Jeff Brohm 'optimistic' QB Aidan O'Connell will play at Maryland
Good news: Jeff Brohm feels positive about quarterback Aidan O'Connell's chances to play on Saturday at Maryland.
O'Connell has been dealing with what's believed to be a rib injury suffered in the first quarter of a 32-29 loss at Syracuse on Sept. 17. He was a game-time decision entering last week's game at Minnesota, with news breaking prior to kickoff that the sixth-year senior would start vs. the Gophers after he had missed the previous game vs. Florida Atlantic.
"I think Aidan held up pretty well for the most part other than normal soreness, so I expect him to just do as much as he can this week, that he feels comfortable with, and as we get to later in the week, hopefully he continues to progress," said Brohm.
"But I'm optimistic."
Brohm also thinks there's a good chance safety/linebacker Jalen Graham will play when the Boilermakers (3-2 overall; 1-1 Big Ten) kick off at Maryland (4-1; 1-1) at noon ET on Saturday. Graham has missed the last four games with a tibia fracture suffered in a season-opening loss to Penn State. But No. 1 running back King Doerue may miss a fourth game in a row.
"We are hopeful that Jalen Graham will be able to play this week, so we'll see how this week progresses, but there is some optimism there," said Brohm. "King, we won't know until later in the week if he has a chance, and I would say it's doubtful at this point."
Purdue has turned primarily to Chris Jefferson to replace Graham, while Dylan Downing and Devin Mockobee have carried the running load with Doerue out.
Last Saturday, O'Connell helped lead Purdue to a 20-10 victory at No. 21 Minnesota, but he didn't appear to be 100 percent. The stats showed it. Playing vs. a Gopher defense setup not to allow deep passes, O'Connell was able to generate little in the vertical pass game, as his throws seemed to lack velocity. Big plays? There weren't many.
"No, there wasn't," said O'Connell after the game. "It was a really good job by them, dropping with a lot of depth, having their eyes on me, reading me."
O'Connell hit 27-of-40 passes for 199 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions.
Brohm had backups Austin Burton and Michael Alaimo at the ready if O'Connell was unable to go last week, though Burton was banged up, too.
"Aidan just kind of continued to progress as the week went on and felt a little better on Thursday and did a few more things, even though that's not a heavy day for us. He felt like he could go," said Brohm.
"So, I give him credit. He played with courage. He played tough. It wasn't one of his better games, but he still continued to cut it loose and be aggressive and made some plays for us late in the game that helped."
O’Connell could find opportunities to move the ball via the air in College Park, Md. Maryland is No. 10 in the Big Ten in pass defense (252.4 ypg), yielding nine touchdowns and a 56.9 completion percentage. Purdue wants to make sure O'Connell is healthy and ready. The Big Ten West title chase is wide open.
"I just think that we're hoping to get him even healthier this week and a little more practice time," said Brohm.
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