[2024] Purdue Cornerback Room Breakdown

[BabaYaga]

The Purdue cornerback room is one of the positions that the Purdue staff had to overhaul. They did just that bringing in a pair of B overall players this past year. They took one of their worst position groups and now made it into a high floor collection of guys who can all play. The room has no seniors on the team either. 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 eight CB's on the roster and three of them are blue chip prospects. The three blue chips are all underclassmen.

Returning Players
Parker Myers - 2* (JR) - B
Shohei Cueto - 3* (JR) - A-
David Smith - 4* (SO) - B
Breon Ramirez - 3* (SO) - B-
Sean Sneddon - 3* SO - B
John Unseld - 1* SO - C

Incoming Players
Steven Shepherd - 4* FR - B
Chris Longacre - 4* FR - B

2023 Season Stats
Cueto - 27 tackles
Sneddon - 21 tackles
Myers - 12 tackles
Ramirez - 1 tackle

Purdue CB Room Breakdown

Projected starters: Shohei Cueto and David Smith - Cueto was the third CB last year and was able to get quite a bit of run in for Purdue. He isn't great in coverage with what Purdue is looking to run and I think that does hurt him a little. Smith was redshirted last year and he fits right in at CB2 this year. He's very good in coverage and is a strong outside corner. Look for these two players to shut down opposing offenses through the air.

One to Watch: Parker Myers - Myers is a very good cover corner and he was above Cueto on the depth chart last year. I would not be surprised if he jumps him at some point this year with his coverage ability. Myers recorded 12 tackles last year and will look to make a big jump after being CB5 last year.

Darkhorse: Sean Sneddon - Sneddon has impressed the Purdue coaching staff since the moment that he stepped on campus. He played as CB4 last year and had 21 tackles in his time on the field. He actually improved quite a lot so Purdue thinks he might have a bit more in the tank than his ratings.

Redshirt Candidates: Steven Shepherd and Chris Longacre - Purdue wants to go through spring ball before any decisions are made as far as redshirts go for this team at the corner position. Longacre comes in as maybe their best cover corner from the moment he steps on campus. If Purdue had one less corner on the roster, Longacre would be CB2 from the jump. He might still see action this year depending on how the spring goes. Shepherd is just a step behind Longacre but both should be starting corners for their sophomore season and beyond. This is a very good group of corners that Purdue needed dearly.

Notes on others:
Breon Ramirez - Ramirez is a solid corner who is still learning the position. He saw some action last year and will likely see some this year, too.
John Unseld - Unseld is a hard-working corner who does a nice job on special teams. He was able to improve from a D to a C in his first season. Expect some STU action again for him this year.

Purdue CB Room Future Outlook
The CB room for Purdue is in solid shape. They have two guys in Longacre and Shepherd who will man the position for a while. They aren't extremely deep at the position but they don't graduate any seniors this year either. Look for Purdue to continue to try and get bodies for this room in recruiting and one or two more blue chips gives them a great future at the position. I would say that, despite the low numbers, Purdue is set up well here especially after having to start a C overall at CB3 the last three years.

Edited March 13 by BabaYaga