Purdue Football: Offseason Questions - Brady Allen

Brady Allen was the gem of Purdue’s 2022 recruiting class. Standing 6’6”, 210 (I haven’t personally weighed him, I apologize if this is off), Allen was a 4* recruit, and considered the 131 best overall player, and the 9th best quarterback in the nation coming out of Gibson Southern.

Those accolades were hard won by Allen, whose sterling high school career makes my shoulder ache. In my last article, I mentioned that fellow 4* Boilermaker quarterback Michael Alimo was under utilized in a run first high school offense. Brady Allen had no such issue. He hit the ground running as a freshman in 2018-2019 and kept slinging the ball all over the yard for four incredible high school seasons, in an offense perfectly structured to feature his skill set.

High School

* Stats courtesy of MaxPreps

Needless to say (but I’ll say it anyway), Gibson Southern didn’t shy away from throwing the ball with Brady Allen under center (or more accurately, behind center, as they ran shotgun almost exclusively). That faith was paid off in the 2021-22 season, when Allen led the Titans to a 43-35 win over Brebeuf to win the 3A state championship game, the first in Gibson Southern history.

Allen led a furious comeback after being down by 19 in the second quarter. The Titans put up 35 of the next 41 points. He finished the game 28-50 for 398 yards and 5 touchdowns (he also threw and uncharacteristic 3 INTs, but we don’t talk about that). The Titans primary receiver, Rory Heltsley (U of Indy), hauled in 13 receptions for 218 yards, both 3A championship game records.

Brady’s high school career perfectly dovetails with his college choice. He played in a wide open, shotgun offense in high school, and he’ll play for a wide open, shotgun offense in college. Last season, Aidan O’Connell attempted 40-50 passes 3 times and 50-60 passes 3 times. That’s a crazy number of attempts, but Allen won’t be out of his element standing back in the pocket and letting it fly. Everything about his high school career fits with what Purdue wants to do on offense.

As a Recruit

Allen was a priority for Purdue, for obvious reasons, and secured his services on July 15, of 2020. He held offers from Cincinnati, Indiana, Kansas, and Rutgers, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, and would have certainly garnered more interest if he hadn’t shut his recruiting down after his Purdue commitment.

Physically, he has everything you’re looking for in a Purdue quarterback. He’s big, 6’5”, 210 and is athletic enough to break the pocket and make throws on the run. He has elite arm strength and shows a surprising ability to change speed and trajectories of his throws. If he needs to gun the ball into a tight window, he can, but he’s also capable of lofting it over the top and throwing a catchable ball to a running back out of the backfield.

The only thing missing from Allen’s skill set is a legit running threat. You saw more of that as a Senior when he rushed for 266 yards on 77 carries (sacks are considered carries I’m assuming) and 6 touchdowns. He won’t be confused for a duel threat quarterback, but he’s fairly mobile inside the pocket. This shouldn’t be an issue at Purdue, because Aidan O’Connell may be the least mobile quarterback in America, and he’s doing just fine in West Lafayette. It may, however, have kept him out of the top 100, in terms of overall rating, but honestly, that’s a vanity thing. The difference between most guys outside the top 50 comes down to evaluator preference.

Allen is a legit 4* talent.

2022-2023 Season

Allen walks into a perfect situation at Purdue. Unless you’re an ELITE high school quarterback from a big high school, it’s tough for a freshman quarterback to step in and lead a P5 team. The transition from high school to college in the classroom is tough enough, but then throw in the demands of a college football player, and things can go off the rails.

He won’t have to worry about seeing the field in 2022-2023 unless...Purdue things happen...which isn’t totally out of the question based on past history (and I now regret typing this). He can focus on getting things figured out off the field, developing a rapport with receivers, working on fundamentals, and supporting O’Connell as he looks to break the world record for passes attempted in a season.

Circle 2023-2024 for Mr. Allen. If things go according to plan, it will be at least a 2 way race between Allen and Alimo for the starting job, and it could be a 3 way race with ultra-talented Louisiana quarterback Ricky Collins currently committed to the Boilermakers (no reason to think he won’t stay committed). If O’Connell does what I think he’s going to do this season, Purdue’s starting quarterback spot could be one of the hottest openings in college football next offseason, and Allen has all the tools to fill it.