Purdue quarterback's growth highlighted by becoming one of Big Ten's best passers from near upset
· Yahoo Sports
WEST LAFAYETTE — For the second time in his Purdue football career, Ryan Browne looks like an overnight sensation.
That was never a true assessment, especially this season. He endured his share of first-year-starter growing pains during last season's struggles to 2-10. He came into this season with the wisdom of a veteran's experience – and the accompanying battle scars.
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Nor was it true on Oct. 12, 2024, when Browne made his starting debut at Illinois. He played at four schools in as many years between high school and prep school. The quarterback guru who recruited him left the Boilermakers before Browne's college career began.
That night in Champaign, though, Browne looked ready for the moment. He also displayed an incomplete, yet-unrealized glimpse of his potential.
He returns Saturday having begun to fulfill that promise in ways which have electrified Purdue's offense and grabbed attention across college football.
"He's grown tremendously as a player," offensive coordinator Josh Henson said.
The pure counting stats help there. Only two Big Ten quarterbacks have thrown for more yards per game through the season's first month (283.8). He is hooking up with receivers for explosive touchdowns more frequently, throwing interceptions more rarely.
Add in the occasional read-option run or scramble for a first down, and one can see Browne's progress across the treacherous bridge from starting quarterback to winning quarterback.
"Very impressive kid," Illinois coach Bret Bielema said prior to last year's game in West Lafayette. "He understands it, gets it. ... You can see he's gaining confidence."
Browne's progression did not start that night at Illinois, but it raised the ceiling on where his talents may someday take him.
Ryan Browne nearly pulled off a shocker in Champaign in 2024
A three-star prospect ranked outside the top 50 quarterbacks and top 1,000 overall in the On3 industry rankings, Browne carried the Jeff Brohm seal of approval. When Browne committed on Oct. 7, 2022, the Boilermakers were en route to a Big Ten championship game appearance under the former Louisville and NFL quarterback.
Brohm left for his alma mater before Browne's signing day. Browne stayed for the new beginning under Ryan Walters. He made his collegiate debut at Northwestern on Nov. 18, 2023, alternating series with Bennett Meredith in place of an injured Hudson Card.
When injury again forced Card off the field in 2024, the season's spiral already had begun. Purdue had lost four straight, averaging 11 points per game against FBS opponents. Walters fired offensive coordinator Graham Harrell after the third of those losses, prior to a 52-6 embarrassment at Wisconsin.
Card began experiencing concussion symptoms following that game. Browne took over as the No. 1 that week. While he had not yet proven himself on the field as a quarterback, teammates had already taken notice of other intangibles.
"He's got a high football IQ, and that's who he is as a person," Jason Simmons, Purdue's interim offensive coordinator at the time, said following the Illinois game. "If you run into him in the hallway, he's got great juice and energy about him. He's an infectious person.
"I think our guys gravitated toward that last week, when he knew he was going to be the starter and you saw our guys rally around him."
Also taking over in a new role that week was Walters, a former defensive coordinator who installed himself as the offensive play caller. A novice play caller out of his depth was merely one of the factors working against Browne that night. Others included his own inexperience, a lack of playmakers across the offense, slipping team morale and a hostile road environment.
He led a single scoring drive in the first half, resulting in a field goal. His passing stats at halftime: 4 of 7 for 9 yards. After Illinois' opening drive of the third quarter, Browne and the Boilermakers faced a 27-3 deficit.
That first half, though, may have helped soften up the ground a bit. Purdue experimented with some new formations. Browne ran frequently, either on designed calls or off of zone option reads.
Chunk plays unfolded in the second half. A 53-yard connection to Jahmal Edrine off a double move. A reverse flea-flicker to tight end Max Klare for 62 yards. An RPO pulled back before hitting Klare again for 40 yards.
Browne had one final obstacle to overcome – a 40-28 deficit with 5:05 left in regulation. On the ensuing drive, he scrambled for 10 yards on third-and-8. He completed his final four pass on that drive, setting up a 2-yard Devin Mockobee touchdown run.
Purdue recovered the onside kick. A 21-yard hookup with Jaron Tibbs put it back in the red zone. On the next snap, a perfect back-shoulder pass to Mockobee resulted in the go-ahead touchdown. He also threw a 2-point conversion pass to Edrine for a 43-40 lead.
"I'm super proud of Ryan, because he played his ass off and left everything out there for us," Klare said after the game. "He gave us a chance to win that game.”
Purdue, as you likely know, could not complete that opportunity. Illinois drove for the tying field goal, then scored a touchdown on the first play of overtime. Mockobee's 22-yard run set up a 3-yard score for Arhmad Branch. Walters went for the win, but Purdue did not pick up the Illinois blitz, and Browne could not outrun the game-ending sack.
Browne started once more – the following week against then-No. 2 Oregon. He completed 9 of 19 passes for 93 yards and an interception. Card returned to finish out the year as the starter.
Yet Browne's night in Champaign lingered into the offseason as a potential source of light at the end of a dark tunnel. It extinguished when he transferred to North Carolina during the coaching transition between Walters and Barry Odom. It glowed again when he returned after the spring.
Browne kept chasing that promise last season. Much like that first night in Champaign, he balanced highs and lows. He did not have enough reliable, dynamic weapons. He made too many costly mistakes in big situations. His identity as a quarterback had not yet caught up to his smart, gritty attributes as a football player.
Through four games this season, that identity has begun to change.
Where Ryan Browne ranks among the Big Ten's best quarterbacks
Browne went into the Notre Dame game leading the Big Ten in passing yards per game (341.3). The Irish solved him.
Against the most pressure he's faced this season, Browne completed 18 of 28 passes for 111 yards − a rough 3.96 yards per attempt. He took four sacks, including one causing a fumble returned for a touchdown. He did not throw a touchdown pass.
"I think I was probably a little bit sped up today," Browne said. "Got to get in the film room and correct it and get on to the next week."
It was a weekend of some of the league's breakout passers coming back to Earth. Penn State's Rocco Becht led in pass efficiency rating through three games, then was stifled by Wisconsin. Northwestern couldn't beat Indiana, but at least cooled Josh Hoover off a bit.
Even before the Notre Dame correction to his numbers, Browne's ranking in the more nuanced measures of quarterback performance highlighted exactly why his breakout is so crucial.
His pass efficiency rating of 161.58 (up from 115.26 last season) ranks ninth among Big Ten starters. His 8.8 yards per attempt (up from 6.4 last season) ranks seventh. His 71.3% completions (up from 58.9% last season) ranks second.
Purdue needed better quarterback play this season because several Big Ten teams will undoubtedly benefit from excellent quarterback play this season.
Illinois' Katin Houser ranks a smidge ahead of Browne in QB rating. They'll face off this week. Becht and Hoover await later this season.
It remains unclear how many of those teams Purdue can beat until it defense begins to better limit any opposing quarterback. Yet it would have next to no chance to beat them without its own upper-tier presence under center.
Nothing guarantees improvement for returning starters. Aiden O'Connell trailed only Ohio State Heisman Trophy finalist C.J. Stroud in pass efficiency rating among Big Ten QBs in 2021. His numbers regressed across the board the following season. Card went into 2024 with the promise of building off modest successes in Year 1 under Walters. His performance, and that of the entire offense, collapsed in Year 2.
Browne so far bucked that trend with authority. Instead of being a reason Purdue came up short in close games last season, he became the reason they arguably should have opened the season 3-0.
As far as he has come, the journey is not over. Every week puts another version of the new Browne on film. Other tough defensive tests await. Again, small sample sizes and strength of opponent caveats apply. However, of the defenses allowing the lowest opposing QB rating so far, Penn State (No. 1), Iowa (No. 3), Indiana (No. 7) and Washington (No. 21) remain ahead on the schedule.
For the past few years, such matchups seemed like reasons to write off Purdue's upset chances early. One of Browne's biggest achievements this season has been the injection of optimism into any given week's fortunes.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Purdue quarterback's growth highlighted by becoming one of Big Ten's best passers from near upset
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