Analyzing Purdue's Multi-QB Approach: The Sample Size is Growing

A reader pointed out in a comment that the multiple QBs limit the guys from becoming a strong #1 because they're never really in their a whole game and thus it takes longer to get into a rhythm as a starter -- if it ever happens.

This got me to thinking, especially given everyone's seemingly near-unanimous dislike of this approach... what's the evidence to support it? Either, to support the system working, or to support the dislike from those who hate it to vociferously?

Let's hit the wayback machine.

At the start of the 2011 season, it was clear that TerBush was the starter. Rob Henry was injured and Robert Marve was still recovering from his second ACL injury. However, there was a growing faction of us who were very eager to see Marve get on the field. Danny Hope told us that he would play and that both QBs would see action. I think it's fair to say that we felt this was reasonable, given that Marve was still recovering and TerBush hadn't yet had a lot of time to demonstrate what he was capable of.

Then we began to accept that Caleb was who he was. As the season progressed, the group wanting to see Marve get a few complete games grew, the coaching staff dug in their heels, and the multi-headed QB monster continued to grow, leading us to where we are now.

So how has it worked? Well, would you believe there is now a solid, full season's worth of games from which to choose? That's right, between 2011 and 2012, the Boilers have played 12 games with the QB merry-go-round operating. And, wouldn't you know it! In those dozen games, Purdue is....6-6. 

The wins were over: SEMO, Minnesota, OSU, IU and Western Michigan in 2011, and EKU in 2012.

The losses were to Notre Dame (both years), PSU, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa.

Could stability have made a difference in any of the six losses? It's obviously impossible to know, but I might argue that, last year, in the PSU loss (23-18) and the Iowa loss (31-21), I would have liked seeing what Marve could have done with a full game's worth of responsibility. I also think it might have been interesting to see him play the whole ND last year as well as this year. Last year, he was still recovering and it was only his second game back, so let's scratch that one. But this year, I think almost anyone who watched the game will agree that the Purdue offense simply looked more potent with Robert under center.

Let's say that even two of those three losses mentioned were wins as a result of a better and more consistent QB approach (remember Marve desperately trying to score against Iowa and fumbling off the pylon? Maybe that doesn't happen if he knows he's not about to get yanked if they don't score). Suddenly, Purdue is 8-4 in their last twelve instead of 6-6. It's a subtle difference and, as I said, one can never know about the path not taken (unless you're watching Sliding Doors, one of Boilerdowd's favorite flicks), but I do feel fairly comfortable saying that Purdue hasn't won any games as a result of Caleb TerBush's steady hand that Robert Marve could not have won.  

What does all this tell us? Perhaps it tells us that even with a lack of stability at the QB position, Purdue is talented enough to beat marginal to bad teams. One might argue, though, that the mediocrity could just be what Purdue is under Danny Hope, and that could be true... but does 6-6 with losses to petty much any decent team they face (and Iowa) suggest that they've got some kind of advantage by playing two (or three) QBs? It sure doesn't suggest that to me.

In my opinion, this goes into the growing evidence that says that this team is talented enough in several areas to compete with nearly anybody on the schedule, but that the musical chairs under center is going to continue to be an obstacle, not a weapon.

Hopespeak

I've been sharing a lot of quotes on Twitter from the Boilers following the loss at ND, but there are two from quotemaster Danny Hope that I wanted to address because they seem somewhat nonsensical and just beg to be picked apart.

First, following the game, Coach Hope said this about the multi-QB system:

"We're always going to play more than one quarterback," Hope said. "We don't want the No. 1 quarterback to go down and have to wave a white flag right in the middle of the game or right in the middle of the season. ... I thought the classic example today was when Robert Marve went down and TerBush came back in the game and put us in position to potentially go into overtime."

So, wait... am I to believe that Hope thinks that if you don't play at least two, if not three, QBs on a constant basis in every game that it means you would have to fold up the tent and forfeit the rest of your season in the event that a #1 QB got hurt? Because that's kind of what he's saying. He's implying that both guys play in case on gets hurt, like what happened with Marve Saturday. Otherwise, you'll have to "wave a white flag" right there in the middle of the game because they'll be like, "Backup quarterback? Wha-ha-ha-ha-happened? We only have one guy who even knows how to spell quarterback!"

Weren't we told all spring, summer and into the season about how great it is to have three experienced quarterbacks? And how all three looked great? And how all three are veterans? Et cetera?

Well, if all that is true, then wouldn't a logical (sane) person conclude that whoever isn't starting is already seasoned and experienced enough to be the #2 QB and be ready to come in if necessary, such as in a case of injury? Am I simplifying this too much? I don't think I am.

If that's really Coach Hope's reasoning, it's close to insanity.

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The next quote came from Coach Hope today, and had to do with the possession at the end of the third quarter when Purdue trailed 17-7 but got the ball to the Irish 1-yard-line and had third and goal. The Boilers were flagged for delay of game, then called a time out and then Marve got sacked after the time out. I believe this was where I tweeted that Purdue looked more confused coming out of a time out than most teams do when they're discombobulated enough to call a time out. 

But here's what Hope said about it:

"We've gone back and looked at the scoreboard and the play clock and we're trying to figure out where the time went, but we're missing about 12 or 13 seconds somewhere," Hope said of the sequence after Macarthy's catch.

I honestly don't even care if this is true. It's fine if it is, but don't say it out loud, Danny. Don't say things like you lost 12 or 13 seconds somewhere, because it makes you sound clueless. This does, however, explain why the Boilers looked so befuddled after the time out.

There were a few commenters (not many, but a few) who seemed to feel that we shouldn't have been complaining about the coaching. Well, we weren't the only ones for one thing. For another, we call 'em like we see 'em -- that's why you love us so dearly. And third, these kinds of remarks do not instill confidence in a fanbase that, frankly, just wants to love their team from top to bottom.

Boilers Show Well But Fall In South Bend, 20-17

TD maker

Sometimes Purdue games are very predictable. Joe Tiller teams were usually spooked in places like South Bend, Ann Arbor, Columbus, etc., for example. In recent years, Danny Hope teams have seemed to buck the predictable trend in the "micro" analysis, in that you never knew what might happen in a given game. From the "macro" perspective, though, you knew the season result would probably be 5-7 wins. So that has remained, sadly, predictable.

To avoid another typical season record, we said Purdue needed to change some of this unpredictability during the season. And what better way to stabilize a team that can beat OSU one week and lose to Northern Illinois in another? Why, to manufacture a quarterback controversy, of course! Welcome to the Danny Hope school of thought.

The Boilermakers went to Notre Dame with Caleb TerBush penciled in as the starter, a week after he was suspended for a game and Robert Marve had his best game at Purdue. TerBush actually began the game pretty well, making sound decisions and relatively crisp passes. The Boilers moved the ball well -- always good to avoid those early three-and-outs -- but the drive stalled after roughly 60 yards and the Boilers had to punt.

This wasn't unusual, as the teams combined for a dozen punts in the game. TerBush remained in the game for the bulk of the first half, but Robert Marve found himself on the field late in the second quarter and engineered the Boilers' first scoring drive of the game, ultimately finding Antavian Edison on a 3rd and 10 after Purdue called a time out and then came out of the TO looking more disheveled than most teams do right before they're forced to call a time out.

Backup

Everyone felt Marve had clearly shown more than Caleb -- even Doug Flutie said that they would stick with Marve -- but Coach Hope again bucked conventional (and even elementary) wisdom and brought the cold TerBush back off the bench for the bulk of the third quarter. TerBush committed the first Purdue turnover of the day with a pick -- what he's supposedly not going to do, as per Hope -- and the Domers got a FG out of it. Fortunately, Purdue's D -- specifically Josh Johnson -- forced and recovered a fumble later on deep in Notre Dame territory, and thus the turnover battle was essentially even (TerBush threw a Hail Mary INT at the end of the game, but that obviously doesn't matter in terms of the turnover battle).

We saw Marve get crunched on a sack late in the game, bringing TerBush back into the game yet again, and Caleb actually had one of the biggest plays of the game for the Boilers, drilling a pass to Edison on 4th and 10 with about two minutes to go for the tying score. For the first time in a while, the Boilers had hung even with the Irish in their building. Of course, with a couple minutes to go and Coach Hope with his goofy, happy-to-be-here grin on, the Boiler defense bent more than they had most of the day and allowed Tommy Rees to come off the bench for ND and -- the way the NBC announcing crew of Mike Mayock and Tom Hammond told it -- overcame having no legs or something. As a BS twitter follower noted to us, "the guy punched a cop, he's not coming back from serious adversity."

Well, let's be positive for a few moments -- what did I like?

I liked the defensive line living up to their press. They were in the ND backfield quite often and got to Everett Golson a number of times. I also liked the defense in general. They allowed 376 total yards and only 52 on the ground. It wasn't a shutdown performance but it was very much a bend-but-don't-break effort for most of the day. The Irish would move the ball between the 20s, but they were forced to punt five times themselves. Only allowed 20 total against a ranked team in their house is a quality performance. While I still worry a bit about everyone behind the D-line, today's effort against a team that rolled up 50 points last week goes a long way towards making me a believer.

I also liked what I saw out of the QBs, honestly. Let's always keep in mind that these guys are doing what the coaches tell them to do. As I said last week, Caleb TerBush is just following orders so let's not make this about him personally. And he actually did start the game well, moving the Boiler offense and as I said, making smart decisions. However, then Marve came in and showed that last weekend's performance was not a fluke, as he clearly was the better QB. Their first half numbers were similar, but the offense just clicks with Marve in there. He also makes plays that TerBush simply cannot and is actually making smarter and smarter plays. Marve took a sack that led to Purdue's field goal in the fourth quarter and when he took the sack, I immediately thought, "That would have been a pick last year," because Marve would have tried to force it in somewhere to avoid the sack and to make something magical happen. This year, he at least didn't make the bad throw. A sack isn't good, either, but it's better than turning the ball over.

As mentioned, Marve looked like he might have hurt his knee late in this one on a sack. He had to be tended to on the field, but then he got up and jogged off. I believe he's having an MRI tonight so we'll find out soon if there's anything seriously wrong. I sincerely hope not and not only because I want to see him play.

What did this game show us? It demonstrated that Purdue is not going to be afraid of teams. They did not look spooked in Notre Dame Stadium and they also didn't look overmatched in any way against these guys. Usually this game shows some gap in the depth of talent at a place like Notre Dame and a place like Purdue, but this game was as even as the score indicates. The Boilers pushed the Irish around a fair amount and that's what we like to see.

This game also showed us why people are concerned with college-level referees officiating NFL games. There were a number of missed calls that seemed fairly obvious, with perhaps the most egregious coming on Notre Dame's final drive when Tommy Rees let the play clock hit zero and yet was able to snap the ball after the :00 was showing and complete a critical third down pass for a first down. That's kind of a game-changer right there. Word is he was also trying to signal timeout right before the play but then realized ND didn't have any. Guess it's a good thing the refs helped him out and didn't allow him to call it, eh?

And speaking of trying to call time outs, Danny Hope was evidently frantically attempting to call a TO late in the first half when the Boilers took a delay of game and made their TD drive that much more difficult. Hope was ignored for whatever reason and then the Boilers scored, so it doesn't seem like it matters, but I hope that is matters to Danny and he speaks up about it. These were just two sloppy situations by the officials.

On the subject of coaches, I once again find myself thinking that this team has potential... but how much of that potential will be realized with this staff? We've said it before and we'll say it again, we like Danny Hope and think he's a very good man. However, the decision-making -- particularly around the QB situation -- does nothing but make us scratch our heads. I understand all the crap about how we're not in the locker room so we don't know what's really going on. But we do know enough about football to know that if a guy has the offense humming, that it makes sense to leave him in there. It's not that complicated. Marve not starting the second half after his very strong finish to the second quarter made absolutely no sense, as Panda alluded to in a post earlier this evening. I can't think of a reason. I assume, also as the Panda said, that this was just the Purdue coaching staff's game plan and they were going to run with it no matter what. Adjustments have clearly never been this group's strong suit and that's being put on full display right now.

Obviously, we'll need to see how Robert Marve's knee is before being able to fully assess what's to come, but assuming he is okay, there is a lot of feel good about. The Boilermakers now absolutely must focus on their game next weekend and ensure a convincing win. Then on to the Marshall game, which they must also force themselves to take as seriously as a Notre Dame game and not look ahead to the challenging start to the Big Ten season.

However, I can look ahead because I don't have to play, and I will say that even though it's just two games in and the Boilers lost one of them, I find myself feeling some optimism. Sure, I do think anything Purdue accomplishes will be in spite of the coaching, but when you see how mortal Wisconsin and Michigan look, and you see how confident and talented the Purdue D-line is...and how poised these Boilers look so far....it's easy to begin to get excited.

In the end, there were things that frustrated me today, but not nearly as much as usual, and very little on the players' part. There were no special teams breakdowns, there were no completely boneheaded mental mistakes, and there was only one bad turnover (which Coach Hope, interestingly, called a "stupid interception" by TerBush). That, folks, is a big, important step in the right direction for this program. I hope it's a portent of things to come. 

Danny Makes The Call

Starting v. UND

Throughout camp, Hope called TerBush the starter for the first game because neither he, nor Marve, had changed position in camp due to the lack of full contact in practice. The inference seemed to be that last year's starter would be the starter because game situations were different...Fair point- they are.

That said, he and his assistants listed the depth chart as an "or" decision...meaning either could start depending on what happened in practice.

So, when TerBush, one of the team captains, was suspended for reasons that most still don't know, Marve was given the keys to the offense last Saturday.  If you're on this site, you've probably already seen the stats that Marve produced...if you don't know, look them up- they were pretty damned good. During his opportunity to prove himself, he played 70% of the snaps v. EKU (with Henry taking the other 30%).

Atop of the extremely-tight depth chart situation, Hope and Nord have both said Marve has a potential to be an NFL quarterback...and they've never uttered those words about TerBush. And while we both know that a great college QB is not necessarily great in the NFL...the games are different.  BUT, saying someone is an NFL talent is typically a compliment.

With all that said, Hope has named TerBush the starter for Saturday.

“It may be that it’s best for us to go into South Bend and make sure we manage the offense really well and that we don’t create any negative plays. If that means Caleb TerBush starts and Marve finishes, so be it. If that means Marve starts and TerBush finishes, so be it“ 

Based on that quote, one would think Marve creates too many negative plays.  Also, Hope and company seem to believe that the defense can win the game in South Bend with an offense that isn't aggressive, but merely just manages the clock and field position, I guess.

On Saturday, Purdue will play an ND squad that just beat the tar out of Navy...based on what I saw Saturday from them, management of the game might not be quite enough.

Versus UND, both TerBush and Marve are 0-1; Marve started the game in SB, TerBush in God's country. So, I guess, since TerBush has never lost in South Bend, Hope thinks he gives Purdue a better chance of winning there (or maybe not losing)...I guess we could say he's undefeated there.  Pretty fuzzy logic, it seems.

There are a couple of things that really confuse me about this whole situation.

Obviously, Hope and Nord's compliments to Marve, yet refusal to start him are odd.  But not that big of a deal.  We're fans of Marve and his style of play...we think his ability to escape the pass rush, move the pocket and still keep his eyes downfield give the offense a chance to do things a TerBush-led offense cannot. Plus, he has a bigger arm than TerBush.  Granted, Marve makes poor decisions from time-to-time...but so did TerBush last season- He gave up costly sacks time and again due to his cautious demeanor, but that doesn't seem to bother Nord and Hope because he doesn't freewheel as much.

The question of the reason for the one-game suspension is also lingering with us.  Hope has allowed players to get arrested and not miss action...so when a guy is suspended for the home opener, my antennae are up as I try to figure out what egregious error he made.

Could TerBush have worn an IU sweatshirt to a film session? Maybe #19 poked fun at Hope's mustache? Perhaps Purdue's starting QB talked badly about Carson Wiggs?  Whatever he did, Hope didn't take it too lightly.  But now, it's been forgotten as TerBush apologized to the team and the coaches for whatever-the-hell-it-was.

Here are facts we do know- TerBush lost a year with the team due to academic ineligibility. That was the year that Marve went down to an ACL and Henry was forced into the starting role...and when Henry's finger was crushed, Robinson played and then started (burning a redshirt). Does Hope think that was important?

He made a mistake, and strived to make it right- got his grades up, got back on the team and all was well.  He started last year after Marve's knee held him back in camp and Henry tore an ACL of his own. He was made a captain by the coaches and the team this season...and officially became a leader of the team.  Then, prior to the first game he did something to get suspended all while engaged in an intense battle to keep his starting QB role. To me, that doesn't sound like a leader...but I only know the parts of the story that Hope and co. allow me to know.

But, I'm not the only one who's making a call based on the info that's in front of me.  And in the wake of what I saw from Marve last week, I have an extremely-difficult time in backing up Hope in this decision.  If nothing else, my expectations for TerBush are now higher...and at the same time, the scrutiny upon the coach from an already-skeptical fanbase will become more pointed if TerBush doesn't deliver mistake-free football.

Marve, TerBush and Henry have all publicly said the right things during the last few seasons- good for them; that has to be hard.  Hope continues to say all three will play, not only Saturday, but throughout the season...because the quarterbacks are 300% better than just one! But, I'd think decisions like this will make it even harder to continuously hold the team line for the three-headed monster of #19, #9 and #15.  I honestly hope they can continue to do so. On top of that, I also hope that TerBush leads Purdue to victory in South Bend...for his coach's sake, he'd better.

Black and Gold Propaganda: BTN's Ten Reasons To Be Excited for Purdue Football

When I say propaganda, you probably have a negative connotation with that. I don't necessarily mean it to be negative -- really, propaganda is just framing the argument in a way that favors your side. The BTN's Tom Dienhart has kindly created a ten reasons to be excited about Purdue football post for your enjoyment, which you can read here.

I'll admit, this kind of talk and the excitement I've heard from fans continues to suck me back in. This happens every year -- as football approaches, the halls of the BS offices come alive, Boilerdowd has a twinkle in his eye and I think we all get an extra hop in our steps. Or maybe that's just us liking skipping.

Some highlights from Dienhart's post:

• Purdue returns 15 starters in 2012, the most of any team in the Big Ten. Some stats don't matter at all, but I think experience is important. These guys are on a high right now from a decent finish to a "step forward" season.
   
• The defense, with Short, Russell, Gaston, Allen, Johnson, etc., should truly be a strength. Tibesar could become a hero in West Lafayette if it rounds into shape and actually becomes a weapon.
  
• Ricardo Allen. This is a big season for Allen, in my opinion. He's been trumpeted as among the best CBs in the nation for a while now, yet we saw some things that concerned us in his first two seasons in black and gold. That said, they were just his first two seasons as a freshman and sophomore. This is the year where he really should be expected to become the force he has been said to potentially be.
  
• Raheem Mostert. We love Mostert and were calling for him to play more last year. The guy is exciting on the field and good things just seem to happen when he has the ball. Here's hoping the coaches open things up a bit and give Mostert as big a role as he can fill.
  
• QB Situation. This will be the fulcrum on which the 2012 season hinges. Dienhart points to the three QBs with serious experience as a plus, which in some situations I think we would agree it is. The question here is whether the situation Purdue's coaching staff turns this into will be advantageous and lead to winning. We, among many, have our doubts about that. But as we often say when we're feeling negatively about something, we would love to be wrong. 

What do you think of Dienhart's list? Does it amp you up even more? Are you believing now? Does it feel like the pieces actually might be falling into place for Purdue to contend in the Leaders division?
  

BS Readers Weigh In On Purdue QB Situation

A week or two back, B-dowd put up a poll asking you to give your pick for QB this fall in the black and old gold. The results are in and in our unscientific poll, it's clear -- we've swayed you all with our Marve-lous propaganda.

Robert Marve -- 60%
Rob Henry -- 27%
Caleb Terbush -- 12%

This might seem particularly unfair to Mr. TerBush, who -- let's be fair -- was the primary signal-caller in a season that saw the Boilermakers return to middling bowl game prominence.

Previous to that Rob Henry had captured the hearts and minds of the Boilermaker faithful as he gutted his way to victories despite being beat up along the way and having somewhat limited potential as a downfield passer.

And so here we are, a few months from entering the 2012 season and the public opinion has swayed to a guy who has repeatedly shown he wants nothing more than to play football for Purdue. It looks like he will finally, truly be healthy and let's hope he stays that way, regardless of how he plays. Or, knowing this coaching staff, if he plays.

Log Jam Ahead: Marve to Return

A few of our readers didn't want to read about this, but back in November, we looked ahead to the quarterback situation for 2012.  It was confusing then, it's probably more confusing now.

Marve stretches out for a sixth year of eligibility

Review:

Robert Marve transferred from Miami to Purdue.  While at Miami, he redshirted due to an injury to his non-throwing hand from a car wreck.  He started nearly a complete season as a RS Freshman.  After conflict with Shannon, Miami's coach, he moved on to West La La.  Due to NCAA transfer rules, he lost his Soph. year of eligibility. Shortly after announcing his transfer, he tore his ACL.  No sweat- he'd have the year that he was sitting out to recover.

In his fourth start of '10 versus Toledo, Marve faked a pitch and tore the same ACL again in a non-contact play.  He used the remainder of 2010 and spring/summer of '11 to recover from the second knee injury.  Rob Henry was thrust into the starting role as a RS Freshman due to Caleb TerBush being academically ineligible in that same season.  When Henry's finger was crushed v. aOSU, True Freshman Sean Robinson was forced out of a redshirt season and into the starting line-up for a game.  Henry returned to the starting role wearing a glove on his throwing hand...and his accuracy suffered because of the injury...but most of his work was with his feet at that point.

In the summer coming into last fall, Robert Marve and Rob Henry had put themselves as 1 and 1A for the starting job. Caleb TerBush was behind them. But, Marve's knee recovered slowly, so he couldn't take contact in August of '11...and Henry was made the starter.  As Marve was fighting to return to form, he was named in the scandal at the University of Miami as one of the guys that received improper benefits while being recruited to the school. Marve never lost eligibility at Purdue and many believe it's because of his cooperation with the NCAA during their investigation.

As the clear starter heading toward September, Henry blew out his ACL...and TerBush was named the starter.  He started most of last season, but after game three, Robert Marve was worked into action and the dreaded two-QB system became a reality.

With TerBush and Marve splitting snaps, not many Purdue fans were happy, and the results were mediocre. TerBush was criticized for his slow decision making and taking costly sacks.  He managed the game well, and didn't seem to overreach.  Marve was criticized for making poor decisions and trying to force the ball into double and triple coverage. He plays with fire and is a gunslinger and the coaching staff didn't like that he regularly abandoned the script for the game. During the handful of starts in the previous season, he played much more conservatively and his completion percentage showed it.  Justin Siller was also used from time-to-time in the Wildcat; which was effective.  All of the guys who played QB last season were very supportive of one another and positive; I've heard nothing from people on the team or close to the program to counter this.

With Marve and TerBush splitting snaps, Robinson was able to take the redshirt that he couldn't take in '10.  Robinson will be a RS Sophomore in the fall of '12.

Marve petitioned the NCAA for a sixth year of eligibility.  Many thought that since Marve was named in the investigation (above) that the NCAA wouldn't grant him another year to play.  I always thought that his willingness to talk actually helped him and it showed that he was trying to turn over a new leaf.   Last night, it was announced by the NCAA that Marve will have one final year of eligibility to play college football.

When we posted our thoughts back in late-November, we knew that Elite 11 Finalist, Austin Appleby would be coming to Purdue.  Appleby (of course) tore his ACL at the end of his Junior season, but started his entire Senior season in HS. The season wasn't a great one for him or his team...and that's probably why his star rating didn't get higher than 3 in spite of his impressive showing on ESPN U's Elite 11 camp last summer.  Appleby is a drop back passer with decent mobility and good size...his game is like a poor man's Andrew Luck out of HS.

Hope has also received two additional verbals for the QB position: Aloyis Gray and Bilal Marshall- both are top-25 dual threat QBs.  Gray (from the Indy area), ranks 23rd, has offers from Cincy, Illinois, IU and Purdue's vanquished Pizza Pizza Bowl opponent (and others). Marshall (from Hialeah, FL) ranks 17th.  He has an impressive list of offers including Baylor, Northwestern and GTech.

Just last week, Hope got the news that Erich Berzinskas would join the crowded stable as a preferred walk-on. Berzinskas threw passes to future Boiler, Carlos Carvajal at Milford Academy last season.  He's a drop-back passer with good size, 6'5", 215lbs and has a lively arm.  Berzinskas decided to go to Milford to try to garner more schollie offers.

We made no bones about our feelings about the two QB system- we don't like it.  We understand that it's good to have guys prepared in case injuries put you in a bind, but coming into '12, Purdue will have four quarterbacks that have started at least one game in college...and three that have started at least six. So, there shouldn't be any need to split QBs just to be ready.  Hope now has the difficult task of evaluating and making the call.  The candidates have workouts, Spring football and Fall camp to make their case that they should be the starter.

During Hope's first season at HC, Joey Elliott* ran an offense that resembled Tiller's offenses at times- "The Duke" wasn't called on to run the ball with regularity, but passed quite a bit...and was solid while doing it.  Last year, we saw Henry run an offense that ran the ball about 70% of the time.  And finally in '11, the offense was extremely balanced...but to me, it looked like it should have been an offense that ran the ball even more since the running backs were having tremendous success.  With a lot of talent back at RB, I would think the balanced paradigm will return in '12.

Let's pretend for a moment that every single candidate for the quarterback position in '12 goes the entire off-season without getting injured...and all of the verbals get to campus without a hiccup.  Here's the what Hope/Nord have at the QB position (as of now):

Robert Marve (6th year Sr, fmr starter)
Caleb TerBush (5th year Sr, fmr starter)
Rob Henry (RS Jr, fmr starter)
Sean Robinson (RS So, fmr starter)

Austin Appleby (Fr)
Bilal Marshall (Fr)
Aloyis Gray (Fr)

Austin Parker (So Walk-On)
Dalapo Macarthy (So Walk-On)
Erich Berzinskas (Fr Walk-On)

Now is the part where I speculate based on what I've heard and read.

Aloyis Gray had a similar high school career as Rob Henry- he played a lot of WR before playing QB his Senior year.  Plus, he was recruited as an athlete by many schools because of his ability at WR.  I think he'd be very likely to see the field, after a redshirt season, at WR. Edison is a Senior and Bush and Ross are both Juniors.

The next candidate to petition for a sixth year of eligibility might be Rob Henry. That would effectively make the coming season his Sophomore year...but I believe they do not tell a player if he's received the additional year until prior to that sixth season..which would be in 2014.

Dalapo Macarthy would seem to be a pretty good candidate to take the Keith Smith, Justin Siller role and shift to the slot receiver position.  He's similarly-sized and is a good athlete...and I see no scenario in which he'll play QB...but we've seen an odd thing or two happen in the past few years for Purdue QBs, haven't we?

There's a lot that can and will happen during this Spring and fall for Purdue QBs...we'll keep an eye on what goes down.


*I saw "The Duke" at the Purdue v. Wisconsin game- he looked much leaner than the last time I saw him...for those of you who don't know, Elliott plays in the CFL...and blew out his knee shortly after graduation. 

Now we know the answer

A week ago or so we heard about how Rob Henry wasn't taking any snaps with the special teams units. Anyone who's been keeping tabs with Hope's squad since the spring probably thought that to be pretty odd.

Henry runs a sub-4.4 40...has an unusual throwing motion, was mentioned in the spring as a guy who would get on the field in a number of ways due to his athleticism...but in August, he was firmly in the rotation as a QB...but no where else.

Now we know why.

Hope knew that TerBush might be in trouble academically a few weeks ago. He hinted that two guys on the team were close to not qualifying...but didn't tell us who was in danger. Since Bolden's injury, this is really the first sizable bad news from the football team...and Hope says it's not that bad.

He likes the two-deeps at QB much more this season than last year. Of course, Marve has a ton to do with that, but, if you read between the lines, you might see things the way I do- TerBush isn't quite the QB that Hope was thinking he'd be at this point in his career.

TerBush ran the option in high school, but isn't the athlete that many of the QBs in the stable seem to be- Marve, Henry are both very quick and Robinson is a fluid runner...and Bellomy who should sign in February, seems to be athletically-similar to Marve & Henry.

So what does 19's (potentially) temporary departure mean for the team? Hopefully not much this season. If Marve stays healthy, none of this talk matters...if not, things get a bit more interesting.

In 2010, the depth chart looks like this (after today's news).

Marve (Jr.)

Henry (RS Fr.)

Robinson (potential RS)

Titus/Siller

Sure, Siller hasn't taken a snap as a QB in camp...but I'd think Hope might think about moving the former starter back behind center if Marve couldn't play. The receiving corps is pretty talent-rich and, in that scenario, he'd be the only QB on the roster with any previous playing time at the position.

In 2011, TerBush will hopefully return to the team. But, here's how I see the QB depth chart emerging:

Marve (Sr.)

Robinson (RS Fr.)

Henry (So.)

Bellomy (potential RS)

Panfil, Lindsay and Adams will all be gone, so the TE corps will desperately-need bolstering. It seems that it'd make great sense to have TerBush take a similar path as Siller did, when he rejoins the team...that better-suits his skillset.

I know there are a ton of variables in this equation- injuries, recruiting and academics are all involved. But, my gut tells me that we might have seen our last of Caleb TerBush at QB...and like Siller two years ago, he might not have anyone to blame but himself.

Regardless if I'm correct about his future position or not, I hope to see TerBush back in a Boiler uniform in '11 and graduating shortly after.

Cradle Alums

Reader Jason sends along the above screen grab and says "I seem to remember two of those guys at Purdue."

It's always cute, though, when Purdue is called "irrelevant" or "boring," especially by "fans" of a program who produces this.

Quarterback-Heavy Gumbo

There were so many things to talk about today, many related to QBs, that I thought I'd just dump it all into a gumbo post. So let's get started.

Own a Piece of History

Yes, that's right -- you can get the pictured Curtis Painter Colts jersey for the low, low price of just $200. It's rare that a young man has the chance to be a local hero (cough) for his college team and follow that up by staying local with the beloved pro team... and then get cut from the practice squad in August. Curtis clearly (and wisely) did not demand his familiar number 12 from Jim Sorgi.

Irish Don't Get The Montana They Really Want

It'll be fun to see how the UND loyalists spin this one. Legacy Nick Montana has decided not to attend Notre Dame despite his father having gone there (and his brother Nate being there), and instead will attend....wait for it... Washington. The same Huskies who went 0-12 last year. Wow. To choose a program in the kind of disarray that UW is in over the supposed up-and-coming and ready to pounce UND program is rather telling. Could Joe Cool have advised his son to stay away? Who knows? Maybe Nick was just worried about living up to the legend of Pickles Clausen.

So Much For Those "Turning Over A New Leaf" Headlines

Sadly, Ryan Leaf's life continues to plummet down the toilet. He's now wanted as a result of a grand jury's indictment on nine charges against him relating to prescription painkillers. I no longer want to make jokes about him, and really nobody should. He's a troubled man and it's just plain sad.

Compliance is the Word of the Day At IU

According to this story, compliance "comes first" at Indiana. Well, at least something comes in first at IU. From the story:

Fred Glass gathered the Indiana coaching staff before he was introduced as the school’s athletic director and told them his top priority: compliance.

It was a word one of the coaches just didn’t want to hear.

“A coach said, ‘You know what, we’re sick of hearing that. We’re sick of hearing compliance,’ ” Glass recalled being told during a visit to Fort Wayne last week. “ ‘We are a compliant place with a compliant culture, and we really don’t like hearing that.’ ”

Yes, I'm sure you indeed don't like hearing that, coach. Being reminded about compliance when your basketball program was sort of decimated by a non-compliant coach just two years ago must be a real drag.


JaJuan and Ostrich Continue USA Basketball Tryouts Against Our Advice

Yes, they're all "honored" and stuff to be trying out for the USA Basketball's World University Games team. The rest of us would rather they sit in a barcalounger for the summer.

Five of the 16 players initially invited to try out are from the Big Ten, more than any other conference.

Oh, but yeah, the Big Ten is weak, right Digger?

The Indy Star Has A Purdue Football Opinion?

According to the Indy Star, the Boilers have a "Tough football schedule." It says so right in the headline. However, I might argue that starting the season with three of four at home against Toledo, No. Illinois and Notre Dame (all winnable games, even for this season's expectations) means that a 3-1 start, while not necessarily likely, isn't exactly far-fetched. We'll keep an eye on the Star to see if they contribute anything noteworthy, or instead continue to just be an IU lapdog.

Have We Heard The Last of Justin Siller?

This is completely unfounded, but according to on-campus BS sources, Siller remains enrolled at Purdue and appears (appears) to have no plans to leave. He has not transferred and apparently is readying to take classes this fall. If this is accurate, what does it mean? Has Siller had enough of football? Is it only a matter of time before he transfers to a school that makes him an offer? Or is it possible that he'll lie low for another year and then knock on Coach Hope's door? If you have any insight, shoot us a note.

Slow-Motion Takeover of All NFL QB Positions By Boilers Underway

In former Boilermaker news, Kyle Orton got the nod to be the Chicago Bears starter today over his lukewarm competitior, Rex Grossman.

I'm happy for KO, although he was probably pretty happy just being a backup in the league. If he has another mediocre season, I think there's a chance he winds up cut by next year and not playing anywhere in the NFL.

However, I think he has some upside. No, he's not a championship caliber QB necessarily, but he's a big, drop-back passer and that works in the NFL. And all Orton's ever been asked to do for the Bears is not lose games. That is, the play-calling has always been ultra-conservative when he's in there since Lovie Smith always relies on his defense. I have a feeling if things were opened up for Kyle that he might actually surprise some people.

Who knows how long it will last, but for now, the Boilermakers are up to 2 out of 32 starting QBs in the league.