What Purdue Interim Coach Brian Brohm Said Ahead of the 2023 Citrus Bowl Against LSU
ORLANDO — Purdue football is set for a matchup against No. 16 LSU in the 2023 Cheez-It Citrus Bowl on Monday at Camping World Stadium in Orlando. The two teams are scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m. ET, and the game will be televised on ABC.
Interim coach Brian Brohm met with the media Sunday to give his final thoughts entering the game. Here's the complete transcript:
Opening Statement
Brohm: The Citrus Bowl experience has been magnificent for our team. We worked really hard to get to this point. It's a big-time Bowl game, big-time atmosphere. Just all the events, all the excitement leading up to this game, to be able to go against a big-time opponent in LSU, a team that got to the SEC Championship Game. It's going to be a big-time challenge for us, but we are looking forward to that challenge and that opportunity.
Our guys are super excited to be in this game and thankful to be here. We are looking forward to tomorrow. They are chomping at the bit to get out there.
Q. Coach Brohm, start with you. You guys are both obviously division champions in your own right, but what are you most proud of in the season that you've accomplished so far?
Brohm: Yeah, it was a very good year for us here at Purdue. Our team is resilient. We had some ebb and flow to the season, but our quarterback play was phenomenal. Aidan O'Connell was a big reason that we get here. He did a great job. Obviously, he is not playing in this game tomorrow, but he was very good all season long.
Our defense did a really good job all year. Coach [Ron] English and Coach [Mark] Hagen has taken over for the bowl game, but they played well all season long. [They] had some big victories throughout the season that really all parts of our team had to -- defense stepped up in the Minnesota game. Defense stepped up in the Minnesota game, gets that big victory. Offense steps up in some other games and makes the team come to victory.
There were a lot of games this year that could have went either way, right, a lot of them, pretty much all of them could have went either way this season. Our team did a good job of digging down deep, finding ways to win and to get to the position to be in the Big 10 Championship game. We, obviously, needed a little help there at the end. It was a fun last week of the season to get to that Big 10 Championship game, and to finish off beating our rival, beating IU, and to seal that thing up and then to get into that game was special.
It was a big moment in the program to get to the Big 10 Championship game. Obviously, we wanted to win that thing and give it our best effort. I thought we fought hard against Michigan and played fairly well. They were the better team that day. Our guys now. We had some of our top players opt out, so now you are going to get to see some guys that were behind waiting in the wings that are good football players that are ready to play. They are ready to get on the field and show what they can do.
Q. For both coaches, there's so much focus these days placed on the playoff, playing for a National Championship. And especially as that playoff expands in a couple years and brings in more teams, what value do you see in a Bowl game such as this that isn't part of the Playoff?
Brohm: The bowl experience is very big for the development of your program in my opinion. You get those extra practices, you get them in a big-time atmosphere, and they get a reward at the end of the year.
I know now we are moving towards the playoff expanding, which I think is great. I think the more teams that you can get in there and get that type of experience and get rewarded for their season and have a chance to win the national title after a great season. Even if you had maybe one hiccup early on or you had a couple tough losses.
There are some really good teams playing in these bowl games that are outside of the playoff right now, the four-team playoff, that could easily go through the thing and win it at the end of the year. You talk about liking to watch the NFL playoffs, right? Teams go through the season in different ways. Teams that are really strong in the beginning, you might have some attrition, some injury. Some teams are a little bit different at the end of the year. I think a bigger playoff will reward those teams that are able to develop, keep it together and to peak at the end.
It is a little bit different setup when you have a bigger field for sure. These bowl games are great for the development of the program, great for the development of the young guys and getting that extra work and giving them a reward at the end of the year, if you fail to make the playoff, but you have a great season.
Q. What has Drew Brees brought to your program, both tangible or inspirational, or both?
Brohm: Drew has been fantastic. He has come in with a lot of energy. He has been working with the offense, with the quarterback room. He has been in with those guys every single day. He has been with us, breaking down film, having suggestions on plays on the offense, on ways about doing things.
Really the best thing I think that he's brought is his mindset -- the way that he attacks the game each and every week, the way that he goes out and tries to get greatness. To be able to be by Austin Burton, to be by Mike Alaimo, to be by our quarterbacks, to feed them that information, those little tips of the trade, has been phenomenal. It has been really good.
I know I have been taking notes every single day on his thoughts and his process. I have had my guys writing down every single drill that he has come up with that could help us all get better, because, obviously, he is a Hall of Fame quarterback. He has done it at a high level. He has a lot of great input.
The team in general, just having a guy that loves Purdue. It is a little bit different time, obviously, with my brother leaving and some of the coaches leaving. Trying to keep it all together, keep these guys focused on one goal, it has been good to have someone that they know is all about Purdue in there with them, bringing that energy, bringing that fight.
So he has been exceptional and been great to have around.
Q. Roster management, obviously, has been a big key issue over the last couple years, but how challenging was it this month with the transfer portal, recruiting, Bowl preparation, and all that in a short window for you guys to prepare for this game?
Brohm: Ours has been obviously very unique with Jeff [Brohm] taking the Louisville job and a number of coaches going right away with him. Then you have the whole time period of, there's not a head coach, a next head coach hired, so that the rest of the coaches on staff are concerned about where they are going or if they have a job after the bowl game.
A very interesting set of circumstances. Then players, obviously, trying to figure out who the new coach is going to be. Are they going to stay at Purdue? do they want to go put their name in the portal and see where they can get to and see where they can go? On top of just the normal transfer portal drama that every team is going through that guys might want to just get in there and see where they can go.
Definitely, been a very influx time. Obviously, we had the opt-outs, the guys, the senior guys going to take their talents to the next level and opting out of the game. A lot of fluctuations, but I think we have done a good job of holding it together, putting together, elevating some guys on staff that are going to take some bigger roles. We are kind of on a skeleton crew, basically all the QCs [Quality Control assistants] are basically elevated up to full-time coaches.
I think we have done a pretty good job of keeping that together. Once we figured out, who all was opting out and who is playing, put a great game plan ready and get these guys ready to go.
The guys that are playing in this game. They are excited to play and they are ready to go and want to show what they can do. Definitely, guys that have not had as much action throughout the year. Even guys that have elevated roles. Charlie Jones opts out, the No. 1 receiver, so that receiver room actually had a little jump in their step, a little bounce in their step. Like we are going to get some more footballs spread around a little bit.
There is some excitement. It is definitely different than the team that played the entire season. You have some different aspects, but these guys are excited to play. It is a unique opportunity. It is a great opportunity for a lot of these guys to showcase what they can do.
The coaching staff, myself included, everyone elevated up and had an opportunity to showcase what they are all about, as well. I feel good about where our team is at, our preparation. There is a lot of excitement about this game.
Q. With all the opt-outs on the offensive side of the ball, who are players that are going to be having a larger role?
Brohm: You obviously start with the quarterback. Aidan O'Connell has opted out, after a tremendous career, but Austin Burton is stepping up. He has a six-year senior, a guy who decided to come back for that sixth year knowing that he would be the backup, just waiting for this type of opportunity. It was a what if -- a what if opportunity, right? So he came back, knowing I will be the backup and I might not play, but I am going to be here if something happens to O'Connell, and then I'll get my shot.
This is a guy that has been waiting on his opportunity and waiting on that shot. He started out at UCLA, came to us after three seasons to compete for the starting job and has been a model teammate. Great leader for our team. He has some ability.
I am excited to have him out on the field and let him showcase what he can do.
Obviously, Payne Durham opted out at tight end, so Paul Piferi is going to have to step up and play a bigger role. He has played quite a bit for us this year. That second tight end spot will be Drew Biber, who has not played much yet, but he has some athletic ability. He has some talent, so he is going to have to play a little bit for us and show us what he can do.
Obviously, with Charlie Jones opting out at receiver, that just bumps the receiver room up one notch. TJ Sheffield is the guy that had the most targets after him, so, obviously, he is going to step up and roll. The guys behind him gotta step it up a notch as well.
Like I said, those guys are excited for that opportunity. They have been working for it for their whole lives, right, to be in that spot. So it's an exciting time for them to be in this game.
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