20 days remaining until Winston Berglund takes the field at linebacker.
Winston Berglund
Redshirt Freshman
Carmel, Indiana (Carmel High School)
Linebacker
6’2”, 235
2024 Projection: Depth at Linebacker
Coming out of Carmel, Berglund blew up late in the recruiting process. That worked well for the Boilermakers, because Coach Walters and crew got a late start in recruiting. Luckily, Winston’s deep ties to the Purdue program steered him towards the Boilermakers and away from Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Michigan, and Missouri offers. Basically, any team looking for a safety in April of 2022 were desperately trying to get Winston on the phone.
It’s not hard to see why he was such a hot commodity. He finished his senior season with 91 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 6 pass break-ups, 2 defensive touchdowns, 2 interceptions, 2 fumble recovery, and a blocked punt. That’s some serious work for a guy that shared the Carmel defense with several high major prospects.
Since arriving on campus, Berglund has transformed from a 6’2”, 200-pound true freshman to a beastly 6’2”, 235-pound redshirt freshman. The new strength and nutrition staff is doing an amazing job. Director of Football Strength and Conditioning Kiero Small and hist crew, in tandem with Laurn Link (Assistant Athletics Director – Sports Nutrition) and Ellen Rioe (Assistant Director – Sports Nutrition) need a shout out for this transformation, and honestly, the rest of the roster is looking a little bigger and stronger than it has over the last few seasons.
The days of Purdue being physically manhandled are dwindling and it won’t be long until you see the Boilermakers doing some physical domination of their own. Berglund should be a part of that transition. He’ll be in the mix at linebacker, especially when the Boilermakers need to matchup against receiving threat at tight end. If things go well, Winston won’t put up huge numbers this season but keep this name in the back of your brain.
It wouldn’t surprise me at all if we’re talking about Berglund as a break-out star next season.