Jeff Brohm: Elijah Sindelar out 'a good six-to-eight weeks'

Purdue has a tall task on Saturday when it wades into Penn State’s Beaver Stadium to play a hot Penn State squad (4-0 overall, 1-0 Big Ten) on Homecoming in Happy Valley.

The Boilermakers (1-3 overall, 0-1 Big Ten) have seen their season take a wrong turn because of myriad injuries. Purdue will play Saturday without stalwarts like quarterback Elijah Sindelar, wideout Rondale Moore, defensive tackle Lorenzo Neal, linebacker Markus Bailey and running back Tario Fuller, among others. Has Jeff Brohm ever experienced a season like this?

"Probably not,” he said today after practice. “It’s just some years you have good luck, some years, you don’t. You want what’s best for your players and you want what’s best for your team. But right now, we just have to make the best of what we have. And I think there are a lot of new faces out there playing.

“You look forward to watching guys compete and see how they react. I never want to sell anyone short. But I just hope we can go out there and compete and play hard and try to play football the way it’s supposed to be played against a very, very good opponent with some young guys.”

Brohm said Monday that Sindelar underwent surgery on his left clavicle, which he hurt last Saturday vs. Minnesota. Today, Brohm provided an update on when the fifth-year senior may be back in 2019.

“From what they are telling us, it’s a good six-to eight weeks,” said Brohm. “If he were to be able to come back, it would be very late in the season. That is still something that wouldn’t be determined until later.”

Of course, Sindelar has a sixth year of eligibility he was granted in the spring, so he could come back in 2020 if he wanted if 2019 ends up being a wash.

“With Elijah, our goal is to get him healed, get him well, get him to where he feels good,” said Brohm. “And then, like with every player, we will do what’s best for them. I know he was playing some good football. He had the concussion that set him back. And now he had this, so it’s unfortunate.”

Brohm announced on Wednesday on his radio show that Moore won’t be out for the season after getting hurt on Saturday in the first quarter vs. Minnesota—on the same play as Sindelar. What exactly is the injury?

“It’s around the knee, the hamstring area, right in there, some things that have to do with that,” said Brohm.

“We were happy for Rondale (that he won't be out for the rest of the season). You don’t want anyone to be lost with a serious injury, especially a great football player. So, really, the fact that he was so strong and that he was in such great shape really held that thing together. They said normally that doesn’t happen. So, really it’s going to be a matter of just how long this takes. With Rondale, we’ll be very patient and we’ll make sure when he comes back, he’s healthy and 100 percent ready to go.”

Lastly, true freshman safety Marvin Grant announced an injury on social media today. Brohm confirmed it.

“Marvin had shoulder surgery yesterday,” said Brohm. “And he will be out for the year.”

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Give me some defense

For Purdue to have any chance on Satuday, the defense has to play better than it has. The Boilermakers are last in the Big Ten in total defense (451.0 ypg), last vs. the pass (296.5 ypg) and 11th vs. the run (154.5 ypg). What will Jeff Brohm be looking for?

“I understand what everyone is going through, but I think on the defensive side of the ball some consistency in our play (is what I want),” said Brohm. “That means, I want people to earn their yards. I don’t want to give up easy pass yards, I don’t want to give up wide-open guys. I wanna make them earn it. I want to be in position. I wanna be where you are supposed to be. I wanna be sound in what we are doing.”

Time and again in last Saturday’s 38-31 loss to Minnesota, Golden Gophers ran free in the secondary and ripped off big gainers. Minnesota quarterback Tanner Morgan hit 21-of-22 passes for 396 yards with three touchdowns.

“You have to attack and take some chances and blitz and come after the quarterback and make him feel some pressure,” said Brohm. “Stopping the run is always important. I get it. But we want to defend the pass, as well. We wanna be in front of our guy, we don’t want to give up big holes. And we don’t want guys to catch the ball and run free. If there are gonna be some catches, we wanna at least if not contested, we want the tackle being made when that happens.”

How leaky has the pass defense been? Only one Big Ten team has yielded more passes of 10 yards or longer than Purdue: Nebraska. And the Huskers have played one more game than the Boilermakers. Purdue has allowed 41 passes of 10 yards or long. Purdue has permitted a Big Ten-high 20 passes of 20 or more yards, eight passes of 30 or more yards and seven passes of 40 or more yards. The Boilers also are the lone Big Ten team to allow two passes of 60 or more yards and two passes of 70 or more yards.

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This is Plummer's team

Redshirt freshman quarterback Jack Plummer will make his second career start and first on the road. It will be a tough assignment.

"I think he’ll continue to improve every week," said Jeff Brohm. "This is really the first road test, and it’s a tough one. So this will be a tough test for Jack. The unit is a little depleted with injuries, so he has to still play within himself. He has to do what he can to help the team. He still has to make good decisions.

"And while we wanna score points, move the chains and get a win, he has to be smart in his play. So, I don’t want to see some things happen where all of a sudden he tries to do too much and his game fizzles. ... It’s always on the quarterback to get that done, play as hard as he can but to play within yourself."

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