Former Boilermaker Drew Brees Will be on the Call for NBC When Purdue Plays Notre Dame
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — As Purdue football prepares to take on Notre Dame on Saturday in South Bend, Indiana, fans can look forward to seeing a familiar face when NBC Sports begins its television broadcast of the game.
Former Boilermaker legend Drew Brees will be on the call as an analyst for NBC when the team plays the Fighting Irish. He played for Purdue between 1997 and 2000, recording program records of 1,026 completions, 11,792 passing yards and 90 passing touchdowns during his college career.
Brees helped orchestrate the Boilermakers' Rose Bowl appearance as a senior in 2000. He completed 309 of his 512 pass attempts for 3,668 yards and 26 touchdowns in 12 games.
Purdue finished the year 8-4 after suffering a 34-24 loss in the Rose Bowl at the hands of Washington.
Brees went on to have a 20-year career in the NFL and was drafted with the first pick of the second round in 2001 by the San Diego Chargers. He was the second quarterback taken in the draft, following Virginia Tech's Michael Vick.
After five seasons with the Chargers, Brees was traded to the New Orleans Saints, where he spent the rest of his career. He guided the team to its first Super Bowl victory during the 2009 season.
Brees is the NFL's all-time leader in career pass completions, career completion percentage, and regular-season passing yards. He is also second in career touchdown passes and career pass attempts.
Brees holds the record for consecutive games with a touchdown pass, breaking the feat previously held by Johnny Unitas for 52 years.
After retiring at the end of the 2020 season, Brees joined NBC as a studio analyst for Football Night in America and a game analyst for Notre Dame football. He will also work the Super Bowl and Olympics for the network.
Purdue is scheduled to play Notre Dame on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET. As of Monday morning, Purdue is a 7.5-point underdog on the road, according to sports gambling website FanDuel.com. The over/under is 58.5 points.
Stories Related to Purdue Football
- HORVATH TO HAVE SURGERY: Fifth-year senior running back Zander Horvath will undergo surgery Tuesday and will miss anywhere from four to eight weeks. Junior King Doerue and redshirt freshman Dylan Downing will be the team's top two options in the backfield. CLICK HERE
- PURDUE-UCONN REPORT CARD: Purdue football earned its first road victory of the season Saturday against UConn. In a blowout win, multiple backup players saw playing time and still managed to execute at a high level. A look at the Boilermakers' second report card of the year. CLICK HERE
- DOERUE, DOWNING STEP UP IN THE BACKFIELD: Purdue coach Jeff Brohm said Zander Horvath is going to miss time after suffering a lower leg injury against UConn on Saturday. In his place, King Doerue and Dylan Downing combined for 146 yards on the ground during the team's 49-0 victory. CLICK HERE
- PURDUE-UCONN GAME STORY: David Bell caught just six passes for Purdue in a shutout against UConn on Saturday, but he put up 121 yards and three touchdowns. Starting quarterback Jack Plummer completed 19 passes for 273 yards and four scores in just one half of play. CLICK HERE
- PURDUE FOOTBALL 2021 SCHEDULE: Purdue's 2021 college football schedule includes nine Big Ten games and three nonconference matchups. The team will travel to South Bend, Indiana, next week to play Notre Dame for the first time since 2014. CLICK HERE
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D.J. Fezler is a staff writer for BoilermakersCountry.com. Hailing from The Region, he is from Cedar Lake in Northwest Indiana and has spent the last two years covering Purdue football and basketball.