Could Purdue ride one QB going forward?; injury updates; notebook

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Purdue’s coaching staff already has made the decision on who will start at quarterback Saturday against Nebraska.

Per usual, Jeff Brohm isn’t saying anything publicly, but it sounds like this week could signal a change in approach at the position. Brohm has played Elijah Sindelar and David Blough at points in each of the first seven games, but he could be closer to a one-QB approach moving forward.

“If that person (who starts) does well, we’re fine with riding that out,” Brohm said Monday during his weekly press conference. “But the other guy has got to be ready. We’re not going to hand over the position to anybody quite yet. We want to make sure they earn it.”

Sindelar has started four games, Blough three. Blough hasn’t started since Minnesota on Oct. 7, a game that Sindelar finished by leading Purdue on a game-winning drive. Last week at Rutgers, Blough came in to finish the game and nearly duplicated the feat, throwing a touchdown in the final 30 seconds to give Purdue a chance for a game-tying two-point conversion. But Blough’s pass on that play went incomplete.

Brohm said Monday he thought Anthony Mahoungou, Blough’s first read on the play, was open in the flat for the conversion, but Blough didn’t pull the trigger.

Blough was 8-of-15 passing for 57 yards against Rutgers. Sindelar completed 15-of-29 passes for 138 yards and threw two interceptions on plays down the field that Brohm said after the game were questionable decisions on Sindelar’s part.

Neither QB, it seems, has seized control of the position.

On the season, Blough has a higher completion percentage (67-53), more touchdown passes (8-6) and fewer interceptions (4-5). Sindelar has more completions (78-70) on 43 more passes and 162 more yards. Blough also has been sacked more than Sindelar on the season, though both QBs avoided them Saturday against a defense that was one of the worst in the Big Ten in registering them.

So, perhaps, the choice going forward comes down to which QB will run the ball better.

“We’ve got to be smart and understand what we’re seeing when things don’t work. As a quarterback, you have to find a way to create and try to give us more of a chance than just throwing it into coverage,” Brohm said. “In the course of the game for any quarterback, I tell them two to five times throughout the entire game on a pass play you’re going to have to run the ball. It’s not going to be open, you’re going to get pressure, you’re going to step up and it’s there not, I need you to run and get yards. We haven’t been seeing that as much as I would like.”

Brohm says the tactic is especially important — and rewarding, generally — against defenses that play man coverage. That’s been a trend against Purdue of late, partly because the Boilermakers’ receivers have struggled against it, and it’s one Brohm expects will continue because it’s worked.

With defensive players’ backs turned in coverage in man, it can leave space open for QBs to make plays with their feet.

He saw it happen against Michigan and Minnesota, the latter of which resulted in the Gophers pulling back on its man coverage early in the game.

Against the Wolverines, Blough had an 11-yard run on the second play of the game, and Sindelar had a 13-yard run after rolling right, seeing space and taking off. Sindelar’s run came on Purdue’s only touchdown drive against Michigan.

On one drive against Minnesota, Blough ran for 18 yards on an empty look when the space opened up and picked up another 16 yards after rolling right to move the ball into the red zone. (The drive ended without points when Blough threw an interception in the end zone.) In the second quarter, Sindelar couldn’t find any receivers open on a second down, so he tucked the ball and picked up four yards on a rush.

“I don’t think Elijah is a natural runner. To be honest with you, he’s a quarterback that if you had tremendous talent around him, I think he would pick you apart. The fact that he’s got to be a little more creative in his play and make sure he’s a little more active, that’s not probably his game, but we’ve got to get it where it’s his game and we have to make sure he’s doing that a little bit more,” Brohm said. “David is more of a scrambler and a runner and kind of creates and has a little more moxie. So that comes a little more natural to him, but it’s not easy. You want to go back there and you want to try to make the play work. For a quarterback, your mindset, unless you’re thinking of it, it’s to complete the ball and find a way to get it in there. Sometimes you’re stubborn with it, and you’ve got to make sure that, hey, some plays are going to be covered. Some guys are going to run the wrong routes. Some guys are going to fall. You’ve got to find a way to get some yards with your feet. It’s just something you’ve got to keep working on with them.”

Purdue is last in the Big Ten during conference play in scoring offense (15.5 pg) and has only one touchdown in the last two games. That does not make Brohm, who calls the plays on offense, happy.

The unit has been handicapped, at times, by an up-and-down offensive line and receiving corps. Purdue had multiple drops Saturday and couldn't get enough separation against Rutgers' man coverage to create big plays in the passing game.

Fixing the issues is an ongoing process, Brohm said.

Purdue converted only 3-of-15 third downs against Rutgers, and they weren't all third-and-long situations. Even the short yardage attempts were tough to convert.

"We have not been able to produce in the passing game. That’s just the fact of it. We have not been able to find a way to get that done," Brohm said. "I think lately, it’s probably gotten a little bit worse. People kind of are catching on to maybe what our strengths are and what our weaknesses are and are exposing us a little bit. We’ve got to find a way to answer the bell a little bit and regroup and figure out a way to move the chains on third down.

"We’ve got to make plays."

But who to target to make plays in key situations? That's part of the issue for Brohm: He hasn't found consistent playmakers.

Entering the season, the running backs and tight ends seemed to be the biggest potential weapons, and they've shown up at points. The back especially were good against the Scarlet Knights as D.J. Knox, Richie Worship and Markell Jones rushed for 203 yards. Worship averaged 10.2 yards per carry, Knox 6.5 and Jones 5.2. In the second half, too, Purdue seemed to target those backs more in the passing game. Those three combined for five catches for 37 yards.

On the season, that group averages 5.1 yards per carry.

“If you look at us, we haven’t been able to produce a lot of passing plays up the field, other than some tricks. So we’ve got to be smart with what we’re doing. I do think this past game, our runners ran hard,” Brohm said. “Our offensive line did a good job run blocking, for the most part, and we were able to gain some success with that. I think we’ve got to just make sure we’re smart and we’re making sure that the guys who are producing for us are getting the most touches.”

Not for the first time this season, Brohm said again Monday Purdue could utilize its junior college receivers Isaac Zico and Terry Wright more. Against Rutgers, Wright didn’t play at all in the first half before catching four balls in the second half. Zico had a catch on a short pass but didn’t gain much after it. For those players to get more snaps, it’d likely mean fewer from starters Gregory Phillips (Zico) and Jackson Anthrop (Wright). But it’s been pretty clear Brohm trusts seniors Phillips and Anthony Mahoungou on the outside and Anthrop in the slot, based on snaps if nothing else.

They’ve simply grasped the offense better and make fewer mistakes than the first-year transfers, whom Brohm said are “behind,” even seven weeks into the season.

“College football nowadays, you’ve got to work at it, you’ve got to study it and you’ve got to know it and there can’t be a whole lot of margin for error,” Brohm said when asked about the transfer group that also includes Notre Dame graduate Corey Holmes. “I do think both Isaac and Terry are getting better, and they’re working hard and they’ve worked through some things. We’ve got to utilize them and try to get more productivity and target those guys a little bit more. Corey is a little bit farther behind.

“But we’ve got to get better at that position in general. We’ve got a ways to go. We’ve just got to continue to work at it.”

Purdue could continue to be without two key pieces, one on offense, one on defense, Saturday.

Starting linebacker T.J. McCollum, who led the team in tackles through the first five games, missed his second consecutive game last week with an undisclosed injury and that injury is "taking a little longer than we thought," Brohm said.

"He’s getting some more looks on it as we’re speaking," Brohm said. "He didn’t practice the last couple weeks, so until he practices, I’m not going to anticipate him playing."

Garrett Hudson started in McCollum's place against Rutgers but got pulled in the second half for true freshman Derrick Barnes.

Just as concerning as McCollum's absence is Grant Hermanns' health. The starting left tackle reinjured a knee at Wisconsin two weeks ago and didn't make the trip to Rutgers.

"Grant’s probably going to be out for quite a while," Brohm said.

Tario Fuller, who started two games at running back this season when Markell Jones was injured, is getting closer to returning to the field, Brohm said. Fuller was in uniform at Rutgers but didn't play.

"I think he’ll be a possibility (this week)," Brohm said.

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