Position Group Breakdown: Quarterback

It’s Hudson Card or bust for the Boilermakers. If he stays healthy, he could lead the Big10 in passing yards. If he suffers an injury, things could go south in a hurry. The bench behind him is young and untested, but not untalented.

Meredith, an Arizona State transfer, played his high school ball in Alabama for Powerhouse Hoover, and threw for an absurd number of yards in his final two season. Ryan Browne won a state Championship in Florida and has a year of prep school ball under his belt making him more prepared than most true freshman. Then there is always steady walk-on Kyle Adams who provides a more seasoned option than the two freshmen.

Purdue might have an answer on the bench, but I’d rather not find out.

Starter

Hudson Card - #1 - R-Jr. - 6’2”, 210

Card, a transfer from the Texas Longhorns, had a laundry list of accolades coming out of Powerhouse 6A Lake Travis High School in Austin. The high school All-American, two time Texas All-State quarterback and Under Armour All-American started his career with the home town Longhorns. You would think a home grown, consensus 4*, top 100 recruit would be immune to the politics of Longhorn football, but you’d be wrong.

He won the Longhorn starting job out of camp in 2021, and threw for 224 yards and 2 touchdowns on 14/21 passes in the season opener against Louisiana, in a 38-18 win. He started the next game against Arkansas, but got pulled after going 8 of 15 for 61 yards, and replaced by Casey Thompson. Texas lost the game 21 to 40 and Card inexplicably lost the starting job to Thompson. The only other notable playing time he received was in early relief of Thompson in a loss against Iowa State that saw him go 14/23 for 101 yards and a touchdown in a 30-7 loss. Texas was pure booty in 2021.

In 2022 Quinn Ewers returned to Austin after fleecing the Buckeyes out of N.I.L, money in 2021, and the writing was on the wall. No matter how Card played in camp, the job belonged to the Golden Boy Ewers. You don’t pay (I mean uhh, the boosters don’t pay for his image and likeness) as much as Texas paid Ewers without starting him. I remember the rumors coming out of Longhorn camp that Card looked like the better of the two quarterbacks, but Ewers inevitably won the job.

That didn’t last too long. Alabama broke Ewers right before half-time and Card was called upon to carry the load in the second game of the season. He finished the game 14/22 for 158 yards. It looked like he was on his way to picking up a big win in relief before Bama sniped the Longhorns in the last 10 seconds with a game winning 33 yard field goal.

Card would go on to start the next 3 games while Ewers recovered, and played well. He led the Longhorns to a 41-20 win over UTSA, completing 15/23 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown. He followed that up with an overtime loss to Texas Tech, going 20-30 for 277 yards, 2 touchdowns, and an interception. He bounced back from the loss the next week, playing the best game of his career against West Virginia. He completed 21 out of 27 passes for 303 yards and 3 touchdowns. Ewers returned after that and Card was back on the bench. He made one more appearance for The Horns, completing a pass against Kansas for 5 yards.

Now the Texas native is getting a fresh start at Purdue. It must be a relief to be out of the pressure cooker/political snake pit in Austin. He’ll have every opportunity to reach his potential in West Lafayette, and so far, things sound like they’re going about as well as possible. The coaches have raved about his talent, and his teammates voted him captain at the end of fall camp.

The 6’3”, 210 pound quarterback should be considered a true dual threat in this offense. He’s a high level athlete capable of making plays with his legs when the need arises. He mainly scrambles to throw, but will also pick up easy yards on the ground if they’re available. He throws an accurate, catchable ball, and while he doesn’t have elite arm strength, he has enough juice to put the ball where he needs to go.

If Purdue makes a bowl game this season, it’s because Hudson Card stayed healthy and played at a high level all season. I expect that to happen (barring injury of course).

Back Up

Bennett Meredith - #18 - R-Fr. - 6’3”, 210

At first I thought Meredith was a weird pick up. If I remember correctly, Brady Allen and Michael Alaimo were both still on the roster when Meredith announced he was transferring to Purdue from Arizona State. Things have changed. Allen is playing for Louisville, Alaimo is playing for Kent State, and Meredith is the back-up quarterback for Purdue.

The former 3* quarterback out of Alabama Powerhouse, Hoover High School has yet to take a snap on the collegiate level after redshirting last season at Arizona State, but if his high school career is any indication, he’s not afraid to sling it around the yard. After taking over the starting job as a junior at Hoover, he threw for 5,318 yards, completing 387-of-604 attempts, and tossing 47 touchdowns in 20 regular season games as a starter. He led Hoover to an overall record of 23-3, including two appearances in Alabama 7A State Semi-Final game.

Considered a pocket passer, Meredith is athletic enough to extend plays with his leg and isn’t afraid to put a little extra mustard on the ball in order to fit it into a tight window. He’s a solid but unproven prospect and I look forward to his time as Purdue’s victory cigar over the next two seasons.

The Freshman

Ryan Browne - #15 - Fr. - 6’4”, 215

Browne isn’t your typical true freshman. A late bloomer in high school, he didn’t win the starting job until his senior season. He made the most of his year starting for Venice High School in Florida, throwing for 2,636 yards and 31 touchdowns to only 7 interceptions. He also rushed for 534 yards and 8 touchdowns. After an MVP performance in Venice’s State Championship victory, he was named 1st team All-State, Florida’s 8A Player of the Year, and was runner up for Mr. Football. That’s sort of a big deal in Florida.

It’s shocking that a decent ACC school didn’t toss a scholarship offer his direction, but after not getting any offers of interest, he decided to spend a year in a New York prep school. Jeff Brohm was desperate to sign a quarterback in the 2023 class for some reason, and stumbled upon Browne. The former head coach did Purdue a solid on the way out the door, because Browne has an extremely high ceiling. It may take him a minute, because he’s still raw and has limited, yet impressive, in game experience, but if/when the college game slows down for him, he has Big10 starting talent.

The Rest

Kyle Adams - #19 - R-Jr. - 6’1”, 180

Every team needs a Kyle Adams on their team. The West Lafayette High school legend is as steady as they come. After a two year stint at James Madison, the former 3A Indiana All-State player returned home and walked-on at Purdue. Physically, he’s not going to wow you, but he’s going to show up to work every day, do the right things, and take care of business. If something happened to Card against Fresno State, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Adams come off the bench instead of Meredith, despite their current spots on the depth chart.

Christian Gelov - #17 - R-Jr. - 6’0”, 175

Gelov, a TCU transfer, rounds out the quarterbacks. The Noblesville native starred at Guerin Catholic before making his way to the DFW to walk-on with the Horned Frogs. After a year in Dallas, he headed back home to follow in his fathers footsteps. Ted played for Purdue from 1982-86. He’s yet to appear in a game, and I doubt he’ll make a big impact on the field in his career, but something tells me aerospace engineering major will do just fine after his time on the gridiron has concluded.