Ryan Walters was fired as the coach of Purdue on Sunday after completing a 1-11 season. He was only the coach for two seasons but didn’t show much progress so the administration made the quick move.
Since he was only running the program for two seasons it wasn’t just his recruiting classes that doomed him. It was a combination of players lost to the portal, recruiting mismanagement and the players he signed.
Let’s take a look at five prospects that helped doom his tenure.
Galloway was one of the crown jewels of the 2024 recruiting class for Walters. However, the team got virtually nothing out of the four-star on the way to a 1-11 season in 2025. Galloway signed with Purdue after being previously committed to LSU. Now the 6-foot6, 230 pound Ohio native has already announced his intention to enter the transfer portal.
It was a major win for Purdue when it landed Allen in the 2022 recruiting cycle. He redshirted his first year at Purdue and then ended up following former Purdue coach Jeff Brohm to Louisville. Allen finished his high school career ranked first in IHSAA history with 149 career passing touchdowns and is second all time with 11,918 yards. Hanging onto him would have helped Walters’ cause quite a bit.
Miller was a multi-year starter at Purdue before leaving to play his final year of college football for Louisville. During the 2024 season he was an All-ACC honorable mention. Miller started all 14 games in that season allowing just two sacks and one quarterback hit in 920 total snaps.
Card was brought to Purdue ahead of the 2023 season to be the quarterback for Walters as he got the program off the ground. The results were a mixed bag for the Texas Longhorns. He only threw 15 touchdown passes with 8 interceptions during his first season at Purdue. This season there was regression as he passed for 9 touchdown passes with 7 interceptions. It was a tough situation but the quarterback play Purdue had during Walters’ tenure left a lot to be desired.
The defensive lineman was one of the best defenders in the Big Ten during the 2024 season. Scourton posted a dominant sophomore season with the Boilermakers, finishing tied for first in the Big Ten with 10 sacks. Then the team lost him in the portal to Texas A&M. This season he’s continued his stellar play in College Station with five sacks helping to anchor a good Texas A&M defense.
