WEST LAFAYETTE — On Friday night, Bakyne Coly will take off a football helmet for the final time.
Five years ago, he’d never even put a helmet on.
That’s part of what appeased the previous Purdue football staff to bring in a 6-foot-7 athlete who’d barely been introduced to football.
A new staff in 2025 saw a lot of the same qualities that intrigued the previous Boilermaker regime. Only now, as Coly is about to play on senior day in Ross-Ade Stadium, is Purdue’s 300-pound starting right tackle starting to hit his stride.
“Being as new to this as he is, there’s going to be mistakes,” Purdue offensive line coach Vance Vice said. “There’s going to be bad days. He’s always shaken it off and attacked the next play or the next day. He’s improved substantially every single week we’ve played this year and he’s taken almost every snap this year.”
A former high school basketball player in Farmington, Michigan, Coly enrolled at Lawrence Tech in 2021, where he was given an opportunity to join the football team despite having never played a snap. Not long after, Coly was in the starting lineup for the Blue Devils.
“It was a great experience and opening to football. After some time playing there, I was able to progress and start there on the O-line my first year,” Coly said. “After some time playing, I felt like there was an opportunity to push this further.”
Coly did, entering the transfer portal and attending a showcase, where he caught the attention of Purdue’s incoming staff, led by then-coach Ryan Walters.
Coly transferred to Purdue and redshirted the 2023 season: Long and athletic, but needed to add weight to play offensive line in the Big Ten. Coly spent a year learning and another year where he played in 11 games, mostly as a jumbo package tight end and on special teams, in 2024.
“When I first got here and saw him, I thought that dude looks like an athlete,” said Purdue left tackle Joey Tanona, who joined the team in the spring of 2024. “And he is. He is super athletic and smart. He’s developed into somebody who is very technically sound. Watching him move is really impressive.”
Vice thought the same thing when he joined the new Boilermaker staff in the winter as offensive line coach.
“I was excited about what he could develop into,” Vice said.
Coly developed into an every down right tackle for a team that needed offensive line help. While Vice was drawn initially to the athletic ability, Coly’s ability to process defensive alignments and relay them to the rest of the offensive front is what makes him stand out.
“He’s a genius,” Purdue right guard Hank Purvis said. “He’s learning football, but for how long he’s played, he is so smart.”
Purvis was hard pressed to find a knock on his offensive line mate, except one.
“He doesn’t eat meat, which is kind of weird,” Purvis said.
Purvis tried to coax Coly with a steak, but to no avail.
As Coly takes the field under the lights at Ross-Ade Stadium for the 2025 season finale, his development is complete. Not because he’s maximized his potential but because his eligibility is exhausted.
The timing coincides with Coly just starting to become the reason two different Purdue coaching staffs were high on him despite still being somewhat of a football novice.
Three of Coly’s four highest-graded games by PFF as a pass blocker have come in Purdue’s last four games. His highest blocking grade of the season? Against No. 1 Ohio State.
“I wish he had more time,” said Purdue offensive coordinator Josh Henson, a former offensive lineman at Oklahoma State. “He really needs more time to reach his potential just because he obviously spent a couple years at a lower level and had not played football up to that point in high school.”
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Bakyne Coly, Purdue football starting offensive lineman, weight, meat
