[2024] Purdue Center Room Breakdown

[BabaYaga]

Purdue has a clear path forward at the center position and it will be the lone freshman starter on the offensive side of the ball for Purdue. They have solid depth and might end up moving a few of their players around to other spots on the line. Coach Babayaga is reportedly happy about the center spot over the next few years. Below, we will take a look at who could be in line to start as we head into the spring, the projected starters right now, and a look at the depth that Purdue has in the room. Purdue has four C's on the roster and one of them is a blue chip prospect. The sole blue chip is a freshman.

Returning Players
Jace Taillon - 2* (JR) - B-
Thomas Perry - 3* JR - B-
Dan Alfaro - 3* JR - B-
William Tibbs - 4* (FR) - B

Incoming Players
Dennis Long - 3* FR - C

2023 Season Stats
N/A

Purdue C Room Breakdown

Projected starters: William Tibbs - Tibbs might be a year or two away from being a 'good' center with his D overall pass and run block grade...but he'll likely slide in this year to the starting gig for the next four years. Tibbs was always going to be Trayvon Wadley's replacement and the year after Wadley's graduates...the job is now Tibbs'

One to Watch: Thomas Perry - Perry is likely in line for the backup center role...however, Purdue brass tells us that he might actually get a redshirt year and work on moving over to guard. Purdue has three junior centers and none will find many minutes behind Tibbs so this might be a situation where a positional logjam gets alleviated a little bit.

Darkhorse: Jace Taillon - Taillon is a very solid pass blocker and will likely be the backup. I'd be on the lookout for him to crosstrain potentially at guard this year as well. Taillon is a hard worker who can really block.

Redshirt Candidate: Dennis Long - Long is a freshman incomer this year who might be in line to redshirt. He is a solid blocker but just needs to work on the little things. He should move into the backup role after a redshirt season...provide Purdue opts for two centers redshirting.

Notes on others:
Dan Alfaro - Alfaro is a good run blocking center who is a nice player. He just doesn't fit what Purdue wants in a center and is just not better than Tibbs at this point.

Purdue C Room Future Outlook
The C room outlook for Purdue is average? Tibbs is the starter for the next four years and then Long could be a fine starter as a redshirt senior in 2028. Purdue has this position locked up for the next five years. It might be a struggle in the next few years but Tibbs should get good progression over the next few years. Look for Purdue to grab a depth player this year for the spot and not try to get a future starter to replace Tibbs until next year.

Edited March 10 by BabaYaga