Purdue Practices Tuesday Morning, 10 Days from Kickoff

August 25, 2026

Interviews: Coach Marshall | Tra'Mar Harris | Bisi Owens

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue Football participated in another fall practice Tuesday morning (August 25), 10 days away from the season opener at home against Indiana State (September 4).

Assistant coach Bilal Marshall returned to Purdue, where he was a wide receiver from 2012-16, in 2025 as an offensive analyst before he was promoted to leading the wide receivers room ahead of the 2026 season.

“I’m very energetic and get the guys going,” said Marshall. “You’re starting to see from these guys a little bounce in their step and a little more fight in them. I’ve always been told a room will take on the personality of you, and I’ll be damned if anyone said my room is soft.”

The room features nine returners, five transfers and two true freshmen. As a young position coach, Marshall’s relatability to his group stands out to the entire room, especially the returners. Tra’Mar Harris, who has played for Purdue for two seasons, praised Marshall’s coaching style.

“He’s a younger coach that brings that energy that all of us want and love,” said Harris. “And we still produce, so that’s the biggest thing.”

Of the newcomers, Bisi Owens joined the program the latest of any transfer after he came to West Lafayette in June, giving him the ability to earn his degree in finance from Penn.

A standout on the field the last three seasons, Owens totaled 138 receptions, 1,664 yards and 11 touchdowns after he initially entered college as a quarterback. Though the Ivy League is non-scholarship football in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), Owens notes the league’s style of play prepared him for a jump to the Big Ten.

“The Ivy League is full of gritty guys, and I feel like that nose down type of football will translate here,” said Owens. “In the blocking game or making big plays down the field, I feel like it will definitely translate.”

Owens’ 6-foot-4, 217-pound frame at wideout fit perfectly for the Quakers on his way to First Team All-Ivy League honors in 2025. Marshall noted that Owens shows all the tools of a productive Big Ten wide receiver.

"When the ball goes up in the air, he goes up and gets it,” said Marshall. “He’s got great ball skills. He’s tough, strong, physical, and those are the traits I thought could translate into this league.”

Purdue returns to the field on Wednesday morning (August 26).

I feel like we have a room that is deep. It’s going to be fun to see what guys ultimately emerge and separate themselves. I feel like I have a good amount of guys that I can roll out there and not blink.

- Wide Receivers Coach Bilal Marshall

Brandon Kinsey

Purdue Football wide receiver Brandon Kinsey, a true freshman, has turned heads during the offseason ahead of the 2026 season.

A native of Miami, Florida, Kinsey joined the Boilermakers as a three-star recruit, according to 247Sports Composite, and was a 2025 Nat Moore Trophy finalist, awarded to the top player in Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties who has positive character, leadership and meets all team standards for academics, sportsmanship and conduct.

Wide receivers coach Bilal Marshall, who also hails from Miami, has kept tabs on Kinsey's talents for years. People around Marshall's circle constantly raved about his ability, and it proved true in a high school career that featured 105 catches for 2,369 yards and 36 touchdowns.

“He’s a strong kid and has unbelievable ball skills,"said Marshall. "By far the best ball skills in the room in how he can find it downfield, he just makes tough catches… He’s got to keep learning the offense, there’s still some freshman woes he’s going through, but he competes his butt off every day and that’s all you can ask for.”

The talent shown in South Beach has translated to training camp in the Big Ten, as head coach Barry Odom and veterans like De'Nylon Morrissette have shouted out Kinsey during numerous media sessions this offseason.

"He had a great spring and continues to get better," said Morrissette at Big Ten Media Day on July 29. "He's one of those players that is young and can grow, and he's taking all the development that comes with it."