Purdue football quarterback breakdown: Who is behind Hudson Card?

WEST LAFAYETTE — Purdue football has one player who has thrown a pass in a Boilermaker jersey.

But don't expect leading returning passer Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen, a receiver who completed a 26-yard pass in the Citrus Bowl loss to LSU last January, to inherit any snaps behind center.

Purdue has six quarterbacks on its roster. Only two have taken in-game snaps at the college level — redshirt juniors Hudson Card while playing at Texas and Kyle Adams while playing for James Madison.

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Four of Purdue's six quarterbacks began their college football careers elsewhere. The other two are true freshmen.

Let's break down the position and potential depth chart at quarterback.

Hudson Card

The QB1 position belongs to the former Texas signal caller who made the move to West Lafayette and went through spring camp taking first team reps, assuming the role previously manned by Aidan O'Connell, now with the NFL's Las Vegas Raiders.

Card was 127-for-194 with 1,523 yards passing, 11 touchdowns and two interceptions while also rushing for 74 yards and a score with the Longhorns.

"Knowing you're going to get more reps is nice to be able to gain confidence and trust with the guys receiver wise," Card said.

Purdue backup quarterback battle

Bennett Meredith, a redshirt freshman transfer from Arizona State, appears to be the front runner for the backup quarterback role.

Meredith threw for more than 5,000 yards in two seasons as a starter at powerhouse Hoover High in Alabama. However, he has just two practices in offensive coordinator Graham Harrell's system after Thursday.

"I put in some extra time without having spring ball under my belt," Meredith said. "Even before I was on campus, we were on Zoom calls. We were installing. They made the transition really easy."

Ryan Browne enrolled at Purdue in January and split second team reps in the spring with Brady Allen, now at Louisville. He's a former state championship quarterback in Florida before going to prep school in New York last fall. Browne's father is a former running back for the Los Angeles Raiders.

Also factor in quarterback depth

Adams was a record-setting quarterback at nearby West Lafayette High School, leading the Red Devils to an undefeated state championship in 2018. Adams played in two games over two seasons at James Madison with the highlight being a 19-yard carry at William & Mary in 2020. Adams was with the Boilermakers last season but saw no action.

Christian Gelov, from Guerin Catholic in Noblesville, went to TCU out of high school and is in his third season with Purdue. Walk-on freshman Jake Wilson rounds out Purdue's QB depth chart.

Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Purdue football quarterback breakdown: Who is behind Hudson Card?