Fully aware his second season may come down to the play of returning quarterback Ryan Browne, Purdue head coach Barry Odom voiced his confidence in his signal caller weeks ahead of the season kicking off.
“I think from a true self confidence standpoint, he’s a different guy because of the work he’s put in,” said Odom, who endured a trying 2-10 first year, during a talk with the Big Ten Network.
And then squashing any doubt if he would stick with Browne as his starter, Odom offered a simple “he’s earned that” as his response.
A rarity in the current era of college football, Browne is preparing to enter his fourth year at Purdue, granted only his second under Odom and in the Boilermakers’ current system. After serving as a backup and playing sporadically during his first two years, Browne threw for 2,153 yards, although only completing 58.8% of his passes, with only nine touchdowns to 10 interceptions. He did run for 2026 yards as well and add five more scores.
As the Purdue offense struggled to hang with the high-powered teams of the Big Ten, Browne made mistakes and suffered through growing pains, some that can be expected for a quarterback thrown to the fire as the main starter for the first time. Prior to 2025, Browne had only appeared in nine games in the previous two years combined, with eight coming in 2024.
As for Odom, he was hired and awarded a six-year contract with an annual salary of just over $6 million to turn around a Purdue program that has suffered through one of the darkest years in school history in the season preceding his arrival. Purdue fell to the low of going 1-11, losing 10-straight following a season opening win over Indiana State.
Odom’s success at UNLV – he was 19-8 in two years and won 10 games in his final campaign there in 2023 – earn him a promotion back up the Power Four. However, his past 25-25 mark from his time in the SEC with Missouri, his alma mater, creates concern about his ability to win at the highest level.
Barry Odom Explains Difference in Purdue QB Ryan Browne