This photo opportunity caught me completely by surprise. I've never seen anything like it, either before or since.

Everyone knows the story of (former tight end Tim) Stratton losing his helmet following Purdue's 32-31 win over Michigan on October 7, 2000. Coach Joe Tiller was furious. But he was often furious with Stratton who used to warm up by tossing balls to the fans in the bleachers. Watch the replay of the Michigan game on BTN. Tiller lights into Stratton in the fourth quarter like Bobby Knight on a referee.

Tim didn't always practice hard. Sometimes didn't play hard, either. He spent a good portion of his college career just trying to get under Tiller's skin. And he often succeeded.

Stratton was a member of Tiller's first recruiting class at Purdue and left school with a then-record 204 receptions. He could catch any ball and make it look easy. Tiller must have thought, "imagine how good he could be if he just worked at it."

But here's a story few people know. It shows that Tiller had a ton of respect for Stratton. I set a hypothetical situation before Tiller as we were driving to a Cincinnati Reds game just before his final season as head coach.

Fourth and goal, you trail by four and you've got time for one play. What do you call?

Joe didn't hesitate a second.

"Anything to Stratton."

Good call.

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