Ryan Kerrigan and Curtis Painter Inducted into Indiana Football Hall of Fame

Over the weekend in West Lafayette two former Purdue Boilermakers received the honest honor anyone can receive. They were inducted into a hall of fame. This time it was the Indiana Football Hall of Fame and the Boilermakers were Curtis Painter and Ryan Kerrigan. T

Painter of course was a prolific passing during his time at Purdue from 2005-2008. Painter played in 46 games at Purdue and racked up an impressive stat line. He completed 987 passes over this time with a 59.9 percent completion rate. He threw for 11,163 yards and 67 touchdowns. Unfortunately for Painter he never quite reached what many thought of as his potential to carry Purdue team. Remember the Heisman campaign of “Painting a Masterpiece”? No matter the grief that Painter gets from the fans I’ll always remember his time at Purdue fondly as he was one of the QBs I was able to see during my time as a student.

After his time in college he was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts and was put in the unenviably position of trying to fill in for Peyton Manning and that’s not an easy job no matter who you are. He didn’t find much success in the NFL but did have some of the best hair you’ll see on a QB this side of the 1970s.

Ryan Kerrigan played at Purdue from 2007-2010 and had one of the most dominant senior seasons I can remember seeing for a defensive player have. In his senior year alone he had 70 tackles and 12.5 sacks to go along with 5 forced fumbles. It’s shocking to think that statistically his junior season was better. He had 13 sacks and 7 forced fumbles and added 66 total tackles. During that standout 2009 season Ryan Kerrigan single-handedly dismantled a very good Ohio State team on the way to Purdue defeating #7 Ohio State 26-18. Kerrigan had three sacks, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery. It was an absolute masterclass and a reminder of why his nickname was Superman. The guy could do it all.

After dominating at Purdue Kerrigan was drafted by the (now) Commanders. He played 10 seasons with Washington before playing his final season with the rival Philadelphia Eagles. He made the Pro Bowl four times. He ended his career with 95.5 sacks.

Kudos to both of these men on their great careers and great achievements. If you’d like to watch the interviews conducted by the fantastic Kelly Hallinan I’ve embedded them below.