More: GoldandBlack.com training camp coverage
Elijah Sindelar didn’t want to admit it last year. He didn’t want to fess up that his surgically repaired left knee was bothering him in training camp.
“You kind of are discouraged to say something when you are in pain or discomfort because you don't wanna get off the field,” said Sindelar. “But overall, if you are starting to hurt the team because you aren’t 100 percent, then you just have to throw away your pride and do what’s best for the team.”
How does Sindelar feel about his knee today with Purdue poised to open the season August 30 at Nevada?
“Right now, I feel great and I am gonna continue to try to make sure that stays that way throughout the rest of the season.”
Purdue needs Sindelar to be 100 percent. Should he get hurt or struggle, the team has no proven backup now that David Blough is gone. The No. 2 signal-caller: redshirt freshman Jack Plummer. Yes, he’s talented, but he remains unproven.
The importance of a quarterback never can be overstated. Sindelar knows that. He understands his value. He knows he must stay healthy. The fifth-year senior originally hurt his knee in 2017 at Northwestern, and then famously played through the injury to lead Purdue to three victories to close the season: at Iowa, vs. Indiana, vs. Arizona (Foster Farms Bowl).
Sindelar had surgery after the season and subsequently won the job in camp last season over Blough. But, Sindelar struggled in a season-opening loss vs. Northwestern, throwing three first-half interceptions. He was benched.
“You learn from that and once you learn from it, you erase it,” said Sindelar. “I don’t think about that game anymore. I’ve already taken notes why I threw those interceptions and I’ve learned from them and made strides to make sure I don’t do it again. A lot of that comes from treating practice like it is a game. … Every rep is like a game-time rep. And that will transfer to the game and there won't be any drop-off.”
Sindelar came off the bench and played in the second half of the next game in 2018, a home loss to Eastern Michgian. Then—during prepartions for Missouri—he was shut down by an issue with the knee as well as an oblique injury. Sindelar threw just 44 passes for 283 yards with two touchdowns and three picks in 2018. It was a season to forget, thanks largely to his balky left knee.
“Haven’t had any problems with the knee, which is huge,” said Sindelar, who will begin his third year in a row as the season-opening starter. “Last year, first day of camp, I was extremely sore and I haven't gotten sore yet. What we are doing is working, 30 minutes before practice, 30 minutes after practice. I don’t care, I am gonna do whatever it takes.”
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The line also must do its part to protect Sindelar. The unit remains a work in progress, as three new starters are being worked in: left guard Alex Criddle, right tackle Will Bramel and center Viktor Beach.
“They are all stepping up and doing the best they can,” said Sindelar. “It will take all five. And if we have to rotate six, it will take all six of them. But they will have to be a close-knit group.”
If protected and allowed to work largely unfettered, Sindelar will work with a raft of skill-position talent led by wideouts Rondale Moore, Jared Sparks and Milton Wright along with tight end Brycen Hopkins, among others. And if Sindelar has to take off and make something happen on his own?
“It helps me to be my old self, being able to escape the pocket, throw on the run or even just run myself,” he said. “Having that confidence in myself to be able to if it’s third-and-long or third-and-short and they are dropping everybody and it’s only three yards, I can get that myself. I don’t have to worry about my knee flaring up that much.”
With a sound knee, Sindelar has focused on improving. A goal in camp: completing 70 percent of his passes.
“I hit 70 percent, actually, so I was very happy with that,” he said. “We keep stats throughout camp. After every practice, we have what we did for the day and our accumulative throughout camp. And at the end, I was at 70 percent. I was very happy with that and am gonna try to get that even higher.
"That was good to see, but we need to score a lot more points. Offensively, we didn't score as many points this camp … we need to see the ball go into the end zone for confidence and chemistry and firing on all cylinders.”
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