11/1/2017 football Edit

Coordinator's Corner: Purdue co-offensive coordinator Brian Brohm

Kyle Charters • BoilerUpload

Staff Writer

Purdue's offense was better Saturday than it had been in the previous few weeks, scoring three touchdowns and 24 points.

Part of that was David Blough and part read-option and the running game, but Purdue was far from perfect, missing on the long ball too often.

We talked to Brian Brohm, the co-offensive coordinator and QB coach, after practice on Tuesday.

GoldandBlack.com: How did David Blough play vs. Nebraska?

Brohm: "I thought David played a good game. He was going through his reads well. He was accurate, he did a good job with the zone-read stuff, knowing when to give it, when to pull it. There was one there where he was trying to pull and it would have been a touchdown, but didn't get it out of there in time.

"We've just got to keep working on it. He did a good job of keeping the defense honest, making some throws on the perimeter and pulling the ball when he needed to."

GoldandBlack.com: Other than the two times, the goal line and maybe on the second down late, was pretty good?

Brohm: "He made good decisions. I thought he made good decisions throughout the game and I thought he played pretty solid."

GoldandBlack.com: Jeff Brohm has talked about why Blough is good for this offense right now, he fits the offense. What is it that he's doing that makes him a fit for what this offense can do right now?

Brohm: "David has a great understanding of what we're trying to do. He's a good leader out there, the guys follow him. He's been doing a good job of keeping our offense on track during drives, so he's been accurate with the ball, made good decisions, made safe decisions so far this year, for the most part where he's not turning the ball over. He's doing a good job with it."

GoldandBlack.com: These last couple weeks in particular he's not turned the ball over. Has that been an improvement from him?

Brohm: "Yeah, he's really locked in on the offense and has gone where we want him to go with the ball."

GoldandBlack.com: What does the zone-read add that you think is beneficial to the offense right now?

Brohm: "It keeps the defense honest No. 1. And when you can do that, you don't have to block that guy that you're reading all the time, so it gives us one less guy that we have to account for in the blocking scheme."

GoldandBlack.com: Does it help offset not being able to hit the deep pass as often as you'd like. Or are they unrelated?

Brohm: "I don't know that those two things are related, but it has helped our running game a good amount."

Q. About the big play, other than the obvious of hitting a big play and potentially scoring points, what's the disadvantage when you're not hitting the big play?

Brohm: "It affects the offense a lot. The defense can come down a lot tighter, the safeties can play lower, the corners can come up and press you. So once you get some big plays going, the corners back up, the safeties back up, you get a lot more easy completions.

"Right now, they're coming up and pressing us and making it tough for us to get the easy completion and it backs those safeties up in the run game so they can't run-fit quite as fast."

GoldandBlack.com: Do you feel like you're getting closer. The offense was close on three vs. Nebraska.

Brohm: "We've been able to get behind some guys the last couple weeks, unfortunately dropped one the other night that could have been a huge one. We've just got to keep taking our shots when they're there and give guys opportunities to go make plays."

GoldandBlack.com: You're not going to stop because even the threat ...

Brohm: "No, you have to take a shot every so often to keep them honest for sure."

GoldandBlack.com: As an offense, you went to the more inexperienced receivers earlier on Saturday, are you seeing development out of those players and hoping to work them in more?

Brohm: "I think guys have developed throughout the year, but we're trying to find the right fit, the right guys, the right combination of guys. We're not scared to mix it up a bit, move guys around and give everyone an opportunity when the lights come on to show us what they can do."

GoldandBlack.com: What do you see in Illinois?

Brohm: "They are young and athletic, so they have a team that, they kind of keep it simple on defense and let those guys just run and go make plays. They have some playmakers with a lot of potential, but they're young and haven't played a lot of football, so we need to use some of our experience to our advantage, but they definitely have some athleticism and play-making ability that we need to be aware of."

GoldandBlack.com: I believe Illinois started seven new guys on defense last week.

Brohm: "They've been mixing it up and looking for the right combination too. They've been mixing it up and letting a lot of guys play and letting a lot of that young talent come out. You can see that they have some promising players on the defensive side of the ball."

GoldandBlack.com: Do you scout by breaking it down by player or by looking more at the scheme itself?

Brohm: "Normally looking schematically this time of the year, but obviously you analyze the players to see where strengths are, weakness that you can take advantage of. You kind of do both."

GoldandBlack.com: What was your favorite Halloween costume growing up?

Brohm: "I think I was always a football player pretty much. Looking back at all the pictures my mom has, I think I'm wearing a helmet and shoulder pads when I'm out trick or treating."

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