Three weeks away from freshman safety / tackling machine D’Mon Marable’s Purdue debut.
D’Mon Marable – Freshman
Clinton, TN (Clinton High School)
Safety
6’0”, 205
2024 Projection: Redshirt / Deep Depth
D’Mon Marable, out of Clinton, Tennessee (just outside of Knoxville) was an important piece for Ryan Walters in the 2024 class. Physically, he’s ready to go right out of the box at 6’0”, 205 and a desire to hit anything that moves. He led the entire state of Tennessee in tackles as a senior with 174 tackles including 82 solo tackles, 4.5 sacks, and 13.5 tackles for loss. He was named the Tennessee Region 3-5A Co-Defender of the Year while leading his team to the third round of playoffs.
At Purdue, I see him as an ideal fit at strong safety in the Walter’s defense. In many instances, the strong safety is used as an auxiliary linebacker, and who better to have at the spot than a tackling machine. If he transitions well to the college level, Marable has the perfect size and skill set for what Purdue wants. Antonio Stevens, a 5th year senior, is penciled into the starting lineup, with reserve safety Joseph Jefferson backing up both safety spots. As it stands right now, Marable is heading for a potential redshirt, but if anything happens to Stevens, in my mind, the position is wide open, because I like Jefferson better at deep safety.
With a strong camp, it’s possible that Marable is one of those guys that the staff looks at early on in the season, to decide if it’s worth burning his redshirt. In my humble opinion, redshirts are worthless in modern college football anyway. If he’s the best opinion, I expect to see him on the field.