Barry Odom is well aware of what lies ahead.
The first-year head coach is scheduled to face five ranked teams and Purdue is projected to finish last in the Big Ten Conference — but Odom isn’t backing down.
“I feel a deep, deep responsibility to get Purdue football back to winning for the people at Purdue. It's an honor to be in the chair here, we represent something so much bigger than ourselves,” Odom said Monday. “The urgency to get that done, I think about it every single minute of the day.”
The Boilermakers’ 1-11 finish last season isn’t too far in the past, but Odom is focused solely on the program’s future and the new Purdue Way.
“I have not spent one second talking about last year to this team,” Odom said. “All respect to the history and tradition of Purdue — I've talked about the tradition of this place — but I didn't talk about the specifics of last year. I wasn't here, so I can't even begin to think what it was, good or bad. I have no idea.”
The Boilermakers will open their season Saturday, Aug. 30 at home against Ball State, with redshirt sophomore Ryan Browne starting at quarterback. Odom announced the decision Thursday, over a month after the head coach said he knew it needed to “come sooner than later.”
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Browne returned to Purdue in April following a spring season at UNC. The 6-foot-4 quarterback was competing with transfers Malachi Singleton (Arkansas) and Evans Chuba (Washington State), as well as returning junior Bennett Meredith for the starting job.