Purdue Football: Position Groups – Offensive Tackle

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SEATTLE, WA - NOVEMBER 15: Defensive end Zach Durfee #5 of the Washington Huskies is guarded by offensive lineman Joey Tanona #79 of the Purdue Boilermakers during a game between the Purdue Boilermakers and Washington Huskies on November 15, 2025, at Husky Stadium in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Henry Rodenburg/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Note: I’m using the same intro for all of the articles in this series. Here are the links to the other articles in this series:​

Quarterback

Tight End

Running Back

The NCAA announced they are moving forward with a rule change that eliminates redshirts and allows five seasons of eligibility as long as you are enrolled by the time you’re 19. This, in part, was a reaction to the influx of European professionals into college basketball last season. It also clears up the eligibility issues regarding junior college recruits after Diego Pavia received an additional year of eligibility through a court injunction. In theory, these new rules will take effect for any player who enrolls on or after January 1, 2027, while players who enroll before next year will get whichever set of rules is most beneficial for them.

To boil that down to its essence, athletes who played as “true freshmen” under the old system will get an extra year of eligibility, and JuCo players who spend 2 years in JuCo get 3 seasons of eligibility instead of 3 seasons to play 2.

You can read the press release from the NCAA here.

Offensive Tackle​

Name	Pos	Recruiting Class	HS/JuCo/Portal	Home State	High School	HS Rating	Juco/Port	JuCo/Port Rating	Seasons at Purdue	Eligibility	Name
Joey Tanona	OT	22	Transfer	IN	Zionsville	4*(93.49)	Notre Dame	3*(88.9)	2	1	Joey Tanona
Jude McCoskey	OT	23	Transfer	IN	Terre Haute South	NR	Indiana St.	NR	1	2	Jude McCoskey
Nuku Mafi	OT	24	Transfer	UT	West	3*(85.8)	Oklahoma St.	3*(86)	0	3	Nuku Mafi
Jatavious Shivers	OT	23	Transfer	GA	Villa Rica	3*(86.4)	South Carolina	3*(86)	0	2	Jatavious Shivers
Makai Saina	OT/OG	24	Transfer	TX	Martin	4*(89.6)	USC	3*(86)	0	3	Makai Saina
Sankeerth Veluri	OT	25	HS	IN	Carmel	3*(79.8)	NA	NA	1	4	Sankeerth Veluri
Terrell Berryhill Jr.	OT	26	HS	MO	East. St. Louis	3*(85.8)	NA	NA	0	5	Terrell Berryhill Jr.
Rico Schriber	OT	26	HS	IL	Marist	3*(84.8)	NA	NA	0	5	Rico Schriber

Eligibility Changes​

Jude McCoskey receives an extra year of eligibility after starting as a true freshman at Indiana State.

Thoughts​

Offensive coordinator Josh Henson brought in new offensive line coach Zach Crabtree to construct a competent offensive line. He walked into a depth chart in desperate need of a talent infusion and hit the portal for a potential starter at right tackle; enter Nuku Mafi, Jatavious Shivers, and Makai Saina.

Mafi and Shivers should fight it out for the starting spot, with Saina as a reserve capable of playing both guard and right tackle. Mafi started 12-games as a redshirt freshman at Oklahoma State last season. He started the first game at right tackle before taking over the left tackle spot for the next 11 games because of an injury to Oklahoma State’s starting left tackle in the opener. The Cowboys were awful last season, but it’s hard to hold it against Mafi, who was thrust into action at left tackle and held up as well as could be expected. Now the 6’4”, 330-pound tackle has a chance to make the right tackle spot his own at Purdue.

His main competition will come from South Carolina transfer Jatavious Shivers. He was a part of the tackle rotation for the Gamecocks last season, appearing in 7 games and logging 30+ snaps at right tackle against Kentucky. At 6’6”, 330, he’s another massive option on the right side of the line. Mafi has the inside track with his experience, but Shivers should play an important role in the offensive line rotation this season.

Makai Saina was the highest-rated player coming out of high school in Purdue’s offensive line portal haul. Coach Crabtree recruited him to USC, but Saina didn’t play a snap in two seasons in Los Angeles, partially due to injuries. He can play tackle but is more suited to play guard at the college level. Still, it’s nice to have options. Kentucky transfer Marc Nave could also factor into the right tackle discussion despite being better suited inside at guard.

The bottom line is the right tackle spot is wide open heading into fall camp. Mafi is the leader in the clubhouse, but there are several guys in the offensive line room looking for a chance to get on the field, and right tackle seems like a solid opportunity. However the competetion shakes out, the Boilermakers should be much improved at right tackle in 2026.

The good news for Coach Crabtree is that Joey Tanona returns at left tackle and was serviceable, despite being a little penalty-prone, in 2025. The bad news is Joey missed spring practice recovering from shoulder surgery. This offensive line, regardless of who ends up starting, needs as many snaps together as possible. That said, if Tanona is healthy, and he should be, he’s the starter at left tackle, no questions asked.

Indiana State transfer Jude McCosky stood in for Tanona at left tackle during spring practice, and from all reports, he was fine. He started 20 games for Indiana State over two seasons at left tackle, and at 6’8”, 320 pounds, he certainly looks like a Big 10 tackle. Purdue desperately needs Tanona to be right, but McCosky is an experienced backup with a year in the program. I don’t want to find out, but it would be interesting to see whether Crabtree went with McCosky at left tackle or if Nuku Mafi moves to the left side, where he started for Oklahoma State last season.

Freshmen Sankeerth Veluri, Terrell Berryhill Jr., and Rico Schriber give coach Crabtree some young guys to develop. Watch out for Berryhill Jr. He’s probably the future at left tackle and has some talent. I liked what I saw on his high school film. Schriber is a massive human being but will have to show he can move his feet if he wants to stick at tackle and not move inside to guard.

The end of the Brohm era, followed by the Walters era, decimated Purdue’s offensive line. It’s going to take more than one season with Barry Odom to fix it, but things seem to be pointing in the right direction at least. We’ll see just how far in the right direction it has progressed this fall.

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