Purdue Football: Quarterbacks This Fall

For the first time, in like a decade, we have a surplus of quarterbacks that are good enough to play. Gone are the days where Hazell was rotating through quarterbacks like he changed his underwear, forcing guys like Danny Etling, now with the Patriots and Austin Appleby to transfer.

Now, Coach Brohm and his staff make a point to get a legit QB in every class. It doesn’t matter where the quarterback is at, Coach Brohm has said, looking for the right quarterback will be a nationwide search to ensure that we have the correct young man.

So, here we are, almost in July, just two months out from the season and again, we do not know who the starting Quarterback is, but we do know that who ever it is, we are in good hands. So, what does the potential depth chart look like?

Starters:

1A - Elijah Sindelar - Caldwell County, Kentucky, Junior

1B - David Blough - Carrollton, Texas, Senior

This is a great situation to be in. Both quarterbacks would start for most teams in the NCAA. Blough is the leader of this team, as he has shown on and off the field. He was playing great football until he broke his ankle last season. Then, when Elijah took over full time, he balled out - with a torn ACL. He lead us to three straight wins and a bowl victory.

Coach Brohm recruited Eli when he was at Western Kentucky and you could tell he really played him in situations last season when he was not playing well and continued to roll with him to make him learn. Early in the season, he was still learning - but once it clicked, it was great, his huge arm was showcased with deep balls in every game. Eli is back yo 100%.

Blough has just continued to work his ass off in every year he has been here. He came back quicker from ankle surgery than expected and was on the field for the spring game. Blough is the quicker of the two and he ran some read option last season, which was nice to see. He is the more accurate of the two with short to middle range, but lacks touch on the deep ball that Eli has. Like I said, either of these two could start on most football teams.

Prediction:

Elijah gets the nod here. He fits the mold of quarterback that Coach Brohm likes, big, tall and more of a pocket passer. I do think there will be situations in which Blough will play, but unless there is injury, I think it is split 75% Eljah, 25% David.

Depth:

3 - Nick Sipe - Villa Park, California, RS Freshman

4 - Aaron Banks - Indianaplis, Indiana, Senior

Sipe probably ends up being 3rd on the depth chart. He has a nice arm but is still learning to be accurate. Banks is a really good walk on. He is also the president of the student body at Purdue. But, with a scholarship invested on Sipe, he will be ahead of him. Banks is no slouch though, he was really good in spring practices that I saw.

Probably a Redshirt:

Jack Plummer - Gilbert, Arizona, Freshman

There is no need to push the future of Purdue into action. Plummer is the real deal. I saw him this spring as he enrolled early. He was a little slow on his reads but other than that he was damn good. He has nice touch and accuracy and he can actually run pretty well. A redshirt year to get strong and learn the playbook will be great for him.

Walk-Ons:

Aidan O’Connell - Lincolnshire, Illinois, RS Freshman

Danny Carollo - Lake Forest, Illinois, Sophomore

Cameron Northern - Jeffersonville, Indiana, RS Freshman

Really this is a pretty good group of walk ons. Most could of went D2 and been starters at that level but chose to be Boilermakers. They were their butts off at practice learning other team’s offenses to be the scout team quarterbacks. I really like all three. Northern is pretty good IMO.

The season is only two months away and I couldn’t be more excited. This is a great group of quarterbacks that we have. Most importantly, they are all healthy and ready to go for the fall. They should lead an exciting offense.