Boilermakers Country

Purdue Football Coach Jeff Brohm Names Jack Plummer Starting Quarterback

Jack Plummer has appeared in 10 games for Purdue over the last two seasons. In his career, he's totalled 2,541 yards, 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He earned the starting nod over Aidan O'Connell and Austin Burton.

D.J. Fezler

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — After weeks of competition for the starting job, Purdue coach Jeff Brohm announced Thursday that junior Jack Plummer will open the 2021 season under center for the Boilermakers. 

"I think he's earned it. He worked extremely hard, and he's got great leadership skills," Brohm said. "He wants to win, he wants to put in the work, his teammates respect him."

Plummer earned the nod over fifth-year senior Aidan O'Connell and senior Austin Burton. He will be the third different quarterback to start a season opener for Purdue in the last three seasons.

The 6-foot-5, 220-pound signal-caller has appeared in 10 games for the Boilermakers, including nine starts. He's tallied passing 2,541 passing yards, 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Plummer set himself apart from the quarterbacks jostling for the position through his consistency and also his mobility. As a ball carrier, he's recorded 77 yards on the ground, including one score.

"He gives us some athleticism as well, which he has to utilize when he's out there," Brohm said. "Whether it's a designed run or whether a scramble has to happen to get some yards or buy some time to make a play.

"Making good decisions and leading the team for scores is the most important thing, but he's had a good camp. He wants to win, he has experienced for us, and he knows that we have a very capable quarterback room."

Plummer has a record of 2-7 in his starts for Purdue. He lost last season's quarterback competition to O'Connell but started the last three games of the year after O'Connell suffered a season-ending foot injury.

During the 2020 season, Plummer completed 88 of his 124 pass attempts for 938 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions.

As of now, neither O'Connell nor Burton have been officially named the backup quarterback to Plummer. But Brohm made it clear that each of them will need to be ready in case their number is called.

"We feel good that that position has worked hard, it has improved," Brohm said. "Obviously, you have to prove it in the game, but I think they know that if their opportunity comes it's going to be up to them to go out there and be prepared to be ready to go and prove that you can execute and help your team score.

"But I do think that all of our quarterbacks are great young men. They get along well and respect each other and want to help the team win. And that's exactly what we need."

Purdue opens the season on Saturday, Sept. 4 against Oregon State at Ross-Ade Stadium. The game starts at 7 p.m. ET and will be televised on FOX Sports 1. As of Thursday, Purdue is a 6.5-point favorite according to sports gambling website Fanduel.com. The over/under is 65.5 points.

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D.J. Fezler
D.J. FEZLER

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. 

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