The anticipation regarding how Purdue would approach the quarterback position moving forward lasted all but 20 seconds into Ryan Walters' press conference on Monday afternoon. The Boilermaker head coach revealed that redshirt freshman Ryan Browne would earn the start on Friday night against Oregon.

"I think just the way he played, it would be unfair not to," Walters said.

The redshirt freshman shined in his first career start against Illinois, throwing for 297 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for 118 yards. He was the first Boilermakers signal caller to have 250+ passing yards and 100+ rushing yards in the same game since Brandon Kirsch in 2002. It was the type of play Purdue had seen in practice, but Browne simply didn't have an opportunity until Saturday.

Walters saw the rest of the offense rally around and feed off the energy of their new leader on Saturday. That moxie led to the Boilermakers putting up 49 points, 46 of which came after halftime, after they had scored 44 in the previous four games combined.

"I do think Ryan, he exudes confidence and is vocal, and I think he's a tough kid, like he likes to go play. I do think that guys fed off of that energy a little bit, especially there that mid to late third quarter, fourth quarter," Walters said. "I think they were excited about the way he played. Ultimately, if he played well, that means guys around him played well as well."

Browne stepped in for starting quarterback Hudson Card, who missed Saturday's game due to injury after starting each of the first five games for the Boilermakers this season. Walters also added he was unsure of wheither Card would be ready against the Ducks, but committed to Browne under center on Friday.

At least to start.

Walters and offensive analyst Jason Simmons left the door open for the Boilermakers to use both quarterbacks when the incumbent returns from injury. With Walters now calling the offense moving forward, as he also disclosed on Monday, he made sure both quarterbacks know what he wants to do offensively now that he's calling the plays.

"I told both of them, this is the way we're going to play moving forward and so they both got to be able to execute that style of play. You know, I think they both can and are athletic enough to do so. So yeah, I'm excited about what that'll look like," Walters said.

The particulars of Purdue's potential two quarterback system of sorts are to be determined, but Simmons believes Card and Browne aren't drastically different from one another in terms of their athleticism and skill set they each bring to the table.

"If we were to give Hudson the same game plan that we gave Ryan on Saturday, he would be able to execute, and he would be able to execute that plan," Simmons said. "I think Hudson doesn't get enough credit for how good of an athlete he is. You know, early in the season we saw him be able to extend plays and make plays out of the pocket. Obviously, we saw Ryan do that on Saturday as well, not only just scrambling for first downs, but also in the run game too."

Walters has been more involved in the offensive game planning in recent weeks, which began when Graham Harrell was fired, and was considering calling plays for the Wisconsin game before taking another week to become comfortable with the task. Perhaps that extra week helped, considering Purdue's offensive explosion against the Illini.

The head coach turned new play caller has had the opportunity to spend more time with both Browne and Card, coming away impressed with both.

"I didn't sit in the QB room and go through a meeting. So this is my first glimpse of what he is as a quarterback, in terms of studying and preparing," Walters said. "The last two weeks, I've been impressed with both he and Hud, and the amount of time and amount of detail that they spend in meetings and translating that to practice."

Purdue now shifts into a different philosophy with Walters calling plays and Browne earning the starting job. They will have an opportunity to continue the momentum set forth on Saturday, when the No. 2 ranked Oregon Ducks come to Ross-Ade Stadium for a matchup under the lights, which is the Boilermakers' toughest test to date.