Purdue coach Barry Odom doubles down on Ryan Browne, but bets on himself

WEST LAFAYETTE — Purdue football coach Barry Odom arrived at a press conference last month, ostensibly held to discuss his transfer portal class, prepared to endorse one specific player.

Not the Boilermakers’ revamped running back group, or the remade offensive line or the infusion of veteran receivers. Not the defensive line replacements nor the overhaul at the back end of the secondary.

Odom wanted anyone watching that news conference to take away one declaration more than any other.

“No. 1, I want it said, from as high of a mountaintop as I can be on: I believe in Ryan Browne,” Odom said of his incumbent starting quarterback.

“The development of things I saw him do – the arm talent, his football IQ – he can win in this conference. I believe that.”

Why did the returning full-season starter need a vote of confidence? Browne quarterbacked a 2-10 team which went winless in the Big Ten. He committed late turnovers contributing directly to defeat in two of the most winnable games. He ranked last among qualifying Big Ten starters in pass efficiency rating and threw more interceptions than touchdowns.

Whether or not Browne needed Odom's public show of support, the coach had already given the fourth-year QB more concrete measures of his commitment. Per multiple sources, Browne signed a multi-year revenue share contract prior to the end of the regular season. Then, the staff brought in no additional quarterbacks in its 32-man transfer class.

That action represented a clear statement: Odom not only believes in his quarterbacks, he believes in the offseason roster strategy which coalesced around them.

“If I didn’t think we had a quarterback in the room that could go win at this level, we certainly would have been as aggressive as we could possibly be to get one,” Odom said. “But I believe in Ryan. I also believe in (QB coach) Darin Hinshaw and (offensive coordinator) Josh Henson. I believe in (strength coach Keiro Small).

“And you know what? I’m betting on me, too.”

Why did Barry Odom and Purdue commmit to Ryan Browne?

Any fans who expected Purdue to land an established quarterback with better credentials via the portal was naive to the sport’s current landscape. And as much as they may not want to admit it, money has little if anything to do with it.

Even if Purdue could afford the $3-5 million such quarterbacks command on the open market, would that player take the call? Sam Leavitt and Brendan Sorsby and DJ Lagway and Dylan Raiola do not leave secure positions to join a rebuild in the cornfields of Indiana.

So Odom and general manager Brandon Lee went the other route. They set out to raise the performance level at the other 21 spots. They sought more weapons and better support. They wanted to keep the ball in Browne's hands but lessen the load on his shoulders.

Browne completed 58.9% of his passes, averaged 6.4 yards per attempt, threw nine touchdowns against 10 interceptions and compiled a pass efficiency rating of 115.26. His numbers worsened over the course of the season as the schedule toughened.

You can also find similar quarterback performance on teams who achieved the sort of season Purdue fans would have considered a big step forward:

• Northwestern’s Preston Stone: 60% completions, 6.5 yards per attempt, 17 TDs, 12 INTs  (led Big Ten), 123.15 rating. The Wildcats went 7-6 and beat Central Michigan in the GameAbove Sports Bowl.

• Wake Forest’s Roby Ashford: 59.3% completions, 7.7 yards per attempt, 12 TDs, 8 INTs, 131.14 rating. The Demon Deacons went 9-4 and beat Mississippi State in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.

• Florida International’s Keyone Jenkins: 62.4% completions, 6.6 yards per attempt, 9 TDs, 6 INTs, 124.73 rating. The Panthers went 7-5 in the regular season but lost the First Responder Bowl.

Of course, one can also argue stronger quarterback play should lift the talent around them. Purdue needs both halves of the equation.

Browne cannot again rank as the worst full-time starter in the league. He also needs help.

While more reliable receiver play will help, Odom also made a clear offseason investment in the run game. He replaced his offensive line and running backs coaches, brought in three upside options in the backfield and added a handful of offensive linemen with power conference experience.

Odom, though, insists he expects Browne to level up in 2026. He went so far as to compare his quarterback to one he coached at Missouri – one who will soon suit up for the Super Bowl.

To which NFL quarterback did Barry Odom compare Ryan Browne?

Drew Lock did not star out of the gates at Missouri. He threw more incompletions than completions as a freshman. Threw twice as many interceptions as touchdowns. Averaged a meager 5.1 yards per attempt.

A year later, the became a 3,000-yard passer with a 23-to-10 touchdown-interception ratio. One year later, his 44 touchdown passes led the nation and he was voted first team All-SEC.

He’s been an NFL journeyman since the Denver Broncos took him in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft, but now is Sam Darnold's backup for the Seattle Seahawks. Odom mentioned him and Browne in the same breath. He’s been doing this long enough to know that’s a reckless thing to do if he doesn’t mean it.

“I hate doing comparisons, but I’m going to in this situation because I believe what I’ve seen,” Odom said. “There are similar arm talent and traits between Drew and Ryan.

“So our challenge as an organization – yeah, we’ve got to get Ryan Browne better at ball fakes and eyes and trusting and all those things a quarterback’s got to develop – but we also need the 10 guys around him to play better. We’ve got to coach better. We’ve got to execute better. We’ve got to play better.”

Purdue committed to Browne before the end of the season. It committed to the other four scholarship quarterbacks in the room when it brought in no one else to compete with Browne for the starting job. 

Why didn't Purdue bring in more competition for Ryan Browne?

Browne and Malachi Singleton took every game rep last season. Asked specifically after a 49-13 loss at Washington on Nov. 15 if he considered inserting Bennett Meredith for mop-up snaps, Odom responded with a curt, “No.”

Singleton transferred to Appalachian State. That left Meredith, who started one game in 2023, Evans Chuba, Garyt Odom and freshman Corin Berry as the other scholarship options.

Odom told IndyStar adding a sixth scholarship quarterback – skewing both the scholarship load and revenue share budget committed to one position – would not have prohibitively imbalanced those factors. However, he also questioned the prudence of adding a sixth based on how thin that would stretch the available practice reps.

By standing pat, Odom and his staff essentially declared the quarterback room already contains multiple Big Ten starters – or, it will by the start of the season.

Odom called Chuba “as talented as anyone we’ve got on the roster.” The Washington State transfer flashed potential in preseason camp but, as sometimes happens with young quarterbacks, struggled with accuracy and ball security. 

Berry, a three-star prospect from California, will be with the team this spring.

While Odom committed to Browne, the quarterback committed to improvement. He plans to spend much of the winter traveling back and forth to visit quarterback coach Jeff Christensen in Texas.

Browne will be judged against the baseline he established last season. Odom will be judged on whether whatever he and his backups do is enough. It’s a bet on his football mind as much as it is a bet on his quarterback’s arm and legs.

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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Purdue football news: Why Ryan Browne is Barry Odom's quarterback