue, and there just wasn’t really a true “alpha” presence among the group. Bisi Owens, an incoming senior from Penn, looks to help change that narrative.

A First Team All-Ivy League and CSC Academic All-District honoree, Owens recorded 66 receptions for 696 yards and five touchdowns, highlighted by a 10-reception, 101-yard performance with a touchdown at Lehigh last season. Over 30 career games with the Quakers, he totaled 138 catches for 1,664 yards and 11 touchdowns.

While he is not on campus yet as he finishes the spring semester at Penn, the staff is eagerly awaiting his arrival. Coming in at 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, the Cooksville, Md. native brings size, experience and playmaking ability. He has proven capable both as a downfield threat and with the ball in his hands. Owens looks to elevate a rejuvenated, transfer-heavy wide receiver corps, bringing three years of starting experience and a career drop rate of only 8.0%, which would have been second only to Michael Jackson III on last year’s Purdue squad. He has the potential to be the first true “alpha” wide receiver at Purdue since Charlie Jones in 2022.

Elo Modozie

Over the past three offseasons, eight other Georgia Bulldogs have made their way to West Lafayette, with Elo Modozie becoming the ninth. Purdue hasn’t seen consistent results from this pipeline, Modozie presents a clear opportunity to change that. He has a strong path to becoming both the most productive Georgia transfer in recent memory and a leader along the defensive front. 

Before serving as a rotational piece at Georgia, the St. Augustine, Fla. product was a standout edge rusher at Army. In the 2024 season, Modozie posted disruptive numbers: 34 total tackles, eight tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, and 37 quarterback pressures.

At 6-foot-4 and 245 pounds, he combines size with impressive athleticism. Prior to transitioning to defensive end, Modozie was a wide receiver and a decorated track athlete, earning all-state honors as both a long jumper and triple jumper. That explosiveness translates well to the trenches. With Purdue in need of a true difference-maker in the pass rush, Modozie looks poised to fill that role in Kevin Kane’s defense.

Don Saunders

Purdue will be Don Saunders’ fourth school in five years. He spent two seasons at Cal Poly, redshirted at Texas A&M, and most recently played at Utah, where he logged 166 snaps across eight games while holding opposing quarterbacks to a 44.4% completion rate. 

While those numbers are solid, his production at the FCS level with Cal Poly was particularly impressive. Saunders recorded five interceptions and 15 pass breakups, and during his sophomore season, he allowed just 38% of the passes thrown his direction to be completed.

The well-traveled defensive back brings length, experience, and leadership to a secondary that is in need of all three. At 6-foot-4 and 197 pounds, Saunders has used his size to consistently disrupt passing lanes throughout the spring. While size alone doesn’t guarantee success on the field, it provides a significant advantage against the large receivers he’ll face weekly in Big Ten play. If he can capitalize on his physical tools and experience, Saunders could quickly become a fan favorite.

Travis Terrell Jr.

The 2024 SWAC Freshman of the Year and Honorable Mention AP FCS All-American arrives at Purdue after two standout seasons at Jackson State, where he was a scoring threat any time he touched the ball. 

Terrell Jr. adds much-needed speed to a running back room that lacked explosiveness last season. He rushed for 1,106 yards and nine touchdowns across two seasons at the FCS level. Listed at 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds, he brings a dynamic element to a rushing attack that should benefit from an improved offensive line, one that ranked in the bottom 20 nationally in runs of 20+ yards last season with just nine.

Where Terrell Jr. could make an immediate impact, however, is in the special teams game as a kick returner. At Jackson State, he amassed 806 yards between kickoffs and punts, including 536 yards and two touchdowns on just 17 kickoff returns. That’s good for an average of 31.5 yards per return, a level not seen at Purdue since Raheem Mostert in 2011 when he had 33.5 yards per return. If Terrell Jr. can replicate that kind of impact in the return game while contributing offensively, he has all the tools to become one of the most exciting players on the roster.