WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Defensive back Tony Grimes, defensive end CJ Madden and running back Devin Mockobee will join head coach Barry Odom to represent Purdue Football at Big Ten Media Days in Las Vegas later this month. The quartet of Boilermakers will take part in the final day of the event, July 24, speaking to the media and looking ahead to the 2025 season.
Other schools joining Purdue on the last day will be Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, UCLA and USC. Big Ten Network will broadcast six consecutive hours of live coverage every day, beginning at 1 p.m. ET. Dave Revsine, Ashley Adamson, Rick Pizzo, Jake Butt, Yogi Roth, Gerry DiNardo, Howard Griffith and others will be on-site carrying the day’s press conferences and interviewing all attendees on the BTN set during afternoon.
One of the newest Boilermakers, Grimes joined Odom in making the trip from Las Vegas to West Lafayette. Last season, he started 13 games at cornerback for the Rebels and racked up 20 tackles to go along with six pass breakups. The sixth-year senior began his career at North Carolina, playing in 36 games over three seasons that included 28 starts. He transferred to Texas A&M, but missed the 2023 campaign due to injury, before continuing his career at UNLV under Odom.
A returning Boilermaker, Madden’s 2024 season was cut short with a season-ending injury at Oregon State in the third game of the year. He made three tackles and a 0.5 tackle-for-loss against the Beavers before getting injured. Madden also was prominent in Purdue’s two home games prior to the team’s first road trip out to Corvallis. A junior, Madden spent his first two seasons at Georgia and played in eight games.
A fan favorite that began his career as a walk-on before earning a scholarship, Mockobee enters his senior season ready to lead Purdue and continue climbing the program’s record charts. The Boonville, Indiana native already ranks Top 10 in Purdue history in the following career categories: 100-yard rushing games (6th – 8), rushing yards (9th – 2,466) and rushing touchdowns (10th – 19). After setting the Purdue freshman rushing record and helping the Boilermakers win the Big Ten West in 2022, Mockobee has played in all 24 games over the past two seasons. His biggest game last year was an 168-yard rushing performance at Oregon State, averaging more than 10 yards per carry on a season-high 16 attempts.
Odom enters his first season as Purdue’s head coach, becoming the 38th head coach in the history of the Boilermakers on December 8, 2024. Odom is no stranger to Las Vegas, having spent the past two seasons as the head coach at UNLV. UNLV totaled 19 wins during Odom’s time guiding the Rebels, making it the winningest two-year stretch in the school’s history as a Division I program. A season ago, with Odom leading the way, the Rebels achieved a program-best No. 19 ranking in both the AP and Coaches polls, as well as their first-ever CFP ranking.
For updates while the Boilermakers are at Big Ten Media Days, follow Purdue Football on X and Instagram @BoilerFootball.