Drake Carlson is a 6'3", 302-pound defensive lineman from Nashville, Tennessee, who attended Father Ryan High School. A consensus three-star recruit, he was named to the 2022 Division II-AAA All-Region team and competed in the 2022 USMC East-West All-Star Game. Carlson redshirted his freshman year in 2023. As a redshirt freshman in 2024, he appeared in nine games, recording four tackles and 0.5 tackles-for-loss, including two tackles against Wisconsin and Penn State. In 2025, he appeared in all 12 games primarily on special teams. Carlson has been named Academic All-Big Ten twice and is a junior majoring in finance.

Purdue2023 — present