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In 4 of Jeff Brohm’s 5 seasons at Purdue, the Boilermakers have entered training camp with a quarterback competition.
This year’s candidates are the same as last, with Jack Plummer and Aidan O’Connell battling for the starting job, with Austin Burton having an outsider’s chance and Michael Alaimo likely waiting as a promising underclassman.
Last season, O’Connell won the job, perhaps taking advantage of a spring in which he was Purdue’s only healthy option. Plummer was out due to an ankle injury suffered in 2019. The roles have been reversed in 2021, with O’Connell recovering from the foot injury that cut short his ’20 season and Plummer getting a majority of the No. 1 snaps during the spring.
So, will the story play out the same? Only time will tell, as Brohm is likely to pick a quarterback soon but only announce it shortly before the kickoff vs. Oregon State on Sept. 4, if he announces it at all.
Let’s handicap the race.
Jack Plummer
If Brohm wants to go with a more mobile option at quarterback — and that has been his M.O. during his coaching career — then Plummer likely will be the choice. Plummer, a junior, isn’t necessarily a dual-threat quarterback, per se, but he can use his athleticism to his advantage. He can escape the pocket and use his legs as a weapon to keep the sticks moving. And he’s shown to be an above-average passer when he’s on the move, a sometimes overlooked skill for mobile quarterbacks. And that improvisation can be a huge plus.
After relieving the injured O’Connell for the final 3 games last season, the 6-foot-5, 220-pound Plummer completed an impressive 71 percent of his throws with 8 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions (in 124 attempts). And he averaged nearly 313 yards per game. He gained 49 yards rushing, with a long of 14, and had a touchdown.
However …
Purdue lost all 3 games. Are those solely on the quarterback? Not at all. By then, the Boilermakers defense was hemorrhaging — 34, 37 and 37 points — and the one-dimensional offense, without much of a running game, couldn’t keep up.
Plummer doesn’t have as big an arm as some of the other options, namely O’Connell and Alaimo, so he’s not as proficient a downfield passer. But he’s not deficient either.
Chance of winning the job: 55 percent
Aidan O’Connell
Purdue’s returning opening-day starter, O’Connell has proven he’s capable of winning games for the Boilermakers.
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound senior seems to have a knack for it, rallying Purdue for 3 victories as a part-time starter, part-time reliever for the Boilermakers during the last 2 seasons. O’Connell, a former walk-on, won the first 2 games for the Boilermakers last season, including when he rallied Purdue late in the fourth quarter of the opener vs. Iowa. And he made a big throw late vs. Illinois the next week, getting a first down that allowed Purdue to ice the victory.
But he suffered a foot injury in the win, then tried to play through it the next week (a loss to Northwestern) before shutting down for the rest of the year and the spring.
O’Connell is healthy now, however, and trying to keep ahold of the job he won at this time last year. He brings a solid arm — Purdue’s best throwing walk-on in at least the last 25 years, perhaps longer — with A accuracy down the field. He has good touch and good pocket awareness, although his ability to escape is limited. In his 3 games last season, he completed 64.7 percent of his attempts, averaging 305 yards per game, with 7 touchdowns against 2 interceptions (in 136 passes). He gained 13 yards rushing (with a long of 9), but lost 77, including while being sacked, to finish with a net minus-64 yards on the ground.
Chance of winning the job: 35 percent
Austin Burton
A former transfer from UCLA, Burton brings an alternate skill set to Purdue’s quarterback room, one that might get him on the field as a changeup option but unlikely as the starter.
Burton can run. In his lone start for the Bruins in 2019, Burton passes for 236 yards with a touchdown and rushed for another 64 yards. The 6-foot-2, 210-pounder, who didn’t appear in a game in his first season at Purdue last year, is a true dual-threat.
Perhaps Brohm, wanting to spur a running game that finished last in the Big Ten last season, would use Burton as a bit of a Wildcat QB. He can run the option, a valuable short-yardage possibility, especially for a team, like Purdue, that hasn’t shown a consistent ability to run effectively outside the tackles.
In 6 games for the Bruins in ’19, Burton passed for 365 yards on a 69 percent clip with a touchdown and no picks. He netted 100 rushing yards on 17 carries with a score.
Chance of winning the job: 5 percent
Michael Alaimo
Alaimo looks the part. He’s a big 6-foot-4, 225-pound strong-armed quarterback, and his long hair, cut a couple inches above the shoulders, doesn’t hurt, either.
He might have a bright future at Purdue.
But “future” is likely the operative word. Only a redshirt freshman, Alaimo has a big hill to climb to unseat the veterans ahead of him on the depth chart. He plays a style similar to Plummer’s, in that he has the physical size of traditional passers but the athleticism to move out of the pocket too. Alaimo was a 4-star recruit and the nation’s No. 12 pro-style quarterback, per 247Sports composite rankings.
But he’s inexperienced. And considering the time Purdue has put into Plummer and O’Connell, and Brohm’s need to win right now, it’s likely that Alaimo’s time will come later.
Chance of winning the job: 5 percent
Kyle Charters, a familiar face at Gold & Black, covers Purdue, Indiana and college basketball for Saturday Tradition.