Jameson Purcell already had some familiarity with Indiana football before the Hoosiers started recruiting him.
“Both of my parents went there,” the Maine South quarterback said. “I have a lot of cousins and relatives that went there. Everyone who has gone there has loved it.”
Throw in the fact that Indiana was one of the feel-good stories of last fall — making the College Football Playoff in coach Curt Cignetti’s debut season — and the stars were aligned for Purcell to be one of the first local players in the 2027 recruiting cycle to commit.
Purcell, who had a breakout season of his own last season for the Hawks, announced his decision on Monday. The 6-1, 193-pound left-hander is a consensus three-star prospect who is No. 10 in Illinois in the 247Sports composite rankings. He’s also the No. 20 quarterback nationally in his class.
Purcell is just the second player in the state’s top 10 for 2027 to commit, and he’s also the second quarterback. Carmel’s Trae Taylor, the No. 3 player in Illinois and No. 4 QB nationally, picked Nebraska.
That’s no coincidence, according to Purcell and national recruiting analyst Clint Cosgrove.
“My timeline was [to commit] before my season starts and that really ramps up, so I can really just focus on the season,” Purcell said. “Every year quarterbacks commit earlier and earlier.”
That’s partly because of colleges’ increasing reliance on the transfer portal and partly a function of most schools only taking one quarterback per cycle.
“You can’t wait unless you’re one of the Arch Mannings or something like that,” Cosgrove said, referring to the Texas quarterback who’s the latest star from the noted QB dynasty. “If you have an offer and [it’s from] a place you like, it’s a no-brainer [to commit early].”
Purcell completed 70% of his passes last season for 2,572 yards and 30 touchdowns with seven interceptions. He helped the Hawks go 8-3 and reach the Class 8A quarterfinals before losing to eventual champ Loyola.
He’s also the second local quarterback to choose the Hoosiers in recent months. Naperville North’s Jacob Bell, who originally committed to Ball State, flipped to Indiana at the end of the 2025 cycle. Coincidentally, Purcell and Bell squared off in the first round of the playoffs, with both putting up big numbers before Maine South prevailed 49-42.
“He’s a great guy,” Purcell said of Bell. “I know a couple of kids who committed to Indiana from Illinois. [They] helped me a lot [during the process].”
Cosgrove expects Purcell to make a smooth transition at Indiana.
“I thought it was a good fit for his style of play,” Cosgrove said. “He’s not a guy who I would consider a true dual-threat, [but] he’s a guy who can do that situationally. … It fits with Cignetti’s kind of run-and-gun, get the ball out, make plays [style].”
Purcell goes into his junior season not only with his college decision out of the way, but as Maine South’s starter — a job he didn’t take over till Week 4 last fall.
“This year, being the guy from Day 1, [it] comes with more leadership and taking a bigger role of … leading my team,” he said.
That he’s leading one of the state’s dominant programs is pretty much his destiny.
“My dad used to coach, he played here, too,” Purcell said. “We’ve been around the program since I was born. I was the ball boy for a super long time. … Playing in the youth [program], we saw it as to play for Maine South was like a dream. … We looked up to them, we wanted to be Maine South Hawks.”
He also wanted to be an Indiana Hoosier, and now has checked off that box as well.