Purdue football coach Barry Odom: Spring update, QB battle, injuries
Purdue had an indoor scrimmage on Saturday. Hear what coach Barry Odom said after.
WEST LAFAYETTE − Purdue football has four dates left on its spring schedule, culminating with next Saturday’s spring showcase in Ross-Ade Stadium.
Day 11 wrapped up with a Saturday scrimmage inside Mollenkopf Athletic Center.
The offense offset a day where the defense had the upper hand by countering with some big plays.
But before the scrimmage hit head on, one of the Boilermakers‘ promising young stars was carted off the field with an injury when tight end George Burhenn was hurt on the first play.
Purdue enters its final week of the spring season with some unanswered questions. Here are three:
How will Purdue football replace Max Klare?
After a breakout season, tight end Max Klare capitalized on being Purdue’s leading receiver with 51 catches for 685 yards and 4 touchdowns, transferring to national champion Ohio State.
Throughout the spring, redshirt sophomore Burhenn had appeared to be not only Purdue’s top tight end, but one of the Boilers’ best overall players. If his injury Saturday is severe — head coach Barry Odom had no immediate update after practice concluded — who rises to the top of the tight end depth chart?
Six-foot-8 UNLV transfer Christian Earls has received plenty of reps with Purdue’s first unit offense. Christian Moore, another transfer from UNLV, and Wake Forest transfer Luca Puccinelli also appear to be options.
Who will be Purdue football’s starting quarterback?
If the Boilermaker staff knows the answer, they’re not letting it out of the bag.
Odom did say Saturday he believes next season’s starting quarterback is currently on Purdue’s roster, which would make it one of these four players: Bennett Meredith, who started for Purdue at Northwestern in 2023, and transfers Malachi Singleton (Arkansas), EJ Colson (UCF) or Evans Chuba (Washington State).
Each brings a slightly different skillset. Chuba has been high risk, high reward this spring and quarterbacks coach Darin Hinshaw said this week he needs to see Chuba take better care of the ball. But he has the best arm of the bunch.
Singleton piloted a game-winning drive for the Razorbacks last season against Tennessee, scoring the winning touchdown with his legs. Singleton may have the inside track as coaches have raved about his growth. Colson offers some of the same skills as Singleton and did get some reps at UCF. He followed Hinshaw to West Lafayette and knows his QBs coach well.
Meredith doesn’t take as many risks. He’s the oldest of the bunch. After starting his career at Arizona State, Meredith is in his third season at Purdue and fourth year overall.
Can Purdue’s returnees in the secondary elevate defense?
The Boilermakers were hit hard by transfer departures in the secondary, including former All-American safety Dillon Thieneman, now at Oregon. Because of that, Purdue’s new staff worked the portal to bring in experience and did so with Crew Wakley, Tony Grimes, Richard Toney Jr. and Ryan Turner.
But some holdovers have made names for themselves with defensive coordinator Mike Scherer’s staff.
Sterling “Stu” Smith is one player whose impressed in the spring, resulting in a number change from 46 to 3, which would indicate he’s a keeper. After playing at Holy Cross in 2023, Smith didn’t see the field last season after transferring to Purdue.
Sophomore Hudauri Hines, another number change guy going from 16 to 4, is performing admirably at corner after seeing playing time last season and having a career day against Penn State. Sophomore safety Ty Hudkins was utilized on special teams last season and has been a playmaker this spring.
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on X and Instagram @samueltking.
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