Purdue football sets quarterback plan for IU, Old Oaken Bucket Game
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WEST LAFAYETTE — Purdue football plans to continue with the same quarterback plan against Indiana it used two weeks ago at Washington.
That could be a long-winded way of saying the Boilermakers will remain unpredictable while utilizing both Ryan Browne and Malachi Singleton.
Offensive coordinator Josh Henson said “Ryan is our starter” during Monday’s press conference in advance of the Bucket Game. Browne started the first 11 games of the season.
“We’ll feel the flow of the game and see how they’re playing,” Henson said. “We didn’t really have a set plan for the last game. But we felt as the game was flowing that some of the things Malachi brought to the table gave us a good shot to win that game.
“Ryan’s had a great week of practice. Malachi has too. We’ll start it the way we did and see how the game’s going.”
Browne started at Washington and played the first series before Singleton entered and played the next two. Singleton finished 16 of 28 for 150 yards, one touchdown and no turnovers. He rushed for 32 yards on nine carries, not including two sacks.
Browne finished 1 of 6 for 17 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. He broke off one 11-yard carry and took one sack.
Purdue managed nine first downs through three quarters, with all but one achieved with Singleton in the game. He did play a preponderance of the second-half stats — consistent with backup quarterback usage in a blowout.
Henson said he did not have an explanation for why the offense succeeded at a higher rate under Singleton against Washington.
“It’s all about context and how you look at it,” Henson said. “We’ve talked with both of those guys about how we see their roles developing and where we see things going, and they know it.
“But we do feel Malachi’s been playing well lately. That’s what I’m saying — we’re not afraid to play Malachi. We’re going to feel that as the game goes.”
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Purdue football quarterback against Indiana, Ryan Browne or Malachi Singleton
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