Purdue lands commitment from portal linebacker

Purdue added a big piece to its 2025 defense by landing a commitment today from portal linebacker Sanders Ellis.

The Tennessee State transfer, who visited Purdue last Friday, tabbed the Boilermakers over Tennessee, Auburn and Virginia Tech.

He initially entered the portal in December before withdrawing and returning to Tennessee State. Now he’s a Boilermaker, joining a linebacking unit that is led by Mani Powell, Alex Sanford, Winston Berglund and Hudson Miller.

The 6-2, 225-pound Ellis, who has three years of eligibility, posted 86 tackles, 15.5 TFLs and 2 pass deflections for the FCS Tigers in 2024 as a true freshman playing for Eddie George, who recently took the Bowling Green job.

Ellis was a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award, which recognizes the top freshman at the FCS level. He was also named the 2024 Big South-OVC Football Association defensive freshman of the year. 

Ellis was listed as an EDGE coming out of high school in Nashville but played inside linebacker at Tennessee State.

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