Brohm on Sindelar: “I think he’s making progress"

MORE: First look: Minnesota | Gold & Black Radio Podcast: Minnesota week

Purdue got to see what its team looks like without Elijah Sindelar under center in its last game vs. TCU. And, it wasn’t pretty.

The Boilermakers (1-2) fell in lopsided fashion, 34-13, with redshirt freshman quarterback Jack Plummer making his first career start with Sindelar out with a concussion. Coming off an off week, will Sindelar be ready for Saturday’s visit from Minnesota (3-0) in the Big Ten opener?

“We are still doing exactly what the doctors say,” said Jeff Brohm at his Monday press conference. “I think he’s making progress. We will see how this week goes. Really, last week, we thought he was making progress, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. It wasn’t until Thursday that something popped up again. That’s where we started the process over.”

Sindelar was off to a blazing start, leading the nation in attempts (104), completions (68), yards (932) and touchdown passes (nine) after the first two weeks. But the fifth-year senior suffered a concussion on the last offensive play in a 42-24 win vs. Vanderbilt in Week Two and missed the TCU game.

Plummer hit 13-of-29 passes for 181 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions vs. TCU. It was a difficult circumstance to make a college debut, as TCU had a veteran defense and the Boilermaker offensive line remains a work in progress. Plummer will be ready if he is called into duty again.

“I think the game Jack played was great experience for him,” said Brohm. “Things didn't go our way, wasn't a great contest. He hung in there and played to the end. Are there things we've got to improve upon? Yes. I think he wants to win, he wants to work hard. He's the quarterback, the guys around him have to play well, also, for him to succeed and look good, and that's kind of with most quarterback positions.”

Sindelar isn’t the only injured player that Purdue hopes to have back for the 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff this Saturday vs. Minnesota. Like Sindelar, the status of wide receivers David Bell and Jared Sparks, along with guard Matt McCann, is murky.

“We are trying hard to get everyone back,” said Brohm. “We will see toward the end of the week where we are at. But I think everyone has put in the time to get better. It’s just gonna be a matter of where we are at on Thursday and Friday.”

Stay tuned.

Purdue was off last week, giving it two weeks to prepare for Minnesota--which also was off last week. But even more vital than the extra Gopher prep time: The extra time improving themselves.

“For us, (the off week) probably was a good time, considering how the season has gone,” said Jeff Brohm. “We need to do a lot of work …. I do think it has been beneficial. Getting guys healthy is important and also getting better. Hopefully, we got both of those things done to a certain degree.”

One thing Brohm wants more of from his team: Physicality.

“I know we had a good week of practice,” he said. “It was more physical. It was in full pads. We got a lot of good contact work. I think both sides of the ball need to get better, being more physical, trying to dominate the line of scrimmage and trying to win football games in that manner before we get into all the cute stuff we like to run.

"We did see some improvement. I think we have to see more. But we are gonna make sure we continue to harp on being physical, trying to be as dominant as we can at the point of attack, coming off the ball, striking people and making sure we are getting better each and every day. I do think this past week was good. We got a lot of good repetitions in.”

The lackluster rushing attack has drawn a lot of scrutiny in the opening month of the season. How bad has it been? Purdue ranks second-to-last in America in rushing, averaging 50.0 yards. Akron is last (46.0 ypg). Jeff Brohm hopes to get improved play from the line by having more competition. The second-team linemen got a lot of work during the off week.

“We feel like we have some good young players,” said Brohm. “Some are young and need some seasoning. In our opinion, they are not quite ready for the speed of the game and what we are asking them to do physically, but they are getting better, they are getting closer. I do think the difference between our ones and twos is not very much. So, we have to make sure we continue to add competition, play more guys, be smart about it. We hope they play and show us they want to compete and want to be a starter.”

The staff also will play junior wideout Jackson Anthrop some at running back in hopes of adding some pizzaz to run game.

“I’m not gonna put it all on the running backs,” said Brohm. “I think we have had some problems up front in creating holes, knocking people back, being physical at the line scrimmage. Do your running backs need to run better? Yes. Sometimes, there aren’t some big holes to run in. But I do think Jackson is a guy we want to get more touches. Even on special teams, he gives great effort. He goes hard, he wants to win. He works hard, he competes. He is a guy we want to get in the mix. So, you will see him playing both running back and the receiver position. He is someone we want to try our best to get the ball in his hands more.”

Minnesota will waltz into Ross-Ade on Saturday with some confidence.

The Golden Gophers are 3-0. It hasn’t always been pretty for Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck. The Gophers’ three wins are by a combined 13 points. And they needed double OT to win at Fresno State in Week Two and had to score the game-winning TD with 13 seconds left to topple Georgia Southern in their last game. So, this is a resourceful Minnesota squad.

“Looking at Minnesota our upcoming opponent, they finished the year strong last year,” said Jeff Brohm. “They beat us handily (41-10). And that’s being nice. They beat Wisconsin at Wisconsin (37-15) and they won their bowl game. And now they have won three in a row. And they have some leadership on the team. They find a way to win the close games. They fight and compete to the end. This is gonna be a tough contest for us and we are gonna have to improve a great deal in order to compete and play to win. I’m hopeful our guys will have some fight in them …”

Purdue was out gained, 415-233, last year vs. the Golden Gophers. It was a 41-3 game before the Boilermakers scored a meaningless TD with 5:28 left in the contest. Minnesota has won four of the last five vs. Purdue. The lone Boilermaker win came in West Lafayette in 2017, when Purdue took a 31-17 decision in a game delayed by weather in the first meeting between Brohm and Fleck.

“They finished strong last year and gained confidence with a lot of big wins,” said Brohm. “From putting it to us at their place, to beating Wisconsin (for first time since 2003 and first time in Madison since 1994), to winning their bowl game (34-10 win vs. Georgia Tech in Quick Lane Bowl) to starting off 3-0 and finding a way to win.

“When you can win the close games and you have a group of guys that compete and find a way to win whether it’s by three points or 30, it shows you have some leadership on the team and you have some guys who like football and who like to compete.”

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