Purdue coach Jeff Brohm was an assistant at Louisville, his alma mater, when the Cardinals faced West Virginia on Oct. 15, 2005. The Mountaineers were coached by Rich Rodriguez, who had utilized two quarterbacks up to that point: Adam Bednarik and Pat White.
Bednarik was the starter, White his little-known sub. Louisville led West Virginia 24-7 in the fourth quarter when Bednarik got hurt.
“The rest,” Brohm said, “was history.”
White rallied the Mountaineers to a 46-44 victory in triple overtime. He became one of the most prolific dual-threat quarterbacks in NCAA history.
The events of ’05 give Brohm a unique understanding of the quarterback dynamic at Arizona, where Khalil Tate took over for the injured Brandon Dawkins on Oct. 7 and changed the fortunes of the Wildcats’ program. Brohm has seen this movie before, and he’ll have a front-row perch when Purdue faces Arizona in the Dec. 27 Foster Farms Bowl in Santa Clara, California.
Brohm and Rodriguez met with various Bay Area media outlets Monday to talk about their teams and promote the game. Brohm was treading on familiar ground: He spent two-plus seasons with the 49ers, serving as the backup quarterback to Steve Young at the tail end of their glory years.
Brohm began coaching in the early 2000s, eventually becoming the head coach at Western Kentucky. After going 30-10 in three seasons, he guided Purdue to a 6-6 mark in his first year. The Boilermakers hadn’t won more than three games in any of the previous four seasons.
Brohm talked about getting things going at Purdue, containing Tate, playing for the 49ers and other topics during his press briefing. Here’s a portion of that conversation:
You took over a team that had some really lean years. What’s the first step when you join a program like that?
A: “We knew they were challenges, without question, when we came to Purdue. For whatever reason, they had not won recently. Sometimes that happens. First thing when we got there, we had to find a way to get their confidence up. You could tell they were beaten down and didn’t quite believe that they were as good as they could be. We worked hard in the spring and the summer and fall camp. There were numerous times our defense was dominating our offense. I was very hopeful that our defense was good and our offense wasn’t as bad as I thought.
“It really wasn’t until the first game against Louisville, against a Heisman Trophy candidate (Lamar Jackson), a quarterback very similar to Khalil, that we came into halftime with a lead. Going into the locker room, our players were fired up and excited. You’d have thought we won the Super Bowl.
“That was good to see — the fact that they now did believe they could play well. We didn’t end up finishing the game, but it did feel like it definitely boosted their confidence. That was the first time I felt like maybe we do have a chance to play at a higher level.
“It’s good to see players and people on your team that maybe haven’t had as much success in the past experience it. We had numerous victories this year where seniors came up to me and expressed more gratitude than I’m used to after a win. It definitely makes you feel good.”
You needed to win your last two games to become bowl-eligible. It started with a win at Iowa. What went right that game?
A: “Our football team kind of had some tough losses in the middle of the season before that game that weren’t a lot of fun. It got our coaches a little upset, our players a little angry. I think we went about it the right way. We were critical of ourselves as coaches and players. We found a way to improve. We came out and knew we needed to swing for the fence in that Iowa game at their home stadium, and our guys made plays. Our defense really stepped up and played outstanding. Offensively, we hit some shots up the field. We got a lead. It was just a big confidence booster for us.
“It helped carry us into the next game against our rival (Indiana) and win that one. I just like the makeup of our guys. The losses, while they did hurt, they helped us become stronger and (inspired us to) work that much harder to improve.”
You faced Lamar Jackson in Week 1. How can that experience help prepare you to face Tate?
A: “I think it can help us greatly. The only part that’s discouraging is we worked all spring, all summer, all fall camp to contain Lamar Jackson, and I think in that first game he singlehandedly beat us. (Jackson had 485 total yards and accounted for two touchdowns in Louisville’s 35-28 victory.) So it really didn’t work.
“But I think we can learn from it. When you play a dynamic guy, you’ve gotta find a way to contain him. He’s going to make a few plays. You’ve gotta make sure he doesn’t break the long play. We’re going to have to have a much better plan than we did the first game.
“This quarterback … is a strong runner. Yes, he can throw it. Yes, he can run an offense. But when he runs, he can run through tackles and he has great speed. It’ll be a challenge. Sometimes when you play opponents like this, you’ve gotta find a way to somehow get a lead early and maybe make them do a few things they don’t want to do. But that’s easier said than done.”
You played for the 49ers. You’re back in San Francisco. What memories spring to mind?
A: “A lot of good memories for me. I was a backup that was just trying to find a way to make the team. I was with the 49ers for three years; it was my longest stint with a team. It was in their heyday. We had Steve Young. We had Jerry Rice, Ken Norton, Merton Hanks, Tim McDonald. A lot of great players. We knew how to win. Bill Walsh came back as a consultant. Just the way they approached the game – when they took the field, they knew they were going to win.
“When you’re a guy that’s trying to create a path, make the football team and make a living, you try to listen a little bit more and watch those guys. I definitely learned a lot in my days here, how to go about things the right way and have success. It’s a great town — great football tradition and history. I’m still a 49er fan.”
What would finishing with a winning record and beating a Pac-12 team do to launch your program?
A: “It would be huge for our program. I know our guys have made some progress this year. It’s meant a lot to them. It’s been a while since we’ve been in this environment, so to be able to extend the season is huge for us. We’re looking forward to experiencing San Francisco and everything it has to offer.
“But the opponent we play is very good. They’ve got a dynamic quarterback that’s hard to contain. Coach Rodriguez definitely knows how to coach those guys and get them to where they’re scoring a lot of points. They’re exciting to watch.
“For us, I feel like we have finished strong. We have improved. This will be a real test.”
Extra points
- UA linebackers Tony Fields II and Colin Schooler have been named to ESPN.com’s Freshman All-America Team. Fields has started every game for the Wildcats and leads the team in tackles. Schooler started the last eight games and won the Pac-12 Defensive Freshman of the Year award.
- At least five prominent publications have ranked Tate among their top candidates for the 2018 Heisman Trophy.
- The Wildcats are scheduled to resume practice Wednesday after a two-day break to focus on final exams.
