WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – After signing 25 new Boilermakers during the early period and welcoming 14 transfers to start the spring semester, Purdue Football added wide receiver Leland Smith to its 2024 signing class. Head coach Ryan Walters announced Smith becoming the newest Boilermaker after the junior college transfer signed his National Letter of Intent on Wednesday.
"The addition of Leland not only adds depth to our wide receiver room, it also strengthens our 2024 class as a whole," said Walters. "We have had a great January with our mid-year enrollees, and we cannot wait for the rest of the class to arrive this summer."
Smith joins the Boilermakers after spending the 2023 season at Fullerton College in California. The First Team All-SCFA National Southern selection caught 26 passes for 655 yards and nine touchdowns, averaging a nation-best 25.2 yards per catch. As a primary target, Smith led the Hornets to an undefeated regular season and their second straight conference title. His biggest game of the year was a nine-catch day in which the 6-foot-5 wideout totaled 212 yards with a trio of touchdowns.
Walters and his staff assembled the 2024 class with a full recruiting cycle since taking over the program 14 months ago. The recruiting class is currently ranked No. 30 nationally according to the composite rankings compiled by 247Sports. That national ranking is Purdue's best since the class of 2019 assembled five years ago. Also, according to 247Sports, Koy Beasley (Defensive Back – Cincinnati, Ohio) is Purdue's highest rated recruit since All-Americans David Bell and George Karlaftis led the 2019 class.
Breaking down the class, the transfer rankings are even better. Ranked 13th nationally by Rivals, including second in the new 18-team Big Ten, the transfer class totals 14 new Boilermakers and features 11 players from Power 5 schools. The incoming transfers are highlighted by the No. 7 rated transfer and highest ranked cornerback in the portal in Nyland Green (Georgia). Combining the recruiting class with the transfer class, Purdue ranks sixth in the Big Ten according to Rivals.
The entire class of 2024 can be found below. Season tickets for the 2024 season are on sale now.
2024 Purdue Football Signing Class
"The addition of Leland not only adds depth to our wide receiver room, it also strengthens our 2024 class as a whole," said Walters. "We have had a great January with our mid-year enrollees, and we cannot wait for the rest of the class to arrive this summer."
Smith joins the Boilermakers after spending the 2023 season at Fullerton College in California. The First Team All-SCFA National Southern selection caught 26 passes for 655 yards and nine touchdowns, averaging a nation-best 25.2 yards per catch. As a primary target, Smith led the Hornets to an undefeated regular season and their second straight conference title. His biggest game of the year was a nine-catch day in which the 6-foot-5 wideout totaled 212 yards with a trio of touchdowns.
Walters and his staff assembled the 2024 class with a full recruiting cycle since taking over the program 14 months ago. The recruiting class is currently ranked No. 30 nationally according to the composite rankings compiled by 247Sports. That national ranking is Purdue's best since the class of 2019 assembled five years ago. Also, according to 247Sports, Koy Beasley (Defensive Back – Cincinnati, Ohio) is Purdue's highest rated recruit since All-Americans David Bell and George Karlaftis led the 2019 class.
Breaking down the class, the transfer rankings are even better. Ranked 13th nationally by Rivals, including second in the new 18-team Big Ten, the transfer class totals 14 new Boilermakers and features 11 players from Power 5 schools. The incoming transfers are highlighted by the No. 7 rated transfer and highest ranked cornerback in the portal in Nyland Green (Georgia). Combining the recruiting class with the transfer class, Purdue ranks sixth in the Big Ten according to Rivals.
The entire class of 2024 can be found below. Season tickets for the 2024 season are on sale now.
2024 Purdue Football Signing Class
| Name | Incoming Class | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Hometown (Previous School) |
| DJ Allen | Fr. | OLB | 6-3 | 225 | Memphis, Tenn. (Germantown) |
| Jaden Ball | Fr. | OL | 6-5 | 300 | Carroll, Ohio (Bloom-Carroll) |
| Koy Beasley | Fr. | ATH | 5-11 | 170 | Cincinnati, Ohio (La Salle) |
| Jaekwon Bouldin | Jr. | OL | 6-6 | 350 | Canton, Miss. (Canton/Mississippi Gulf Coast) |
| Smiley Bradford | Fr. | DB | 6-0 | 185 | St. Louis, Mo. (East St. Louis) |
| Kyndrich Breedlove | R-Jr. | DB | 5-11 | 180 | Nashville, Tenn. (Colorado) |
| Kam Brown | 6th | WR | 6-1 | 190 | Colleyville, Texas (UCLA) |
| Marcos Davila | Fr. | QB | 6-3 | 230 | Midland, Texas (Midland Legacy) |
| Jamarius Dinkins | R-Jr. | DL | 6-5 | 280 | Columbus, Ohio (Kentucky) |
| Tayvion Galloway | Fr. | TE | 6-5 | 230 | Chillicothe, Ohio (Pickerington Central) |
| Nyland Green | R-Jr. | DB | 6-1 | 185 | Covington, Ga. (Georgia) |
| Rod Green | R-Jr. | OL | 6-5 | 315 | Springfield, Ohio (Coffeyville CC) |
| Donovan Hamilton | Fr. | WR | 6-4 | 205 | Fishers, Ind. (Hamilton Southeastern) |
| Tra'Mar Harris | Fr. | WR | 6-1 | 185 | Cincinnati, Ohio (Winton Woods) |
| Hudauri Hines | Fr. | DB | 6-2 | 195 | Indianapolis, Ind. (Franklin Central) |
| Ty Hudkins | Fr. | DB | 6-0 | 185 | Grand Rapids, Mich.. (Forest Hills Central) |
| Caleb Irving | Fr. | DL | 6-2 | 270 | Glenn Heights, Texas (Parish Episcopal) |
| Demeco Kennedy | Fr. | DL | 6-2 | 285 | Lexington, Ky. (Frederick Douglass) |
| Jordan King | Fr. | OL | 6-4 | 315 | Ft. Wayne, Ind. (North Side) |
| Earl Kulp | Fr. | DB | 6-0 | 185 | Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (St. Thomas Aquinas) |
| Reggie Love III | R-Sr. | RB | 5-11 | 205 | St. Louis, Mo. (Illinois) |
| CJ Madden | R-So. | OLB | 6-4 | 230 | Ellenwood, Ga. (Georgia) |
| D'Mon Marable | Fr. | DB | 6-0 | 200 | Knoxville, Tenn. (Clinton) |
| Jaheim Merriweather | Fr. | RB | 6-2 | 205 | Jackson, Tenn. (Bearden) |
| De'Nylon Morrissette | R-So. | WR | 6-1 | 200 | Stone Mountain, Ga. (Georgia) |
| Jireh Ojata | 5th | DL | 6-4 | 260 | Carmel, Ind. (Franklin) |
| Max Parrott | Fr. | OL | 6-5 | 295 | Centennial, Colo. (Cherry Creek) |
| Jamari Payne | Fr. | DL | 6-3 | 255 | Auburn, Ala. (Loachapoka) |
| Spencer Porath | Fr. | K | 6-0 | 195 | Brownsburg, Ind. (Brownsburg) |
| John Randle Jr. | Fr. | OL | 6-4 | 275 | Horn Lake, Miss. (Horn Lake) |
| Shamar Rigby | Fr. | WR | 6-4 | 175 | St. Petersburg, Fla. (Clearwater Central Catholic) |
| Joshua Sales Jr. | R-Jr. | OL | 6-6 | 305 | South Bend, Ind. (Indiana) |
| Shitta Sillah | 6th | OLB | 6-4 | 255 | Somerset, N.J. (Boston College) |
| CJ Smith | R-So. | WR | 6-3 | 190 | Apopka, Fla. (Georgia) |
| Leland Smith | So. | WR | 6-5 | 215 | Houston, Texas (Fullerton College) |
| Corey Stewart | R-Sr. | OL | 6-6 | 305 | Nashville, Tenn. (Ball State) |
| Joey Tanona | R-So. | OL | 6-5 | 285 | Zionsville, Ind. (Notre Dame) |
| Jesse Watson | Fr. | WR | 5-9 | 155 | St. Louis, Mo. (East St. Louis) |
| Luke Williams | Fr. | DB | 6-1 | 175 | Naperville, Ill. (Naperville North) |
| DJ Wingfield | R-Sr. | OL | 6-4 | 290 | Los Angeles, Calif. (New Mexico) |