Purdue football coach Barry Odom sees opportunity at Michigan
Purdue enters the final four weeks of the regular season with a daunting schedule of top teams. Hear what Barry Odom said ahead of Michigan.
WEST LAFAYETTE − The old adage is if you have two quarterbacks, you have none.
Purdue football is trying to shun that notion.
Malachi Singleton continues to be called upon to offer defenses a different look. Purdue’s hippo package features an extra lineman and inserts Singleton at quarterback.
Against Rutgers last Saturday, Singleton played nine snaps, carrying four times and throwing three, including a pair of touchdowns.
“Malachi has earned that trust. He can help us win games,” Purdue offensive coordinator Josh Henson said on Monday. “Everybody sees that when he’s on the field.”
Purdue’s best two chances to win during its current six-game losing streak saw the Boilermakers receive a boost with a big play from Singleton.
At Minnesota, Singleton rushed for a 40-yard touchdown. Against Rutgers, Singleton threw touchdowns to running backs Malachi Thomas and Devin Mockobee.
Singleton saw his most extensive playing time on Oct. 18 at Northwestern, spelling injured starter Ryan Browne.
“Ryan is our starting quarterback, but there’s certain things we’re trying to get because Malachi is playing well and has earned playing time,” Boilers coach Barry Odom said. Anybody that we feel is in a position to help us play winning football, we’ll find a way to get him on the field.
Singleton saw his most extensive playing time on Oct. 18 at Northwestern, spelling injured starter Ryan Browne and taking 39 snaps with mixed results.
Browne’s eight starts have also seen mixed results, and Henson said on Monday that’s been the M.O. of the offense this season: mistakes and poor play varied with an explosive offense.
How has each performed behind center?
Browne (477 snaps): 144-242, 59.5%, 1,689 yards, 8 TD, 7 INT, 51 carries, 165 yards, 4 TD, 2 receptions, 11 yards, 1 TD
Singleton (78 snaps): 18-31, 58.1%, 266 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT, 29 carries, 153 yards, 1 TD
The competition for starting quarterback wasn’t decided until late in fall camp.
Browne won the job, but the Boilermaker staff still believes they need both to win.
“Whoever is in, they are going to go in and compete and help us win. Both have been doing a great job,” fullback Christian Moore said. “They are both fierce competitors and they both keep putting us in position to win games. We’ve just got to find a way to win.”
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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