Ryan Browne may have spent his spring in Chapel Hill, but the redshirt sophomore is back in West Lafayette and will be suiting up as Purdue’s starting quarterback for the Boilermakers’ Week 1 non-conference matchup against Ball State Aug. 30.
NEW: Purdue has named North Carolina transfer QB Ryan Browne as its starter, Barry Odom announced. https://t.co/LFbqRb3Dcj pic.twitter.com/o04j7aTY3i
— Transfer Portal (@TransferPortal_) August 21, 2025
First-year head coach Barry Odom made the announcement Thursday following practice. The quarterback was competing against returning junior Bennett Meredith and transfers Malachi Singleton (Arkansas) and Evans Chuba (Washington State). Odom’s selection comes over a month after he said he knew the decision needed to be made sooner rather than later.
Browne played his first two seasons of NCAA ball with the Boilermakers before entering the transfer portal Dec. 3 and committing to UNC Dec. 19. He was back in the portal April 16 and re-signed with Purdue two days later.
Last fall Browne made two starts for Purdue and appeared in nine games. He finished the season with 532 yards for 56.6% completion and rushed for 155 yards on 50 carries.
“The redshirt freshman really turned heads in Purdue's overtime loss to Illinois, a game in which he threw for 297 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for an additional 118 yards,” Purdue on SI reporter Dustin Schutte noted.
Technically, Browne has only been named the starting QB for Week 1, but the Boilermakers have one of the toughest schedules in the Big Ten this year. Purdue is set to face five opponents ranked in the AP Preseason Poll: No. 6 Notre Dame (Week 4), No. 12 Illinois (Week 5), No. 14 Michigan (Week 9), No. 3 Ohio State (Week 10) and No. 20 Indiana (Week 12).
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Odom is aware of what’s ahead for his team. Purdue is projected to finish last in the conference, but the first-year leader is focusing on what he can control.