Drew attempts to read the quarterback tea leaves coming out of Spring practice.
If you’re of a certain age and suffered from insomnia, you might be familiar with a woman named Miss. Cleo (R.I.P.). She spoke with a thick Jamaican accent (despite being from Los Angeles) and tried to convince folks she had the powers of divination and would use them to your benefit for a nominal per-minute fee (I believe PT Barnum had some insight into their customer base). I could have used Miss Cleo’s insight while writing this article. Before you think I’m the sucker I alluded to above, I know she would be guessing on the future of the quarterback position at Purdue. The thing is, I’m doing the same thing.
It was pretty clear reading between press conference lines that the coaching staff wasn’t thrilled with the quarterback position coming out of spring practice. Coach Odom didn’t exactly give anyone a ringing endorsement. He said some nice things to say about Bennett Meredith, but spring practice is better suited for a quarterback with his pocket passing skill set. Other than that, other guys had some moments, but he was nothing if not non-committal. At one point, he said he “thought his quarterback was already on the roster.” A few days after that quote, he brought back former Purdue quarterback Ryan Browne after his brief dalliance with North Carolina and Bill Belichick.
Maybe he meant, “My quarterback was formerly on the roster.”
Purdue has all the skills for a top-notch starting quarterback on the roster. Unfortunately, those skills are spread across multiple players, and Purdue scientists are still a couple years away from being able to splice players together. Washington State transfer red-shirt freshman Chuba Evans has a live arm and decent athletic ability, but hasn’t played a football game since his junior year of high school. It showed in the spring. He can make all the throws, but which team catches those throws is a coin toss.
Malachi Singleton, a 4* recruit coming out of high school, was my favorite to eventually win the job in fall camp before Browne reentered the mix. He played well against Ole Miss last season, completing 11/14 passes for 207 yards and a touchdown, and scored the game-winning touchdown for Arkansas over Tennessee in a relief appearance. I was expecting more Singleton talk from the coaching staff, but it never felt like he made a move for the job. My hope is that as more contact is allowed, his ability to run and make plays outside the offense, two things that don’t happen much in spring football, wins the day.
Bennett Meredith sounds like he was the most even-keeled quarterback this spring, but that’s sort of his deal. He gets the ball out quick and tries to let his playmakers make the plays. In theory, that might fit what I assume will be a risk-averse Purdue offense next season, but I’m not sure the receivers and backs are good enough for a game manager. Who knows, maybe they are?
That brings me to Ryan Browne. He might be the closest thing Purdue has to a well-rounded quarterback, but that’s not a high bar. We all saw what Browne did against Illinois last season. It looked like he had some juice, but he didn’t follow it up with anything of note. Some of that is on the previous coaching staff, but if you go back and look at the film, he got away with a few passes that weren’t picked off because I assume the defender was shocked that he attempted the pass. He was significantly better outside the pocket than inside. When he managed to get to the edge, his athletic ability put the defense in a bind. I can see the appeal, but let’s be real. He went to UNC with every intention of winning the starting job, and based on the fact that he’s back at Purdue, that didn’t go well. I’m glad he’s back, but he’s far from a chiseled-in-stone starter.
This is all to say that any of Purdue’s four options at quarterback could win the job. Not only am I unsure of the starter, but I have no idea how any of the depth chart shakes out. It’s often said in football circles that “if you have two quarterbacks, you don’t have one.”
Purdue has four quarterbacks at the moment.
Someone needs to step up and establish themselves as the “one” sooner rather than later. Everything on offense begins and ends with the quarterback, and I have no idea who will start at quarterback for the Boilermakers next season. There’s some talent, but very little experience. I think Singleton and Browne have the best shot because they make plays with their legs, but that’s pure speculation on my part.
I could seriously use Miss Cleo right now.