Curt Neal brings veteran Big Ten muscle to Purdue’s interior
Curt Neal is a senior Purdue defensive lineman whose biggest value is proven Big Ten experience: he logged 21 starts across 41 conference games before arriving in West Lafayette, and in the 2025 season at Illinois he played in 12 games with eight starts, totaling 15 tackles, 1 QB hurry, and 1 pass breakup. He’s a compact, powerful interior body at 6-foot-0 and about 301-310 pounds, built to clog lanes and anchor against the run. If Purdue wants a dependable plugger with a sturdy floor and no learning curve, Neal fits; if it wants a flashy sack artist, that’s not his lane.
