Purdue Defensive Back Reportedly Leaves Team
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Purdue defensive back Crew Wakley has left the team, according to a report from On3's Tom Dienhart. He transferred into the program after spending the previous two seasons at BYU.
Wakley is a 6-foot, 200-pound defensive back who was expected to make a significant impact for the Boilermakers' secondary this season. It hadn't quite been working out that way for the BYU transfer, though.
Wakley played in four of Purdue's first six games this season. He appeared in the first two games against Ball State and Southern Illinois, but missed the Big Ten opener against USC. He then returned for games against Notre Dame and Illinois. The defensive back did not make the trip to Minnesota this past weekend.
In four games, Wakley was responsible for nine tackles, a tackle for loss and a pass break-up.
Before transferring to Purdue, Wakley had previous stops at Utah State and BYU. He played in just four games with the Aggies during the 2021 campaign before transferring to BYU.
In two years with the Cougars, Wakley played in 23 games and made 16 starts. He compiled 103 tackles, seven pass break-ups, 4.5 tackles for loss, and three interceptions.
Purdue had hoped that Wakley's experience would provide some help in the secondary, but he battled injury and continued to slide down the depth chart during his time in West Lafayette.
The Boilermakers travel to Evanston this weekend for a game against Northwestern. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. ET and the game will air on Big Ten Network.
Purdue's secondary shows signs vs. Minnesota
There are no moral victories in college football, but the positive takeaway from a 27-20 loss to Minnesota on Saturday was Purdue's secondary playing much better than it had earlier this season.
Purdue's defense held Minnesota to just 262 yards of offense, 232 coming through the air. Minnesota completed just 21-of-45 passes and Myles Slusher recording the team's first interception of the year.
For a defense that surrendered eight explosive plays that resulted in 300 yards the previous week to Illinois, that was a step in the right direction.
Unfortunately for coach Barry Odom, it did not result in a win. Purdue fell to 2-4 on the year and is still searching for its first Big Ten win since the end of the 2023 season.
Perhaps Saturday's defensive performance will give the Boilers something to build on moving forward.
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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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