Purdue Football 2026 Position Preview — Defensive Line
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After breaking down Purdue's roster on the edge, it's time to shift to the interior of the defensive line. It was a position group that struggled last year, and head coach Barry Odom placed an emphasis on bringing in production and experience to bolster the front line.
Purdue had issues stopping the run last season, a problem that must be fixed in order to win in the Big Ten. Are the Boilers in position to improve in the trenches in 2026? Here's the breakdown.
Returners
- Ian Jeffries (Jr.) — Jeffries is Purdue's top returning interior defensive lineman, playing in all 12 contests for the Boilermakers last fall. He accounted for 20 tackles, three tackles for loss and a sack. He has been productive in his first two college football seasons, including his 2024 campaign at Arkansas State. He has the potential for a true breakout year this season in West Lafayette.
- T.J. Lindsey (So.) — Lindsey showed a lot of promise in Purdue's first two games against Ball State and Southern Illinois, totaling five tackles and a tackle for loss to begin the season. An injury derailed his 2025 season, though, appearing in just three games. At 6-foot-3 and 310 pounds, Lindsey is a great run stopper and a player who can disrupt the backfield.
- Drake Carlson (Jr.) —The Tennessee native is entering his fourth season at Purdue. He's a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection (2024, 2025) and played in 12 games last season, primarily on special teams. Carlson played in nine games during the 2024 campaign, accounting for four tackles.
- Jordan Cree (Sr.) — Cree transferred from Divsion III program Wabash College in 2025 and was able to earn playing time in six games on special teams. He provides Purdue with depth up front and can be a more permanent fixture on special teams this season.
- Elijah St. John (Sr.) — In his first season at Purdue, St. John did not appear in any games. He transferred in from LIU, an FCS program. He tallied 40 tackles during the 2024 season at his previous school and is looking to carve out a role for himself with the Boilers.
Newcomers
- Curt Neal (Sr.) — Neal was a huge pick-up from the transfer portal. He brings prior Big Ten experience and production to West Lafayette, playing at Wisconsin from 2022-24 and spending last year at Illinois. He has played in 41 games and made 21 starts. Last season with the Illini, he tallied 15 stops. Two years ago for Wisconsin, he racked up 30 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss.
- Rodney Lora (Jr.) — After a productive year at UCF, Lora entered the transfer portal. He comes to Purdue after tallying 22 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss last season. He's another veteran player who brings experience to Purdue and can really help bolster the interior defensive line in the 2026 season.
- Wisdom Simms (Sr.) —On paper, Simms had the most productive 2025 season of any of Purdue's transfer defensive linemen. He totaled 22 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. That came at the FCS level, though. Simms has Big Ten size at 6-foot-4, 320 pounds, but will he be as impactful at Purdue as he was at North Carolina Central?
- Kobe Cherry (Fr.) — Just a freshman, Cherry already looks like a disruptor along the defensive line. He comes to Purdue listed at 6-foot-5 and 310 pounds. The Indiana native was a three-star prospect who held offers from four other Big Ten programs: Indiana, Minnesota, Washington and Wisconsin. Could he factor into Purdue's plans early in his career?
- Josiah Hope (Fr.) —Hope is another freshman who could be an impact player for the Boilermakers early. He was a high three-star recruit who held offers from multiple SEC schools. The Kentucky product had an outstanding junior season at the high school level, totaling 61 tackles, 19 tackles for loss and seven sacks.
Must be better at stopping the run
Teams that get run over don't tend to win many games in the Big Ten. Last year's Purdue defensive front got pushed around far too often and failed to contain opposing rushing attacks. The Boilers allowed an average of 181.8 yards per game and 4.73 yards per carry in 2025. They held just two opponents under 100 yards and five teams rushed for 200 yards or more.
Purdue's struggles to stop the run fall on everyone defensively, but it starts up front. That group can't get pushed around constantly by opposing offensive lines. The Boilers have to be able to fight through blocks and meet the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage, or earlier, to prevent teams from establishing a presence on the ground.
Heading into 2026, Purdue has plenty of big bodies who can clog up rushing lanes. Getting off blocks early and creating havoc in the backfield is going to be a major key to this team's success.
Transfer portal additions should help
Have you noticed a theme with this 2026 Purdue roster yet? Like several other position groups, the transfer portal really helped the Boilermakers with the defensive line. Odom added experience and production to this group by bringing in Neal, Lora and Simms. If not for those pick-ups, Purdue would be in a dire situation up front.
Neal is the addition who is most likely to have the biggest impact, having four years of Big Ten experience at two different schools. He was also productive during his time at Illinois and Wisconsin. Lora wasn't a starter at UCF but still contributed. Simms is the wild card of this bunch, a player who could really make a splash if he's able to fight off bigger bodies at the Power Four level.
Purdue had to improve at every position after last year's 2-10 record, but getting better up front had to be a top priority. The Boilers landed some productive players along the defensive line to help bolster that position group.
The biggest question
Are the returning and new pieces better than what Purdue lost? As poor as the Boilers were in the trenches defensively last year, they lost their two most productive players in Demeco Kennedy and Jamarion Harkless. Those were significant losses for the Boilermakers.
So, are the three transfer portal additions and two freshmen — Cherry and Hope — better than the group of interior defensive linemen that departed? That's a question that can't be answered right now.
Returning TJ Lindsey from injury helps. He had the potential to have a big year in 2025 until injuries derailed his season. Jeffries also had a strong sophomore campaign and has only gotten better in his career. Those two players are excellent starting points for Odom's defense.
Putting Neal and Lora in that group should give the Boilermakers quality depth up front. Purdue will be in even better shape if Cherry or Hope (or both) can get on the field in 2026.
One final thought
Although Purdue brought in some really nice pieces from the transfer portal and on the high school recruiting front, this remains an area of concern heading into 2026. The Boilermakers have more quality depth in the trenches, which should result in some improvement, but how much?
Purdue has to keep teams closer to 125 rushing yards per game on average in order to win in the Big Ten. Is that something this group can accomplish? Is the talent up front that much better than what the Boilermakers sent onto the field last year?
The interior defensive line is going to need multiple players to step up in 2026. The depth is there, but this group may still lack consistency in the run game.
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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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