Purdue a cradle of quarterbacks

BY CLIFF BRUNT AP SPORTS WRITER

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INDIANAPOLIS – Perhaps the secret to NFL perfection is having a former Purdue quarterback on your roster.

The New Orleans Saints, Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts are a combined 18-0 this season, and they are the only unbeaten teams remaining in the league. New Orleans’ Drew Brees and Denver’s Kyle Orton are having career years, while Indianapolis rookie Curtis Painter is learning under Peyton Manning.

It so happens that all three became stars at Purdue under former coach Joe Tiller’s spread offense. And with Purdue senior Joey Elliott leading the Boilermakers past Ohio State two weeks ago, it’s a good time to be a member of a tightly knit Purdue quarterback fraternity that stays in touch and pulls for one another.

Brees text-messaged Elliott the day before the Ohio State game and told him to “shock the world.” Elliott threw for 281 yards and two touchdowns as Purdue stunned the No. 7 Buckeyes 26-18.

“It was awesome,” Brees said. “I just kind of had a feeling it was going to happen and it did.”

The Purdue quarterback tradition is deep. Bob Griese and Len Dawson have won Super Bowls, Mike Phipps was the Heisman Trophy runner-up in 1969 and Merk Herrmann, Gary Danielson and Jim Everett had lengthy NFL careers. The school calls itself the “Cradle of Quarterbacks.”

The common bond for the latest crop of Purdue passers is Tiller. Brees said Tiller helped him become a man. Orton agreed.

“He really wasn’t an ‘X and O’ guy at all in school,” Orton said. “He didn’t even bother with that stuff. But he taught you how to be a quarterback, how to be a leader. He did a great job with that. We had some great quarterbacks go through Purdue and we’d learn from him. He made football fun.”