Catching Up On Purdue Boilermaker Alums in NFL
Former Purdue star George Karlaftis and the Kansas City Chiefs can make NFL history Feb. 9 with a victory against the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans.
No team has won three consecutive Super Bowl championships. Only three other franchises have played in at least three consecutive Super Bowls: the 1971-73 Miami Dolphins, the 1990-93 Buffalo Bills and the 2016-18 New England Patriots.
The Bob Griese-led Dolphins lost Super Bowl VI to the Dallas Cowboys but won the following two Super Bowl titles against Washington and Minnesota. Buffalo is still trying to shed the stigma of four consecutive Super Bowl losses. The Patriots were denied back-to-back titles by the Eagles in Super Bowl LII, 41-33.
In an NFL season that saw several Purdue alumni sidelined with injuries, Karlaftis recorded eight sacks to go along with 32 tackles in his third season. He’s added three sacks and nine tackles in playoff victories against Houston and Buffalo.
Aidan O’Connell battled thumb and knee injuries to still make seven starts at quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders. His 1,612 passing yards and eight touchdown passes moved O’Connell up the list of Purdue alumni NFL quarterbacks. At 3,080 career passing yards, O’Connell moved past Scott Campbell (2,983) and is now just 185 yards away from catching Mark Herrmann.
But the Raiders’ coaching change to 73-year-old Pete Carroll could spell the end of O’Connell’s days in Las Vegas. With minority owner Tom Brady and handpicked new general manager John Spytek (an ironic last name considering Brady’s connections to the cheating Patriots), O’Connell’s career statistics of 3,830 passing yards, 20 TDs and 17 starts may not increase in 2025.
(A bit of trivia: Purdue quarterback alumni have amassed 252,963 passing yards, 1,664 TD passes and 1,191 starts according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Notre Dame QBs have 178,454 NFL passing yards, 1,144 TDs and 768 starts. Southern Cal is third at 178,167 yards along with 1,015 TDs and 788 starts.)
Tyrone Tracy Jr. was voted to the 2024 All-Rookie Team by the Pro Football Writers Association. Tracy became a starter in Week 5 for the New York Giants and finished with 839 rushing yards and five touchdowns. He also caught 38 passes for 284 yards and a score.
Running back Raheem Mostert was limited to 85 carries, 124 fewer than in 2023, and finished with 278 yards and two TDs for the Miami Dolphins.
Tight end Payne Durham scored the first two touchdowns of his NFL career and completed his second pro season at Tampa Bay with 11 receptions for 115 yards.
Oft-injured defensive back Cory Trice Jr. earned his first NFL start for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the season finale against Cincinnati. His team-high 11 tackles padded his season total to 21 to go along with an interception.
Safety Sanoussi Kane completed his rookie season with the Baltimore Ravens with nine tackles in 15 games. Linebacker Jalen Graham made four tackles while mostly on special teams with San Francisco.
Although he missed nine games with an injury, Charlie Jones returned a kickoff for a touchdown and averaged 40 yards over five kickoff returns for the Cincinnati Bengals. Jones also brought back 14 punts for 99 yards.
Five Boilermaker alumni finished the 2024 season on injured reserve. Linebacker Derrick Barnes was one of several losses on the Detroit Lions defense, starting the first three games of the season before going down.
New England linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley saw his season end after two games. A dislocated hip put Cleveland wide receiver David Bell out of action during his only game of the season. Wide receiver Rondale Moore never suited up for Atlanta after a trade from the Arizona Cardinals, suffering a leg injury during a preseason practice.
Veteran cornerback Anthony Brown’s comeback attempt with Carolina ended with a preseason thumb injury.
Where are they now?
One of the beneficiaries of Jayden Daniels’ outstanding rookie season in Washington could be assistant quarterbacks coach David Blough.
The former Purdue and NFL quarterback picked the right time and place to go after retiring from a playing career with Detroit and Arizona. The Commanders’ staff also includes second-year assistant defensive line coach Ryan Kerrigan, the franchise’s all-time sacks leader with 95.5.
Two former Purdue assistant coaches found new homes shortly after season’s end. Lou Anarumo is the new defensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts following his dismissal in Cincinnati. He was defensive backs coach at Purdue from 2004 to 2011, and his pupils included Bernard Pollard and Ricardo Allen.
Terrell Williams was hired in Detroit as run game coordinator/defensive line coach. Williams’ prize pupils at Purdue from 2006-09 include first-round picks Anthony Spencer and Ryan Kerrigan. Williams previously was employed at Oakland, Miami and Tennessee.
Tyron Tracy is the latest to benefit from the coaching of Joel Thomas, Giants running backs coach whose star pupils include Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram II in New Orleans. Thomas coached at Purdue under Joe Tiller from 2006-08, during which Kory Sheets became Purdue’s first 1,000-yard rusher in six seasons.
Robert Turner Jr., running backs coach for the San Francisco 49ers, has been in the NFL 27 seasons. While assistant head coach / offensive coordinator / running backs coach at Purdue from 1991 to 1994, Turner tutored all-time rushing leader Mike Alstott and 1991 Big Ten Freshman of the Year Corey Rogers.
Former players on NFL staffs include Jeff Zgonina (Dallas), Steve Jackson (Tennessee) and Nick Hardwick (Los Angeles Chargers).
Noteworthy
Zach Edey is among the selections to play in the NBA Rising Stars series on Feb. 14 as part of All-Star Weekend in San Francisco.
The Memphis Grizzlies rookie center is averaging 9.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocked shots in just under 21 minutes a game. His rebound average ranks second among rookies, his blocks are fourth and Edey is fifth in scoring average for rookies.
Starting 26 of the Grizzlies’ 33 games so far, Edey is shooting 58 percent from the field and nearly 39 percent from 3-point range.
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THE ATHLETIC hangs another loss on the Purdue football program, placing the Boilermakers at the top of its transfer portal losers list.
How can a 1-11 team be criticized for bidding farewell to 32 players off one of the worst Purdue teams in my lifetime? Author Manny Navarro cites the 287 combined starts lost leads all Power 4 programs. Lost in that argument is that someone had to fill the 11-man starting lineups on offense and defense. That doesn’t mean every player was competent at their job.
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THE ATHLETIC was much more positive about Purdue junior point guard Braden Smith, selecting him to the Midseason All-America first team.
Author Brendan Marks credits the former Westfield star with Purdue’s ability to win in the post-Zach Edey era.
“The spotlight in West Lafayette is firmly on Smith, and thus far he’s proven more than capable of keeping the Boilermakers in contention,” Marks writes. “Obviously much of that stems from his ballhandling and passing – Smith is tops nationally in assist rate, per KenPom – but Smith has also grown as a scorer.”
Smith is second behind Trey Kaufman-Renn in scoring at 15.4 points per game. That is more than three points better than his sophomore year average. Smith’s 8.9 assists per game is well ahead of his Big Ten record pace a year ago.
“Look no further than the 24 points he had in a 27-point blowout over Michigan on Friday — his sixth 20-point effort this season, or more than he had in his first two seasons combined,” Marks writes. “Between that and his pesky on-ball defense — Smith has more games (9) with three-plus steals than games with one or no steals (6) — the 6-footer has been arguably the best point guard in the nation.”
Maybe it’s just coincidence but when Smith has recorded a double-double, as he did against Michigan, Purdue is 17-0.
Joining Smith on The Athletic’s All-America first team is Duke freshman forward Cooper Flagg, Auburn center Johni Broome, Marquette guard Kam Jones and Memphis guard PJ Haggerty.
Kenny Thompson is the former sports editor for the Lafayette Journal & Courier and an award-winning journalist. He has covered Purdue athletics for many years.