Head coach breakdown: Purdue 2025 RB commitment Ziaire Stevens

Purdue running backs coach Lamar Conard first offered a scholarship to Ziaire Stevens when he was working at Miami (Ohio). And that offer remained on the table when Conard moved on to Purdue, leading to Stevens committing to the Boilermakers in November.

The 5-10, 170-pound Stevens, a product of East High in Akron, Ohio, also had offers from Pitt and Cincinnati, among others. He’s one of two running backs in Purdue’s 2025 class, joining Jaron Thomas.

GoldandBlack.com spoke to Akron (Ohio) East head coach Marques Hayes to learn more about Stevens.

Q: What type of a running back is Purdue getting?

A: I would definitely say they are getting a back who is a student of the game, a hard worker. He is someone who I think encompasses everything that you want in the running back position, from the blocking phase, to the running phase, to the vision, to the pass-catching ability. He encompasses all of those things.

Q: What’s his speed like?

A: From a speed perspective, we had a college showcase last year, a ton of the top colleges around the country came and the young man ran 4.46.

Q: What does he need to improve?

A: The fact that we just moved to a zone scheme last year, so that was his first time running in the zone scheme. But at the same time, the kid flourished in it, ran for a couple 1,000 yards. So, we wanted to make sure we gave him the ability for when he got to the college level that he was already being inundated with some of the schemes that a college will run. They run the inside zone, they will run the wide zone, so we wanted to get him introduced to them because we think one of his best abilities is his vision.

Q: Why do you think he picked Purdue?

A: I think that he had a very special relationship with Coach C. When Coach C was at Miami of Ohio, Ziaire went for just the unofficial visit down there with a few of our other guys. Coach C offered him a scholarship on that unofficial visit and took the time to talk with him. They seemed like they were building a really good relationship. And then when Coach C got the job at Purdue, he still had Ziaire as his top guy. His evaluation didn’t change. Zaire saw that it wasn’t a difference from when the coach was at Miami to when he went to Purdue. His evaluation of him was still the same. I thought that held a lot of weight with Ziaire.

Q: Anything unique about Ziaire off the field?

A: I think the interesting thing is the love that he has for his brothers. He has two other brothers that are super close. They’re all very similar in age. But those guys have almost served as semi-father figures to him. Ziaire doesn’t come from having a lot. But the best thing about him is that he always keeps a smile on his face. He’s always cracking a joke. He’s loving life. So, he’s a young man that once you get to know, you can’t help but love him.

Q: Will he graduate early?

A: Absolutely. He’s on pace for that.

Q: Does he participate in any other sports?

A: He runs track and field.

Q: What type of competition do you play?

A: We are in Division Three. The highest in Ohio is Division One, but we always play division levels ahead of us. Out of our 10 games, I’d say seven opponents are Division Two or above.

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