Purdue Football: Depth Chart Review – Offense – Illinois

It finally happened: Purdue ended up on the correct side of a Big 10 ledger for the first time since the 2024 Indiana victory. I want to remind everyone that I predicted this outcome…just don't look at the other outcomes I may have gotten slightly incorrect along the way.

While I predicted a Purdue victory, I was wrong about the method of delivery. I thought it was going to take a Herculean effort from the offense, but somehow, the defense ended up as the star of the show. Ryan Browne, Fame Ijeboi, and company were OK, but I thought they were better against both Wake and UCLA. Luckily, the defense wasn't facing the Illinois offense, not the Demon Deacon or Bruin offense.

In the end, the offense made enough plays to win the game. The wide receivers made a couple of big plays; Ryan Browne didn't throw the ball to the wrong team; the run game did enough to keep the Illinois defense honest. Short-yardage and goal-to-go situations remained a struggle, but Antonio Harris gives me hope it won't be as big of a problem moving forward.

For the first time in forever, the program feels like it's trending in the right direction.

Ryan Browne : Snaps – 61 – Comp – 18/27 (69.7) – Yds – 255 – Td – 1 – Int – 0 – Rushes – 5 – Yds – -2

That was a good performance from Browne, good, but not great. I docked him half a grade for Purdue's continued struggle to cash in touchdowns inside the 10-yard line. Obviously, that's not all on Browne, but I need to put the blame somewhere. Heavy is the head that wears the quarterback crown, and whatnot.

He piloted one of the most important 4th-quarter drives in recent Purdue history when the offense received the ball after an Illinois field goal, up 6, with 8 minutes remaining. After a weirdly important kickoff return by reserve tight end Hayden Timosciek gave the Boilermakers solid field position at their 40, Browne completed 3 out of 4 passes, including a highlight real 31-yard pass to Chauncey Magwood, which put the ball on the 1-foot line. Not going to lie, Magwood not getting into the end zone felt like a bad omen, but Antonio Harris pushed the ball over the goal line on 2nd down to put Purdue up by 2 touchdowns with 4:30 remaining.

At this point, I think it's safe to say that Browne is in the upper quadrant of Big 10 signal callers. Not too shabby for a guy who was predicted to be the worst quarterback in the Big 10 coming into the season. Browne's improvement, aided by the massive influx of talent on offense, has the Boilermakers, for now, out of the Big 10 basement and playing with confidence.

Fame Ijeboi : Snaps – 49 – Rushes – 19 – Yds – 65 (3.4 YPC) – Tds – 0 – Rec – 1 – Yds – 10

Antonio Harris: Snaps – 18 – Rushes – 6 – Yds – 20 (3.3 YPC) – Tds – 1 – Rec – 1 – Yds – 4

Jerrick Gibson: Snaps – 4 – Rushes – 1 – Yds – 5 (5 YPC) – Tds – 0 – Rec – 1 – Yds – 9

That wasn't Fame's best performance. He struggled to find anything in Purdue's interior run game, and his attempt to bounce off a tackle inside the 5-yard line cost Purdue a second-and-third-down run attempt to put the ball in the end zone; the offense settled for a field goal instead of a touchdown. I liked the effort, but the situational awareness was lacking. He ended up with 2 rushes for over 10 yards, with a long of 14. His best play came in the passing game when he turned a well-covered swing pass on 3rd and 9 into a 1st and 10 on determination alone in the 3rd quarter. That drive ended in a field goal and kept Purdue's defense off the field for much of the 3rd quarter.

It appears Antonio Harris has carved out a role in the offense as the short yardage back. Purdue needed a solution to their short-yardage woes, and the 6'1", 215-pound junior running back provided one on Saturday. He picked up 2 short-yardage first downs and punched in a touchdown on the goal line.

Jerrick Gibson has been oddly efficient in his brief cameos. It feels like he shows up, has a respectable run, and then disappears for the rest of the game. Depth is crucial at running back. I like that the coaching staff is trying to keep Gibson involved, even if it's just a carry or two a game.

Chauncey Magwood : Snaps – 58 – Targets – 6 – Rec – 4 – Yds – 53

Xavier Townsend: Snaps – 39 – Targets – 6 – Rec – 4 – Yds – 24

De'Nylon Morrissette : Snaps – 31 – Targets – 2 – Rec – 0

Assad Waseem: Snaps – 31 – Targets – 4 – Rec – 3 – Yds – 98

Tra'Mar Harris: Snaps – 19 – Targets – 3 – Rec – 3 – Yds – 52 – Tds – 1

Wasseem received his first start of the season and continued to establish himself as Purdue's top receiver. Only had 3 receptions, but one went for 61 yards, and another went for 24 yards. My only minor gripe with Waseem was that I didn't think he finished the 61-yard reception hard enough. He sort of petered out inside the 10 and was escorted out of bounds by the closing Illinois defensive backs. Listen man, I know you ran a long way, but the end zone was right in front of you, and your team hasn't exactly excelled inside the 10-yard line this season. You've got to try to get the ball in the end zone by any means necessary. Purdue's best bet for scoring touchdowns is to skip the redzone altogether.

I was wondering when someone would start chiseling into Morrissette's snaps, and it looks like Tra'Mar Harris began the process on Saturday. He gives Ryan Browne a big body at wideout who excels at corralling back-shoulder throws. He made his 21-yard touchdown reception look easy and allowed the Boilermaker offense to avoid the dreaded zone of touchdown death inside the 10.

It was shaping up to be a relatively uneventful day for Chauncey Magwood, and then he made one of the best receptions I've seen from a Purdue receiver since David Bell was hauling in circus catches on the regular. Next time, I humbly request he find a way to finish the play in the end zone and not on the 1, but Antonio Harris managed to cash in Magwood's amazing catch for 6 points, 2 plays later.

Morrissette was on the field on running downs more than on passing downs and once failed to make a catch. It seems like Browne is always looking for Morrissette in the red zone, but he can never find him. Xavier Townsend was active in the game plan but couldn't turn any of his short receptions into anything other than short receptions.

In terms of yardage, this wasn't the receiving group's best day, but Wasseem, Magwood, and Tra'Mar Harris all made crucial downfield catches that helped Purdue build a lead and play from ahead instead of chasing points. Explosive passing plays were key in securing the victory.

George Burhenn: Snaps – 26 – Targets – 1 – Rec – 1 – Yds – 8

After not playing against Notre Dame, George Burhenn returned to action and pulled down his lone target of the day; the other tight ends mainly function as additional blockers in short-yardage situations. Reserve center Ethan Trent also got a couple of goal-line snaps at tight end.

It was nice to see George back; this group did their job as far as I can tell. I'm going to make this grade a pass/fail, with the tight ends passing.

Purdue made two changes to the offensive line after the Notre Dame debacle. Marques Easley appears to have taken over left guard from Brock Brownfield, and freshman Rico Schrieber started for the first time in his short career for the injured Jude McCoskey.

After allowing 2 sacks, 3 quarterback hits, and 17 hurries against Notre Dame last week, the offensive line fared much better against an Illinois team that plays a similar game. Browne didn't take a sack, or even a hit, for that matter, on Saturday, and was only "hurried" 5 times. PFF attributed 2 of those 5 hurries to tight end Jackson Berryman. When they're not playing a team like Notre Dame, this group is better at pass protection than run blocking, and that played out on Saturday. Aside from the slightly undersized Micah Banuelos at right guard, who also happens to be the best run blocker of the bunch, this is a tall group of linemen who don't get much movement in the run game. When Purdue tried to lean on their run game late to salt the game away, Illinois forced multiple 3-and-outs. The next step in the maturation of this offensive line is to get a little lower with their pads and a little nastier in their attitude when it's time to run the ball.

Penalties were an issue with this group. They were hit with 7 penalties (1 declined), including yet another false start inside the 10-yard line.

They're not going to steamroll anyone in the run game, but if they can keep giving Ryan Browne time to throw, as they did on Saturday, it's a unit that's trending in the right direction. Keep in mind, Easley and Banuelos hadn't started a game until this season, and Rico Schrieber was playing high school ball last year. On top of that, Nuku Mafi was brought in to play guard, but is filling in admirably for Joey Tanona at left tackle. He might be the most important portal pickup for what is shaping up to be a great 2025 crop of transfers for Barry Odom.

This is a tough grade. Considering the penalties and continued short-yardage issues, this was probably a C performance, but considering the youth of this group, I'm not sure how much more you can ask from them…so I'm going with a B.