Arkansas Transfer Isaiah Nichols Announces Commitment to Purdue Football
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Isaiah Nichols, a transfer defensive tackle from Arkansas, announced Tuesday his commitment to Purdue football ahead of the 2023 season. Nichols will come to campus with one year of eligibility remaining.
Nichols was a former three-star prospect out of Springdale, Ark., who spent the last five seasons with the Razorbacks. He's appeared in 37 games during his college career, recording 78 total tackles, six tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.
As a freshman in 2018, Nichols appeared in just three games and recorded one solo tackle in the season opener for Arkansas. The following season, he played in all 12 games and registered 17 total tackles with one tackle for loss, including half a sack on the year.
Nichols made his first career start as a redshirt sophomore during the 2020 season. By the end of the year, he started seven games of the nine games he appeared in and made 24 tackles.
In 2021, Nichols was once again a key part of the Arkansas defensive line rotation,m making just three starts but playing in all 13 games. He tallied 21 total tackles, including a career-high 3.5 tackles for loss which included 1.5 sacks.
In his final year with the program, Nichols notched 16 total tackles and one tackle for loss.
Nichols will bolster a Purdue defensive line that lost three starters from the 2022 season via the transfer portal, including defensive tackles Branson Deen and Lawrence Johnson. The Boilermakers will return Damarjhe Lewis, Cole Brevard, Mo Omonode, and Prince James Boyd Jr., among others.
Lewis missed all of last season due to a knee injury suffered during fall training camp.
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