How Does Kylan Fox's Injury Completely Reshape Purdue's Tight End Room?
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Purdue didn't have a ton of experience or depth in the tight end room to begin fall camp. That position took an even harder hit just a few practices into fall camp, with transfer tight end Kylan Fox likely suffering a season-ending knee injury.
Head coach Barry Odom revealed on Monday that Fox is one of two players likely to miss the 2026 season because of injury. The other is freshman defensive back Raderrion Daniels, a three-star member of the team's newest recruiting class.
Fox was one of just two experienced tight ends on Purdue's roster, alongside returner George Burhenn. He played in 23 games at UCF and had 16 receptions for 137 yards and a touchdown with the Knights last fall.
The transfer tight end was expected to factor into the Boilermakers' offense this season.
"You'd love to get through it completely healthy, but unfortunately, [that's the game]," Odom said on Monday. "It's unfortunate."
With Fox now out of the equation, Burhenn is the only experienced tight end Purdue has on the roster. Although he says he feels great, he's battled the injury bug over the past two years, playing in just eight games since the start of the 2024 campaign.
Fox's injury has undoubtedly put Purdue's tight end room in a tough spot.
Almost no experience behind Burhenn
With Fox now sidelined, Purdue has almost no experience behind Burhenn in the tight end room. The Boilermakers have six other players at the position on the roster with a combined three games of experience.
All three of those games, by the way, were played by 6-foot-6 sophomore Luca Puccinelli in 2025. He finished the season with three catches for 24 yards, all of that production coming against Indiana in the Old Oaken Bucket game.
Jon Grimmett, Luke Shorter and Jackson Berryman were all on Purdue's roster last season, but none saw any action in a game. The Boilers also added two tight ends — Cooper McCutchan and Ar'Mari Towns — in the 2026 recruiting class.
Fox's absence will require at least one of those remaining six players to step into a bigger role. As skilled as Burhenn is, he's not going to be on the field for every snap Purdue takes offensively.
This is going to be a position battle to monitor closely throughout the remainder of fall camp.
Health of Burhenn now becomes critical
It's impossible to place health expectations on players in football, especially for a player who has missed 16 of the last 24 games due to injury. With Fox out, though, Purdue needs Burhenn to remain healthy throughout the season for this team to have a productive tight end room.
Burhenn has played in 19 career games for the Boilers, totaling 171 yards and a touchdown on 15 catches. When he's healthy, though, Odom really likes what the veteran tight end adds to the offense.
"He can play every spot on the field; any wide receiver position, he can be in-line tight end, off the ball with the things we like to do," Odom said at Big Ten Media Days in July. "He can create matchups that are in our favor. If we can stay healthy at that spot, and the things he's been through, the resolve he has shown, you would think the football world would allow that to happen."
Burhenn's versatility can be a real asset for Purdue this fall. But with Fox out of the picture, the Boilers need to find a few more tight ends who can produce alongside the veteran.
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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