ROSEMONT, Ill. – Seniors Jack McCallister (Second Team) and Mani Powell (Third Team) were two of seven Boilermakers that earned All-Big Ten accolades from the conference’s coaches and media, the league office announced Wednesday afternoon. Charles Correa, Michael Jackson III, Spencer Porath, Tahj Ra-El and Luke Raab were named All-Big Ten Honorable Mention for their efforts throughout the 2025 season.
In his lone season as a Boilermaker, McCallister made an immediate impact in flipping the field. His 43.2 average ranked as the sixth-best single-season punting average in school history, and reaching the 50-attempt mark, he ranks fourth on the program’s career list. The Edmonds, Washington, native had 23 punts that ended inside the opponents’ 20-yard line, leading all Big Ten punters. He produced 13 punts over 50 yards; his 68-yard punt versus USC was the longest in the conference this season as well as the longest by a Boilermaker since Brooks Cormier's 69-yard punt against Minnesota in 2019. Twice, McCallister was named to the Ray Guy Award Ray's 8. He even ran a fake punt for 10 yards and a first down through contact at Notre Dame, the first Purdue punter to run for a first down since 2017.
Another senior transfer who could only spend one season with the Old Gold and Black, Powell left his mark on the program. Tallying 94 tackles (10.4 per game) in conference contests, Powell became the first Boilermaker ever to lead the Big Ten in tackling in league games. The linebacker made 110 throughout the entire season, sitting atop the Big Ten and ranking 15th in the country. He also paced Purdue with 12.0 tackles-for-loss and 5.0 sacks, becoming one of only three players in the country with at least 100 tackles, 12 TFLs and five sacks. Against Northwestern, the Columbus, Ohio, native produced one of the best performances this century by a Purdue defender. He made a career-high 20 tackles, the most by a Big Ten player in a conference game since 2018. Powell marked the first time a Boilermaker recorded 20 tackles in a game since Willie Fells accomplished the feat against Iowa 28 years ago (Nov. 1, 1997).
Correa and Ra-El joined Powell as tackling machines, as the pair were named All-Big Ten Honorable Mention. Ra-El matched Powell with a Big Ten-best 110 tackles (15th nationally), while ranking second in the league behind his Purdue teammate with 87 tackles in conference play. He made a career-high 15 tackles against Rutgers and wrapped up his collegiate career with a team-high 12 tackles in the 100th Old Oaken Bucket Game. Correa added 96 tackles of his own, ranking seventh in the Big Ten, to go along with 7.5 TFLs and 3.0 sacks. The sophomore was Purdue’s first underclassmen with at least 49 tackles through five games since Ja'Whaun Bentley in 2015. The start to his season was even more impressive, as Correa was the first Boilermaker (since at least 1995) to record 10-or more-tackles in four of the first five games and just the 14th Big Ten player to do so in that span.
Jackson, Porath and Raab joined McCallister in the special teams success to collect honorable mention accolades. Jackson earned the honors by ranking fourth in the Big Ten and 23rd nationally with a 23.6 kick return average. In his second season as a Boilermaker, Porath set the school’s single-season record for field goal percentage (88.2%) by making 15 of his 17 attempts, which also ranked 15th in the country. The sophomore was the only kicker in the Big Ten to make multiple 50-yard field goals this season. He kicked a career-long 53-yard FG at Washington, the third-longest in program history, and against Michigan, Porath connected on a 50-yard field goal. For his performance in the victory over Southern Illinois, he became Purdue’s first Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week since J.D. Dellinger six seasons ago (Nov. 11, 2019). The person responsible for setting up McCallister and Porath was Raab, who excelled in his first season as Purdue’s long snapper. Raab's 78.4 PFF rating ranks second among Big Ten long snappers.
All-Big Ten Honorees
Jack McCallister – Second Team (Coaches), Third Team (Media)
Mani Powell – Third Team (Coaches), Honorable Mention (Media)
Charles Correa – Honorable Mention (Coaches, Media)
Tahj Ra-El – Honorable Mention (Coaches, Media)
Spencer Porath – Honorable Mention (Coaches, Media)
Luke Raab – Honorable Mention (Media)
Michael Jackson III – Honorable Mention as a Return Specialist (Media)