6/5/2020 football Edit

Catching up with ... Joey Elliott

Tom Dienhart • BoilerUpload

GoldandBlack.com, Associate Editor

Joey Elliott waited his turn at Purdue, not starting until his fifth season on campus.

Joey Elliott learned many things during a Purdue career that ran from 2005-09. One thing was patience.

The Evansville, Ind., (Harrison High) product had to wait his turn behind Curtis Painter before becoming the Boilermakers' starting signal-caller as a fifth-year senior in 2009, which was Danny Hope's first season as head coach.

That year, the 6-2, 216-pound Elliott completed 61.7 percent of his passes for 3,026 yards with 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He also ran for 268 yards in an often frustrating season that saw Purdue beat the likes of Ohio State and Michigan but lose many close games en route to a 5-7 (4-4 Big Ten) mark.

After leaving Purdue, Elliott signed in 2010 as an undrafted free agent with the Philadelphia Eagles. He matriculated to the CFL, where Elliott enjoyed a five-year career playing in Winnipeg, British Columbia and Ottawa. He started nine games in a 56-game CFL career, hitting 58 percent of his passes for 2,634 yards with seven TDs and 15 interceptions.

GoldandBlack.com caught up with the 33-year-old Elliott.

GoldandBlack.com: How did you end up at Purdue?

Elliott: Coming out Evansville, I wasn’t a highly recruited kid. Just being tall enough, just being athletic enough. I didn’t play on an outstanding high school football team, we were competitive but not dominant. … But my recruiting kind of started with Jared Zwilling, who actually ended up going to Purdue. My dad and his dad were coaches together at Castle High School. Jared got offered as a sophomore to go to Purdue. And so we started basically just piggybacking off of him and going to the games with him. That's kind of how the recruiting cycle started.

GoldandBlack.com: Which coaches recruited you for Purdue?

Elliott: I got to know coach (quarterbacks) Blaine Bennett at the time and (offensive coordinator) Jim Chaney. And both of those guys recruited me from their position. Mark Hagan had direct contact with me because he recruited the state of Indiana. I think that Purdue slow played it because they were No. 5 in the country, they could recruit nationally at that time. They only wanted to take one quarterback, and they always wanted to take a quarterback in every class. Joe Tiller was firm on that. They always wanted a guy in the pipeline to develop.

GoldandBlack.com: When did you first impress the Purdue coaches?

Elliott: The first opportunity to really showcase my talents to Coach Hagan and the staff was at a team camp. I worked out for the coaches, and it was like a seven-on-seven team camp. I ended up being on some random team. I ended up rallying the troops. By the end of the three days, we won every game. Coach Hagan saw some leadership traits. So Coach Hagan started recruiting me and watching more tape. And then some other interest from other teams started coming along. My first offer was from Bill Doba at Washington State, and things took off from there. …

GoldandBlack.com: What was your favorite Purdue highlight?

Elliott: I had a very unique situation being a backup for 42 games. Being patient, learning and still developing as a player over my five years. I had to earn the starting job my senior year. Purdue will always recruit a top-flight quarterback every year to create competition. I chose to stay and compete to be the best No. 2 QB in the country.

GoldandBlack.com: Do any games standout?

Elliott: I guess not one game when there are many games you could talk about from just the 2009 season itself. … And as I look back, as I've gotten older, I really appreciate the locker room, the guys in it. The guys that stood by me. That made me want to stay. There were multiple times where conversations would come up when I was at the dinner table at home in the offseason: Do you want to transfer? You could start somewhere else. I'm watching tape of other Big Ten quarterbacks … I could be starting at that university. But the friendships that I built at Purdue. That made me wanted to stay and I thought we were going to do something special in 2009 with Coach Hope. We were really, really close.

GoldandBlack.com: What is your best Joe Tiller story?

Elliott: I always wondered if he really knew who I was. And after I graduated, he finally came back and we just talked. He said: Joey, I pushed you because I knew you had more in you. At the time, he wasn't talking to me … But the reason he said he put me through those things through my four years of being a backup for 42 straight games was because he knew he would make me a better player. He kind of whispered in my ear, and it really resonated with me and it stuck with me to this day.

Story continues below photo

Joey Elliott still finds time for family as a pro scout with the Colts.

GoldandBlack.com: How did you get hired by the Colts.

Elliott: I retired from the CFL and was hired as a CFL scout. I was able to rub elbows and work alongside (Colts assistant director of college scouting) Matt Terpening and some of the other guys with the Colts. He went back said ‘we need to interview this guy again.’ (Elliott had interviewed a few years earlier with the Colts and not gotten the job.) And then was hired by the Colts as a pro scout in their scouting department. I’m blessed to be on a great staff now with G.M. Chris Ballard and Frank Reich. He used to drive to Purdue when he was the Colts quarterback coach and speak to the FCA group.

GoldandBlack.com: What is your role with the Colts?

Elliott: I work in the pro scouting department. There are two sides to scouting: college and pro. We deal with a player’s career after he is drafted and until he retires. I also deal with coaches, agents, week-to-week workouts and day-to-day roster management. I work alongside Chris Ballard every day, and learn from his direction which has been outstanding.

GoldandBlack.com: What is your career goal?

Elliott: I like having a long-term goal, but there is so much to learn about pro sports that I have to keep learning, listening and growing with my peers. I love the NFL because every year is a new year and you get to write your own story.

GoldandBlack.com: What old Purdue teammates do you stay in touch with?

Elliott: I talk to Jason Werner, Chris Bennett, Jared Zwilling, Dan Dierking. I text with Joe Holland and Ryan Kerrigan. Kawann Short. I talk to quite a few guys. Anytime I get a chance to connect with someone who's a Boilermaker, even Drew Brees. You don't have very many opportunities with a busy household with my wife and two kiddos. If I don't take the opportunity to do it, the time has passed.

Joey Elliott enjoyed a five-year CFL career, playing in Winnipeg, British Columbia and Ottawa.

Membership Info: Sign up for GoldandBlack.com now | Why join? | Questions?

Follow GoldandBlack.com: Twitter | Facebook | YouTube

More: Gold and Black Illustrated/Gold and Black Express | Subscribe to our podcast