Purdue Football Lands First Pledge of 2026 Class From Chicago Offensive Lineman
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It didn't take long for new Purdue coach Barry Odom to make a splash with the 2026 recruiting class. On Wednesday, the Boilermakers landed their first verbal commitment of the class from offensive lineman Rico Schrieber.
Per 247Sports, Schrieber is a three-star prospect in the 2026 class. He's listed as a 6-foot-7, 315-pound offensive lineman, bringing a sizable frame to the Big Ten.
Schrieber made his announcement with a post on the social media app X. He picked Purdue over offers from other Power Four programs, including Florida, Indiana, Iowa State, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Miami, Missouri, Nebraska and Vanderbilt.
Committed 🚂 #BoilerUp @crla130 @OLMafia @RedHawkFB @marist_oline @SWiltfong_ @adamgorney @GregSmithRivals @EDGYTIM @AllenTrieu @scottybscout @mikeclarkpreps pic.twitter.com/2PA1zu8qUG
— Rico Schrieber (@rschrieber14) February 5, 2025
Schrieber was in West Lafayette on Jan. 31, the same day that the Purdue men's basketball team hosted Indiana. His commitment came less than a week later.
"I loved the coaching staff," Schrieber told 247Sports. "The campus was great and how close it is to me is great too, but the coaching staff really blew me away. All the coaches made me feel like a priority and at home, especially Coach Odom."
Listed as an offensive tackle, Schrieber attends Marist High School in Chicago. He's listed as a top-700 player in the 2026 recruiting class.
Schrieber's verbal pledge also came just hours after Odom met with reporters to discuss Purdue's 2025 recruiting and transfer portal class. Although Schrieber won't be on campus until the 2026 season, the new coach talked about building a stronger offensive line.
"If we truly want and have the ability to two-spot a practice — in our practice structure, there's two practices going on at one time ... we're a couple of bodies short on the offensive line to be able to pull that off," Odom said Wednesday.
Schrieber is a strong pickup for Purdue's football program and shows that Odom and his staff are putting an emphasis on bringing in skilled offensive linemen.
Schrieber has a link to his junior season high school highlights on his X page, which is linked below.
Junior Season Highlights @crla130 @OLMafia @RedHawkFB @marist_oline @EDGYTIM @AllenTrieu @IamClint_C @On3Recruits @LemmingReport @SWiltfong_ @mikeclarkpreps @scottybscout https://t.co/gcvcFbkEv9
— Rico Schrieber (@rschrieber14) November 22, 2024
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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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