Is Rob Henry Ushering In a New Offensive Style For the Purdue Boilermakers?

Since Joe Tiller took over the Boilermakers from Jim Colletto in 1997, the Boilermakers have ran a high flying passing offense that has rivaled the best in the nation.  When Danny Hope took over, not much changed, and the high passing numbers just kept piling up.

Since 1997, Purdue has had some of the best passers in the nation.  Drew Brees was the first one of these said quarterbacks compiling 1,026 attempts, 11,792 yards and 90 touchdowns, each of which were all NCAA records at the time.  Brees was followed by Kyle Orton, and Curtis Painter, each of which had great careers at Purdue.

Earlier this season, Purdue was looking to add another member to this Cradle of Quarterbacks in Robert Marve, until he went down with a season ending ACL injury. Although the Boilermakers wish Marve was still healthy, they have been surprised with the stunning play of freshman quarterback Rob Henry.

Henry who has been sporting the number 15, the number of Drew Brees, has been quite a change of pace for the normal Purdue offense.  Instead of the stellar passing numbers, Henry has led the Boilermakers to victory using his legs.  Take for example the Boilermakers latest victory against Northwestern.  In that game Henry as 6-18 for 47 yards, and one interception. Although these number sound horrible, he rushed the ball 16 times for 132 yards and a touchdown, including a 67-yard run.

Purdue is pretty much throwing away it's roots with the high flying offense, and will be looking more to the running game, and the option offense.  Having a quarterback that is this young, with such a great ability to run the ball, will be very beneficial to the Boilermakers in the future. If Henry can continue to grow and get experience this season, and continue developing his accuracy and ability to throw Purdue could be very dangerous in the future.  Having a dual threat quarterback in the next three years is going to prove very beneficial to this offense.

So a word to the Boilermaker nation, be patient, because Rob Henry is the future, and the future is looking brighter each game!