WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Ryan Walters has started building his Purdue Football coaching staff, making his first hires as the head coach of the Boilermakers. Graham Harrell has been named offensive coordinator after spending the 2022 season at West Virginia, while Kevin Kane joins Walters from Illinois to become defensive coordinator.
Harrell has nearly two decades of experience working with and playing for innovative offensive minds like the late Mike Leach, Dana Holgorsen and Clay Helton.
“I played against Graham and always respected his knowledge and the way he approaches the game of football,” said Walters. “When I got into this profession, I really kept an eye on his career. He is very innovative in the passing game and gets creative with the run game. We are looking forward to him leading our offense here at Purdue.”
Kane joins Walters after the duo put together one of the fiercest defenses in the nation over two seasons at Illinois.
“I was very excited about the ability to attract Coach Kane to Purdue University,” said Walters. “I got to see, first-hand, his football IQ and ability to connect and develop young men. His position group steadily improved throughout the two years we were together at Illinois. He has been a coordinator at two previous stops, and he is ready to lead an entire unit in the Big Ten.”
With his coordinators in place, Walters continues to finalize his coaching staff as the new leader of the Boilermakers. Season tickets for the 2023 campaign, Walters’ first season as head coach, are on sale now.
Graham Harrell
Harrell arrived in West Lafayette after spending the 2022 season as the offensive coordinator at West Virginia. His Mountaineer offense averaged 30.6 points per game behind a balanced attack of 227.5 passing yards and 171.5 rushing yards per game. Harrell worked with transfer quarterback JT Daniels to throw for 2,107 yards and 13 touchdowns in his lone season at West Virginia. Offensive lineman Zach Frazier garnered First Team All-Big 12 Conference honors, while receiver Bryce Ford-Wheaton was tabbed second team all-conference.
Harrell joined West Virginia following three seasons at USC. In 2021, USC led the Pac-12 and was No. 17 nationally in passing offense (298.3) and red zone offense (.902), No. 20 in third-down conversion percentage and No. 24 in…
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