WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Head coach Darrell Hazell has announced that four players will be joining the football program mid-year. Running back Markell Jones, wide receiver Anthony Mahoungou, long snapper Ben Makowski and quarterback Elijah Sindelar will enroll in classes for the spring semester and be able to participate in all team activities.
"I can't wait to get these guys on campus," Hazell said. "This is a group of exciting and dynamic players that wtill help us get better."
Jones joins Purdue from Columbus, Ind., and East High School. Recently named the IndyStar Mr. Football and the Gatorade State Player of the Year for Indiana, Jones had a remarkable senior season. He rushed for a state-record 3,536 yards on 312 carries (11.3 YPC) with 60 touchdowns in 2014. As a junior, he helped lead East to the Class 4A state championship.
Mahoungou, from Paris, France, joins Purdue out of West Hills Community College in California. He caught 39 passes for 739 yards and nine touchdowns in 2014, his lone junior college season. He will have four years to play three seasons.
Makowski will enroll at Purdue early out of Penn High School in Mishawaka, Ind. He is rated as a five-star player by Rubio Long Snapping and will get an early look to contribute with the departure of senior Jesse Schmitt.
Sindelar comes to West Lafayette out of Caldwell County High School in Princeton, Ky. Like Jones, he was named the Gatorade State Player of the Year for Kentucky after passing for 3,609 yards and 49 touchdowns as a senior. He completed 206 of 294 pass attempts (70.1 percent) with merely four interceptions. He finished his career with a state-record 144 touchdown passes and second all-time with 12,637 yards passing.