Purdue football has had some problems lately, and Rico Schrieber wants to be part of the solution.
The Marist offensive tackle is the first player to commit to new Boilermakers coach Barry Odom in the class of 2026.
After reviving the UNLV program during a two-year stint in Las Vegas, Odom was hired to turn around a Boilermakers team that finished 1-11 overall and 0-9 in the Big Ten last season.
Schrieber believes in the vision of Odom and his staff.
“They came into Marist a couple weeks ago,” said Schrieber, who “liked [Odom] a lot” and decided to take a campus visit.
The vibes continued to be good. “They were all great people,” Schrieber said.
It was enough for him to speed up his timeline and commit.
“It was really unexpected,” Schrieber said. “I was probably going to commit [right] before my senior season.”
The 6-7, 315-pounder already has some experience with turnarounds. He helped anchor a line that paved the way for Marist to go from 4-5 in 2023 to 9-2 last season.
Schrieber is a relative newcomer to football. He first started playing as a sixth-grader, then had his seventh-grade year wiped out by COVID before returning to action as eighth-grader.
“I never thought I would be able to play in the Big Ten or even in college,” he said.
But that started to change his eighth-grade year, when he was already 6-6 and starting to go to camps. Now he’s a three-star prospect with the No. 23 composite ranking in his class, according to 247Sports.com.
“It’s just really a dream come true,” he said of committing to the Boilermakers.
And with a new staff coming in with fresh eyes, “I feel I have a chance to play [right away].”
Familiar faces, new roles
Lane, Rolling Meadows and Deerfield have hired new coaches with ties to the programs.
Lane promoted Deshon Conley, who had been assistant head coach and defensive coordinator for the Champions.
Conley succeeds Dedrick Dewalt, who was 21-19 in five years (including a two-game COVID season). He led the Champions to IHSA playoff berths in 2022 and ’23, their first since 2013.
Rolling Meadows has hired alum Devonte Adams to take over for former Bears kicker Robbie Gould, who was 5-5 and qualified for the playoffs in his only season before leaving for St. Viator.
Deerfield alum and longtime assistant Brandon Geuder succeeds Steve Winiecki, who went 150-105 with 15 playoff berths in 26 seasons with the Warriors.
Grunhard back at St. Laurence
Tim Grunhard, a 1986 St. Laurence grad who won a national championship with Notre Dame in 1988 and spent 11 NFL seasons with the Chiefs, has been named the Vikings’ senior executive for football program development.
Grunhard’s role at St. Laurence will be part-time as he continues his radio show in Kansas City. He said in an X post that he plans to be with the Vikings from Wednesday through Saturday two or three games a month.
Among his duties will be working with offensive linemen and the coaching staff, breaking down film and assisting in admission events.