Purdue Football: Ranking the Quarterbacks of this Decade (GULPS)

So, I guess I am going to do this thing where I rank the top 10 players from each position group for the decade. Travis did do 43 games or whatever the pathetic number was that we won in the last ten years.

Whatever it was, hold my beer. Because Quarterback during the 2010’s was, well, less than spectacular.

I am not here to give stats.

I am not here to give anything but my opinion on why I have this guy at that slot. Feel free to disagree, as always in the comments.

But get your favorite beverage ready, because this list from the 2010’s, almost could take away our title as the “Cradle of Quarterbacks”. Only a couple did the cradle right and the rest.... WELLL.

So, here it goes.

1. David Blough - David Blough is the winningnest quarterback of the 2010’s on this list. He has the most yards, he has the most touchdowns, he stuck it out for 5 years. He competed when Jeff Brohm became the head coach and he was the ultimate leader. He is one of TWO Quarterbacks on this list to actually throw over 2,000 yards. Which is literally less than 200 yards per game, even if you don’t go to an additional bowl game. He is the only QB on this list that is in the NFL playing quarterback (Etling is like a slot receiver now). Ultimately choosing #1 was easy, so was #2 and #3. It is 4-11 where it got hard.
2. Elijah Sindelar - Elijah put his body on the line for us. He played 3 games on a torn ACL his RS Sophomore season and lead us to a bowl victory with a historical passing performance. He got hurt early in 2018 - where David Blough took over and thrived. Then in 2019 he was leading the nation in passing yards, until a broken collar bone happened. He is the only other quarterback on this list who has passed for over 2,000 yards. Elijah opted out of a 6th year to be an engineer for Chrsyler. No one can blame him for being smart and taking care of himself first.
3. Robert Marve - The U transfer gave us some highlights - like upsetting Ohio State in overtime - where I taunted Ohio State Fans who yelled “Holy Buckeye” THE ENTIRE GAME. And some low lights as well. He helped lead us to the Heart of Dallas Bowl Game, where we were blown out, before the dark ages occurred. Marve was another guy who played on a torn ACL. Hat tip to him, as he could move a bit, but was still effective after the ACLS where he was forced to change his style of play.
4. Caleb Terbush - Terbush was the full time starter in 2011 after being ruled ineligible the previous year. Yes a guy who couldn’t keep up with his grades was our 4th best QB of the decade. He did lead us to a bowl game, it was the Little Caesar's bowl - but we can;t really be picky, just be happy we won a bowl game this decade. The following season, he and Robert Marve played in a 2 QB system.
5. Danny Etling - I truly believe that Etling got the short end of the Hazell Era. He was a 4* QB and was extremely talented. It was shown when he went to LSU and did very well in their system. As a freshman, he was thrown to the wolves, having an offensive line that couldn’t block West Lafayette High School’s defensive line probably. He stuck it out for 2 years before leaving, especially after he was yanked as the starter during his 2nd year at the helm.
6. Austin Appleby - I mean, I guess? Appleby overthrew Etling as the starter in 2014. Before he was overthrown as the starter by David Blough the following season. He would transfer to Florida where he would start 9 games as a grad transfer.
7. Aidan O’Connell - AOC proved he can be a valuable quarterback at Purdue this season. During the summer, he was slated as the 4th String QB. The walk-on was forced into action after injuries to Sindelar, Plummer and Nick Sipe retiring. AOC came in and did a nice job, completing over 63% and leading is to a couple of wins - as well as nearly beating IU to keep the bucket.
8. Jack Plummer - AOC and Plummer are essentially the same ranking. I have AOC above him, mostly do to his situation and the performances he had being thrown into it. Plummer did a nice job after being forced into action in the middle of the TCU game. Plummer was less accurate than AOC but had a tougher schedule.
9. Rob Henry - Henry was eventually moved to safety. He was recruited as an athlete by Hope. I believe he played quarterback, running back. wide receiver and then safety before leaving Purdue. In 2010 He was our leading passer with just over 900 yards on an offense that ranked 105th in the nation.
10. Joe Schopper - The Punter was nearly top 5. Schopper was 2-2 passing for 44 yards, giving him a 100% completion percentage, which was #1 in the nation in 2017. The Dual Threat Quarterback/Punter Hybrid rushed for 13 yards that same year, all while averaging 40.5 yards per punt.
11. Sean Robinson - He was coverted to linebacker after throwing under 50% completion % and having a 2 TD to 6 Interception ratio. Need I say more.

So, there you have it. Maybe my most depressing list I have ever made. I have strong belief that Jeff Brohm will make the 2020’s a far better decade and at the end of 2029, I will havea list with more than one NFL Quarterback on it.

Boiler Up!