Despite having a high-powered offense, Purdue head coach Jeff Brohm has been plagued by a pair of seasons that saw the Boilermaker defense and special-teams play leave them short. Purdue has not made a postseason appearance since the 2018 Music City Bowl and has posted a disappointing 6-12 record over those last two seasons.

Enter former Marshall defensive coordinator Brad Lambert, who helped to guide Marshal to the nation’s top-ranked scoring defense (13 ppg) and fourth-ranked run defense (95.5 ypg), and a host of transfers thanks to the NCAA Transfer Portal.

Adding players via the portal was one thing Brohm discussed during his Friday appearance at Media Days.

“We wanted to be active and make sure that we looked at all options and all things that can help our team improve,” said Brohm.

Purdue returns seven starters on both the offensive side and defensive sides of the line. The gaps that do exist are likely to be plugged by the number of transfer additions this offseason.

OC Brothers, a former all-state linebacker from Florida comes to West Lafayette from Auburn, along with Western Kentucky grad transfer Tyler Witt, who is projected to start at right guard. Adding to the defensive effort, defensive back C.J. Williams comes from Florida to aid in the secondary.

Purdue will have to fill the gaps left from the losses of speedy receiver Rondale Moore, linebacker Derrick Barnes, and tackle Grant Hermanns, who are all now taking the field in NFL uniforms.