Coordinator's Corner: Purdue QB coach Brian Brohm
More: Blough says he's 'good,' goal to play Saturday | Sindelar preparing to play | Brohm looking to instill belief | Brohms are 'first family' of Louisville | Depth chart notes
Brian Brohm is one of three coordinators on Purdue's offense — and that doesn't even include head coach Jeff Brohm, who actually will call the plays on gamedays.
Like many Boilermakers' staff this week, there's a unique twist with Louisville as the opponent. Several coaches have connections to either the university directly or its head coach, Bobby Petrino.
Quarterbacks coach and co-coordinator Brian Brohm was one of the most accomplished quarterbacks in Cardinals' history, but he downplayed the matchup when he spoke with reporters after Tuesday's practice.
GoldandBlack.com: Is this game special — more special — for you?
Brohm: "It’s the first game as a Purdue coach, so it’s very special. We want to go out there and put our best effort forward and get this thing off on the right foot."
GoldandBlack.com: Doesn’t matter that it’s Louisville, huh?
Brohm: "That adds a little extra spice to it, but it’s our first game as a coaching staff here with these players, and we want to have the right intensity and tempo out there and have guys fighting to win."
Q: Coach Petrino called you guys the enemy. What's your response to that?
Brohm: "That’s right. That’s who he’s playing this week. We’re enemies this week for sure."
GoldandBlack.com: How much do you typically talk to him? Would you normally during the week and now there’s been no communication?
Brohm: "We don’t communicate all the time, but we do see each other every now and then and have a good relationship. Definitely have a lot of good memories of playing for him."
Q: How about your quarterback situation right now. Jeff said maybe you’d wait a day and make an internal decision on the starter. Have you made that decision yet?
Brohm: "We’ve got three guys who can play ball. I’m feeling really good about our quarterbacks overall. We feel comfortable with three guys, putting on them on the field and letting them go."
GoldandBlack.com: How did David Blough look?
Brohm: "He looked good. He came out had some zip on the ball, was able to throw down the field. Had his usual qualities, good leadership, good moxie out there. So he looked good."
Q: Has that decision already been made, whether he’s ready to go?
Brohm: "No."
GoldandBlack.com: What kind of orders are you under not to speak about this situation?
Brohm: "No one gave me any orders."
Q: You’re just smart, right?
Brohm: (Laughs.)
GoldandBlack.com: What have you seen from Louisville’s defense?
Brohm: "They do present some one-on-one matchups that we’re going to have to be able to win. They’ve got some good players up front. They’ve got good corners. They’re a fast defense. They have a lot of speed. So we’re going to have to find ways to get guys open in man coverage and to win the one-on-one matchups up front."
GoldandBlack.com: I know you said this summer you don’t need the quarterbacks to be different styles of guys to play more than one. When you look at Blough and Elijah Sindelar, they seem like a similar style of QB. That doesn’t enter your minds in terms of how many guys you would play?
Brohm: "They’re definitely a similar style, but it doesn’t really affect playing time or who’s going to be in there."
GoldandBlack.com: How did Sindelar look in practice?
Brohm: "He looked good. He’s doing good, as usual. He’s playing with some confidence. I think getting those extra reps with the 1s the last couple weeks has really boosted his confidence and, really, the guys’ confidence in him around him."
GoldandBlack.com: In terms of putting the game plan together this week, do you feel like all your quarterbacks have a good grasp?
Brohm: "Yeah. I think our guys are doing a good job. We have some smart guys in the quarterback room, and they can pick it up really well. So we’re excited about each and every one of them when they step out on the field."
Q: Jaire Alexander has been talked about as a pro-ready guy. What do you have to do to prepare for a corner like that?
Brohm: "It’s a matchup that we’re going to have to find ways to, like I said, get guys open in man coverage. There are some creative things you can do to try to get him backed off and make him play from off. We’ll definitely have some of those things in our game plan."
Q: Does it help with that when you don’t have a star wide receiver? You’re rotating in guys.
Brohm: "No, I don’t think it helps. We’d love to have a go-to guy who was the man, for sure. But we have a good group of guys that we’re going to spread the ball around. The offense really dictates who gets the ball by the defensive looks. We’re not specifically trying to target any single guy. Our offense will spread it around naturally."
GoldandBlack.com: You were pretty athletic when you played. But Jared Sparks gets to play some receiver. Any jealousy there?
Brohm: (Laughs) "I couldn’t do what Jared’s doing, no doubt."
GoldandBlack.com: You want quarterbacks who are tough guys. I think you and Jeff both played that way as well. Just in your interactions with Blough as he’s going through this process, what’s been your message to him? I’m sure he keeps saying, ‘I want to play.’
Brohm: "He’s tough. He started 20 games, and any time you started that many games, you’ve played through some nicks and bruises and been banged up. He gets it. He’s an intense guy who is a tough competitor. I’m not really worried about him."
GoldandBlack.com: Does he know you played through a torn ligament in your thumb on your throwing hand three weeks after surgery, when you weren't supposed to?
Brohm: "I don’t know. I don't know if he knows all that info. I’m not sure."
GoldandBlack.com: So if he says, 'I want to play, help me get out there,' how do you respond to that now as a coach vs. being the player who was like, 'I'm playing early?'
Brohm: "I think as a coach you do have to exercise a little more caution. As a player, you always want to play. No matter what the injury is, go out there and risk it all for one play. You need really the coaches and the trainers, if you are really within a little bit of danger going out there, to pull you back and to stop you from going out there. You can’t let the players make that decision."
GoldandBlack.com: Did you?
Brohm: "They let me go, so I guess I was all right. (laughs)"
GoldandBlack.com: Because your doctor did not want you to play, as far as I understand.
Brohm: "Uh, there was a little negotiating for sure. For sure."
GoldandBlack.com: How bad did it hurt?
Brohm: "It didn’t really hurt bad, it was just weak. It was probably an injury risk I shouldn’t have taken, in hindsight."
GoldandBlack.com: How did you play in that game?
Brohm: "I did not play well. Two games in a row, I did not play well, but we won, and then we played West Virginia and I did play good in that one. But Cincinnati and Syracuse, my numbers weren’t terrible, but they were not good performances."
GoldandBlack.com: Well, that's a big deal when you don’t have your thumb.
Brohm: "Correct. It’s kind of important."
GoldandBlack.com: Did Jeff tell you when he played with a messed-up index finger on his throwing hand and then got MVP of a bowl?
Brohm: "He did. I was there at the game. I know that one. He's tough."
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