“I feel the responsibility now for Purdue University as a football program to get back into the area that we’re competing and winning championships.” It was a mighty task for Barry Odom even to think that Purdue could compete for championships. But that’s what he was being brought for, after having turned UNLV around and elevated Arkansas’s defense as their defensive coordinator. Sure, the talent and experience are there with the head coach, but the job is filled with massive roadblocks.

One such roadblock to tackle is injuries in the team, and Odom has faced significant issues with them ever since he took over. Take, for example, Malachi Thomas, who came from Virginia Tech and had suffered an undisclosed injury that didn’t allow him to feature in the spring games. Then there was George Burhenn, who suffered a broken foot in the 2024 season and was recovering from that. But now?

According to Nathan Baird of Indystar.com, the injury concerns might be fading away as he relayed Barry Odom’s message from the Big 10 Media Days. “Everybody’s healthy. Basically, everybody’s healthy. Freshman John won’t be participating at the start of preseason camp, but everybody else will. That includes Malachi Thomas, the running back transfer who missed all spring, and it includes George Burhenn.” And for Burhenn, the coming back is more optimistic now, since he will be available for practice starting from Thursday as the fall camp opens.

“What looked like a potentially catastrophic leg injury during spring camp, and I was a little surprised to say he would be back for the start of the regular season now. Barry Odom says he’s among those guys who’re going to be ready to practice, at least in some capacity, when camp opens on Thursday,” said Nathan Baird. But what about other injuries?

Apart from Malachi Thomas and George Burhenn, Jalen St. John seems to be out for now and isn’t expected to return anytime soon. Then there is linebacker Mani Powell, who is also expected to be out for a long time. Apart from these players, no major injury concerns have been reported, and it seems Purdue is finally on to generating a clean bill of health. Moving on, what are the expectations for the 2025 season from Odom?

Barry Odom lays out plans for the 2025 season

Odom, ever since his arrival, has faced major challenges, including high roster attrition and the loss of key players like tight end Max Klare. Moreover, the 2025 schedule is also not making the job easy for him with tougher games stacked. It would be a challenge enough to build after a 4-win season, and that too, in facing opponents like Indiana, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Oregon. But despite that, Odom has a plan.

“We’re gonna win, we’re gonna win, and we’re gonna win big. We need to play winning football… chasing the opportunity to compete for a championship, and then we’ve got to be in the postseason. We’re gonna have to galvanize the group and get ready to go play winning football,” echoed Odom. In order to bring that winning mentality, Odom has also brought in some changes.

The head coach has brought in a whopping 55 players from the transfer portal to address attrition issues and has expressed a desire to elevate high school recruiting. Apart from that, his hirings, which include Josh Henson as offensive coordinator and Mike Scherer as defensive coordinator, are a welcome change. Although it will take some time for the results to show, they will come with Odom’s guidance for sure.

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