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Podcast: Locked On Boilermakers - Daily Podcast on Purdue Boilermakers Football & Basketball Episode: URGENT: Purdue Boilermakers Running Game MUST IMPROVE—Antonio Harris and Jerrick Gibson SPOTLIGHT Transcript: It's the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Get your daily college sports fix completely ad-free with a seven-day free trial to the Everyday Or Club. Listen to your favorite schools locked on podcast without key interruptions and unlock an exclusive invite to our members-only Discord chat to talk team news 24-7 with die hard fans. Join the club right now by tapping the link in the show notes to claim your free trial. Purdue had one of their best running backs in school history on the squad last year and the running game was still not very good. So a very old one's to turn it around in year two. It starts in the backfield. The Lockdown Spoiler Maker, your daily podcast on the Purdue Spoiler Maker, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello and welcome into another episode of Lockdown Boimakers here on the Lockdown Podcast Network. Now the number one sports podcast network where it's your team every day. I am your host, I am Nick Garvin as always. I'm talking Boimakers every single day here on the Lockdown Podcast Network. The only daily Purdue show out there and we have a football episode headed your way today because we're talking about those running backs. The running game, why it wasn't able to get going last year in Bari Odom's first year and why it's so crucial to get that running game going as he tries to turn things around in year two. Then we're going to get to the actual running backs. Who might be the guys that are capable of turning this program around? We're going to go one to four in terms of who I think is going to be that leading rusher and then who I think might not see as much playtime. We'll finish out today's episode getting into the new five or five rule that the NCAA is trying to implement what that means for Purdue, how soon that could be implemented and what it means for both Purdue basketball and Purdue football. It's going to be a fun one and we're going to hop right into things today because Purdue football, as you guys know, I don't have to tell you they've been going through a rough time the past two to three years, not able to find any consistency at all quite frankly and it hurts the most because you get so close to having Devin Mokkevie get that all-time leading rushing records so to speak for Purdue. He had just over a thousand yards at the start of last season. Yes, it would have taken a big season from him. Unfortunately, injuries do derail his year last season but you would think in year one of the Bari Odom era and keep in mind, Bari Odom is a head coach and especially when you bring him over to Purdue, he's a head coach that found a lot of success in Missouri that found a lot of success at UNLV on the back of his running game or the back of finding that physical offensive line that gives your opportunities for talented running backs like a Devin Mokkevie to find success in that running game and it does so much for you. It gives you the opportunity to have that multi-dimensional offense where you can throw some point action in there, throw some option especially if you have a quarterback that has legs under him. The running game does so much for you and that's what Bari Odom has built a career on. So when you bring Bari Odom to Purdue in year one, you have Devin Mokkevie who as I mentioned could have been on track to be Purdue's leading rusher. You would think that Purdue would have a good opportunity to find success in Bari Odom's first year. Well, unfortunately that was not the case because Devin Mokkevie has a terrible injury, has to retire from college football after 521 yards on the season and Purdue, they ranked number 14 within the Big Ten in rushing yards in terms of actual FBS. They were towards the bottom right behind Appalachian State if that gives you kind of a a tell on where Purdue was at in their running game last year. They weren't great but this year it's going to be a little bit different because there's a lot more talent in that backfield and we saw one of those pieces last year because Antonio Harris looked like he might be that next running back. You take the baton from Devin Mokkevie after Mokkevie goes down with that injury. It was kind of Antonio Harris's backfield to run with and I did think that maybe it would be Antonio Harris's team going into this year. But we'll find out here in this next segment that Bari Odom was actually able to bring in three other guys alongside Harris to compliment him within the backfield and that's going to be so important for three reasons really. Three reasons why this running game is going to be so crucial in terms of actually flipping what Purdue is going to want to do in year two of the Bari Odom era. And the first reason that I have and this is a little bit cliche but it keeps your offense on the field and yes it's cliche but it's incredibly important for what Purdue needs to do going into next year because yes the defense was terrible last year. The defense was the worst part about this Purdue squad and the reason why they probably did lose a good amount of games. Yes the turnover issues on offense were still absolutely crucial but the defense was not good last year and although you bring in some great guys in the transfer portal like a Jain and Jain Mangham like in Ilo Mdoze out of Georgia you bring in guys on the defense to get better I still think that the defense this year under Kevin King is going to be the weaker unit compared to offense and special teams so for your offense you want to stay on the field and that's why that running game is going to be so important because looking back to last year we saw that a lot of the time it had to be in Ryan Brown's hands. Ryan Brown had to try to work magic that a lot of the time didn't end up working out because the running game wasn't able to get going in the backfield we weren't able to get short second down short third downs and then you just you're stuck behind the chains forced to throw the ball and then your defense is right back on the field. I saw that against Notre Dame that was kind of the story of that Notre Dame game last year and then they were able to kind of run up the score against Purdue so this year the running game needs to be better so you can keep your offense on the field and with that your running game needs to be better so you can have less pressure on Ryan Brown and I truly do believe yes I know the stats last year 10 interceptions nine touchdowns it was not a great year for Ryan Brown and while I do believe that Ryan Brown struggled last year and did it necessarily show that he's capable of being a starting quarterback that's going to be able to produce wins in the big 10th what I do feel confident in is that Ryan Brown has potential to be a lot better and Ryan Brown has potential to be a better quarterback if you play to his strengths and honestly what I see is Ryan Brown's strengths is a quarterback that can operate an offensive quarterback that can that can control the pace of the game as long as the running game is going because once again as I mentioned last year Ryan Brown was made to do too much in my opinion he was made to force throws force turnovers at times and ultimately just try to take control of the game and that's not where Purdue is going to be at their best that's not where Barry Odom teams are at their best they are at their best when the running game is going so you're able to get that running game going and this is where I love Ryan Brown I loved him in that Illinois game the first appearance he had before Oregon 2024 yeah 2024 I loved him there because he was able to use his feet it was a different look and that's what you're going to have once you have the threat of the running game through an Antonio Harris through some of the guys who are about to mention here coming up next that's what gives you the opportunity to have your quarterback be that improviser if not you're just throwing past every time and it makes it very predictable for what defenses are going to want to do with that I think the play action opens up for Ryan Brown that's something that traditionally he's been pretty solid up so I think that Ryan Brown becomes a better quarterback when you do get that running game going the last thing that I want to mention about this running game and not necessarily I want to figure out how to phrase this because it's a little bit different than how I said about the defense Ryan Brown being better as a result of the running game this is more the running game will be a result of this and I think it's bringing in three guys in the transfer portal to add on to Antonio Harris yes at first I was skeptical I was skeptical because you bring in all these guys and I thought it was going to be Antonio Harris's team going into 2026 that's how I wanted it I thought that he would put us in the best position to succeed but as I sit on this as I think more and more the more guys you had because looking back to last year only three running backs out of your backfield were successful in rushing it was Devin Mockingney who averaged 4.2 Antonio at Harris who averaged 4.4 on 69 carries and then really under that it was Malachi Thomas who averaged 243 or had 243 4.6 on average you had three guys last year this year I think you have four that should produce a better running attack which should in theory give your defense a better opportunity to succeed going into next year should have Barry Odin with a more successful tenure if Ryan Brown is able to get it going which I do believe is going to happen with the addition of these guys in the transfer portal and with a more complete running game in 2026 so that's why I think the running game is so important this coming year I think it's more crucial than anything that Barry Odin could possibly do and he's absolutely taking steps to putting this running game where it needs to be that's what we're talking about here next exactly who carries the load next year for Purdue who are going to be those Running backs that produce and why are they in a better spot to do that? Let's come up here next on Lockdown Boilermakers. Podcast terms and conditions apply need to hire. Well, this is a job for indeed sponsored jobs. Let's get into this running back group. Before we do, I just have to mention, I forgot to mention this in the previous segment, I should have, but the offensive line is going to be much better in 2026. That's a huge piece of the puzzle when you actually talk about what these running backs are going to do. I feel like yes, you have Devin Mockingby, yes, you have Antonio Harris and both of those guys are going to be excellent running backs. But it's hard to do much. It's hard to average a good charge for Kerry if you're not behind in offensive line that's going to give you great run protection. Honestly, I just didn't feel like last year, Purdue's offensive line was that great. Yes, you bring guys over like Brayden Joyner and Hank Purvis from UNLV. I thought that they could be solid, but ultimately what we ended up seeing is that they weren't able to produce at the level they did at UNLV in West Lafayette against Big Ten defenses, which I guess was to be expected. But this year, Barry Oram has a bit of a different approach. He doesn't bring guys over from his previous school. He brings guys over from other schools and not just other schools, other schools within the conference, other schools within Power Four, which is why I feel a lot better about this offensive line going into 2026. You bring in Boas Stanley, who is the highest rated offensive lineman transferring in or out out of South Carolina. I expect him to maybe play center or an interior guard position. You also bring in his teammate, Jotavia Shivers from South Carolina. Next to that, you bring in two guys from inside the conference at USC, McKys and I and Mike Cabanelos. Those are going to be two explosive players on the offensive line, both six, four, three hundred, ten pounds. McKys and I has actual time playing for USC starting in that lineup. Then you bring Nooku Mafi, who is going to be a tackle on the outside playing for Oklahoma State. You got Jotavia Shivers, Nooku Mafi, who could both be those offensive tackles. You return Joey Sonona, who is a good piece of that offensive line last year. I think the offensive line is much better for Purdue going into 2026, which is why I do have that sneaky suspicion that Purdue is going to be much better in terms of that actual backfield when we get into this year. It starts at the top. I might cheat a little bit. I might do a little bit of a cop out and go one A, one B in terms of the guys who I think are going to produce the most. One A, it has to be Antonio Harris. As we mentioned earlier in the show, he kind of took the baton from Devin Bockaby last year, said this is going to be my team going into the future. He didn't just say that. He produced. I thought that Antonio Harris was kind of a bright spot on this team, although he wasn't able to get a ton going because the offensive line wasn't great. He was able to bang together enough productive runs for Purdue fans out there and for myself to look at this guy and say, yeah, I think Antonio Harris could be this future number one running back. And I do believe that's what he's going to be going into this year. I think he's going to split those number one carries with one of the most exciting players that Purdue was able to bring in through the transfer portal. It's Jared Gibson. This is my one A, my one B, Verproduced backfield going into this year. I think that Antonio Harris, there's no reason why he shouldn't be that number one guy and get the most carries. But also you bring Jared Gibson over for a reason out of Texas. He came from Gainesville, Florida out of high school was very highly recruited. I believe he was a top 75 guide out of his recruiting class. He is a sophomore, but running back out of Texas, he got a little bit lost within that back field at Texas. Tons of great running backs at Austin. But what ended up happening with Jared Gibson is that he was still able to produce like four, four yards per carry, which was solid, but only 37 carries last year, 152 yards. So he wasn't really given the opportunity to succeed the way that you, I guess, would have wanted him to have those carries going into last year or at least Jared Gibson wanted. So he transfers over to Purdue. And I think that this is the perfect opportunity. You have a physical back, you have an elusive back, you have Antonio Harris, you have Jared Gibson, a one, two punch out of the back field. That's why I'm so excited about these two guys. I think they are both going to be excellent within the back field together. Jared Gibson and Antonio Harris put the ball in one of their hands. I can see Jared Gibson, like Antonio Harris, maybe being that first and second down back and then Jared Gibson coming in on maybe third down or maybe even fourth and short and being a guy that's really able to produce in those short-guarded scenarios. Either way you do it, no matter what happens, I think that Jared Gibson and Antonio Harris next to each other are the perfect compliment for what this back field is going to want to look like going into 2026. So that's why I'm already positive about this back field going into next year. But you get more and more positive when you see the other guys that Bariol was able to bring in because it's not just that one to pump truthfully. You have depth below them. You have that depth and you have other guys that are going to be able to fill in in different scenarios. And we're not even talking about the fact that yes, the receiving group is the one slot on the field where we kind of give this team some flak. But with some of these running backs, they could serve as pass-catchers as well. And that's something that I guess is pretty positive for what Purdue is going to want to do. And one of those guys is Travis Terrell, who I have as my number three on the depth chart. But he could very well slot as number four. Once you get to these three and four guys, they're both kind of interchangeable. Travis Terrell played for Jackson State both last year and the year before. He was a sophomore last year, so going to be a junior going into the season. He had a great year last year at Jackson State. Average six yards per carry. Five touchdown, six hundred and seven yards. I think that Travis Terrell could be that sneaky guy out of the backfield that really stunned some teams. They're focused on Jared Gibson. They're focused on what Antonio Harris is going to do. And then all of a sudden, Travis Terrell is that guy out of the backfield that does make you hurt. I don't necessarily know where Terrell is going to slot in in terms of what what he's going to play. Because like I said, I really think Antonio Harris on first and second and then maybe slotting Jared Gibson in on those short yardage scenarios would be a great scenario for Purdue. So when you look down, you look at Travis Terrell who in his own right, average six yards per carry. And we're talking about this next guy where they're going to slot in. But they're out spring practice. They've all been getting a solid amount of reps. And by far, that has been the best position group on the field has been those running grabs has been those running backs now running behind a strong offensive line. So far, I have it as one a being probably Antonio Harris, one being Jared Gibson. And then our third guide is going to be Travis Terrell out of Jackson State. But Barry Odom wasn't done. He brought in one more player, a red shirt freshman from the conference out of Minnesota, Famei Ajable. And he is going to be good as well. Like all of these running backs are really solid football players. Famei place in Minnesota, red shirts is freshman year, then comes back next year or last year rather has a solid season, 441 yards on the year, over four and a half yards per carry, only 97 carries on the season. He was solid. We didn't see him a whole lot against against us only had one catch for for 12 yards, I believe it was. But either way you cut it, Famei Ajable is going to be solid as well. So you have a guy from the big 10 conference, you have a guy from Jackson State that average over six yards per carry, you have a top 75 running back in his class coming out of Texas and Jared Gibson. And then you have Antonio Harris who looked like he could be the future of this football program last year. And that's why I sit here and say behind a revamped offensive line with size, not only is the run game One slot on the field that Bariota more than anything needs to improve, but he's already taking those steps in order. In the transfer portal, he's taking those steps in. Throughout spring practice, getting these guys the reps, he's taking the precautions, he's taking the steps in order to not just say that, not just do it on paper with the transfer portal, but genuinely make it a reality that this running back group is going to be much improved going into 2026. I look at these four guys and there's no doubt in my mind that that should be the reality. This running back group. I'm maybe not the top five in the Big Ten. That's going to be kind of tough, but I do expect this to be a much higher than 14th in the Big Ten running attack in 2026. I say if we're in that top seven, we're going to be in a great position to win some games going into next year. And ultimately, that's the goal. It's not to make it to a bowl game. It's not to necessarily compete into the Big Ten. It's to win some games, prove that this program is on the right trajectory. One more thing about these running backs. All of them are really young. We're going to have at least a couple of these guys going into the future as they continue to develop. It's really a better spot than what a lot of Purdue fans out there do realize for this Purdue football team. I think that we're in a much better spot than we were last year. I'm still going to remain cautiously optimistic with it, but there is reason to be optimistic about Purdue football going into 2026. But coming up here next, it's five for five. The newest rule that the NCAA is trying to implement. And honestly, I think it could be good for Purdue. How soon does that come into play? We don't quite know, but we're going to find the answers to that coming up here next on the board makers. The NCAA is making some shock waves around the country right now trying to implement some different rules. Of course, yesterday it comes out that the NCAA is going to expand the NCAA tournament, which I absolutely hate. But that's a story for another day. The rule that's more, I guess, crucial to Purdue or more affects the board makers more than anything is the newest rule that they're trying to put out, which is five for five, which is going to affect the eligibility of college players. Essentially what five for five is, is you haven't heard of it by now, is that the NCAA is trying to grant five years for five years of eligibility. You have five years to get your five years in, which technically would eliminate red shirts, hard shirts, hard shirts, and so on. Red shirts, hard ships, waivers. Now that's not a hundred percent. That's not going to guarantee that every situation with a red shirt or a waiver is going to get thrown out, but it's going to drastically decrease what we're seeing. You even see it right now when we look at this whole officer club situation where different guys are taking the NCAA to court, trying to get different waivers. The Oscar club didn't necessarily go down that same route, but it's definitely an issue in college basketball and the lack of regulations have been an issue within college sports as a whole since NIL and the inception of the transfer portal. I personally think that this would be a giant step in the right direction. I think that this is exactly what the NCAA needed, but I get to think how does this affect Purdue and some rulings that came out, I believe yesterday or the day before, actually give us a little bit more information. How does that affect Purdue and how that will affect Purdue in the current day? Because if you think about it five or five, if this is implemented going into next year, would that not mean Braden Smith? Would that not mean Fletcher lawyer or eligible to return to Purdue? Well, on paper, you would think you would think that they would be grandfathered to play another year under that five or five, but what was said was that those players would not be grandfathered in for another year. However, however, that does not mean if the NCAA does end up implementing this rule going into next year as they do playing on that just because they say they don't want to grandfather this senior class in going into next year. That does not mean that's not the actual case, because there is a chance that lawyers take this to court and this is way more of a, it's more of a, I'm trying to figure out how to explain this. It's more of, it's way more of a realistic precedent to set if this does end up going to court and rule that by, by ruling that the seniors played up against guys that are going to be grandfathered in, why shouldn't they? And it's ruled that one guy is going to have eligibility, that precedent is going to be way more realistic for Braden Smith, for a Fletcher lawyer to come back to Purdue, if that's what they want to do, then the Oscar club situation, which we saw, where all these different situations are different in the court, everybody has the different case and we ultimately end up in court for days and days and days and it keeps pushing back this portal period more and more and more. So I actually think that if the senior class that only played four years do have a case, it would set up for maybe a Fletcher, maybe a Braden Smith to come back to Purdue. Now, is that going to be what they want to do? Honestly, I think yes. I don't see why it wouldn't be what they want to do. I think it's going to be one of those guys that stand up here and say, oh, Braden Smith has no career in the NBA because I truly do think that he could be a solid point guard somewhere. Yes, he's a little bit smaller, but he still has the attributes that NBA teams are going to want. But if we're being realistic right now, could Braden Smith get more NIL coming back as the NCAA assist king for his fifth year in West Lafayette, or would he get more money as a second round draft pick? I think that Braden Smith would have more money in year number five in West Lafayette, same situation with Fletcher lawyer. So yes, we may not necessarily need these guys back for next year. But what a scenario that would be if the NCAA rules that five or five is being implemented next year that it gets taken to court and which definitely will. If it's implemented next year, it will surely be taken to court. And then with that, a lawsuit given that Braden Smith and Fletcher lawyer are able to come back and play year five. It would be quite the situation, but it's more realistic than what it sounds when I say it. It is an actual reality that we're facing right now with this five or five. But let's just say for a moment that it does end up pulling out how the NCAA wants that these guys won't be grandfathered in and the senior class. Well, that's okay. We've gotten our time with Braden Smith. We've gotten our time with Fletcher lawyer. But what does that five or five will actually mean going into the future? Well, it means that CJ Cox is going to have two more years after this. It means that you car Harris is going to have two more years after this. It means that a good portion of Purdue's core is going to be able to continue playing into the future on top of these top recruiting classes that Matt painters able to bring in coming in. So I think that it increases, or I guess it speeds up the transition period of the last era of Purdue basketball going into the next era of Purdue basketball because you still have those gap pieces in CJ Cox and Jekara Harris continuing to play with the next era of Purdue basketball. I think that's why the five or five rule would be so great for Purdue. And then also Matt painters does things the right way. He's Jesse Redshirts players, but we're not getting waivers. We're not having six, seven year guys. Ultimately, most of the time we're just playing four guys that are extremely talented in developing them for the course of those four years. So you give a fifth year to Matt painters. And I think this benefits Purdue almost more than any other team in the nation. Truly, the five or five rule is going to be great for the Purdue boy makers. I don't know if Braden Smith or Fletcher lawyer are going to be able to end up coming back because of this, but it is more of a realistic situation than what it sounds like or what it looks like on paper as of right now. So I'm all for the five or five. I hope it gets passed and heck. I hope that they get sued out of their shoes and Braden Smith and Fletcher lawyer come back for another year in West off yet. But we'll see how it goes. We'll keep you guys updated as the five or five rule. We get more details about it as more comes out about it. But that's all I got for you guys today. Thank you guys for joining me for another episode of locked on boy makers. Make sure you like subscribing, comment, make sure you guys get in the everyday club. Link down below in the description. I'll be back right here tomorrow. I hope you have some more basketball. But as always, boy, I'll be right back. Hammer down. Show notes: Purdue Boilermakers’ revamped running back room could spark a major turnaround under Barry Odom. After a disappointing ground game last season—even with Devin Mockobee in the backfield—Purdue retools with transfers like Jerrick Gibson from Texas, Travis Terrell from Jackson State, and Minnesota’s Fame Ijabo joining returner Antonio Harris. Can this deeper, more explosive group relieve pressure on quarterback Ryan Browne and elevate Purdue’s Big Ten standing? Nick Arvin breaks down why improvements in the offensive line and running back depth are critical to Purdue’s 2026 prospects. The show also tackles how the NCAA’s proposed 5-for-5 eligibility rule could impact the futures of Boilermaker basketball stars Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer, and whether a new era for Purdue athletics is on the horizon. Stay tuned for insight into roster moves, player development, and the changing college sports landscape. 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