How Purdue's QB legacy (and Drew Brees) led Hudson Card from Texas to the Boilermakers

How did Hudson Card end up in West Lafayette, Indiana? For a native Texan with a personality akin to a surfer dude, a Midwestern engineering school doesn't exactly fit the vibe. Traveling over a thousand miles from home in Austin and leaving the flagship school in Texas for a second chance wasn't part of the plan. 

Unlike many of the best passers to come out of the state, Card, a top-five quarterback prospect in the Class of 2020 at Lake Travis High School, received the coveted phone call earning an offer to the University of Texas. By every measure, he was on track for college football stardom. New coach Steve Sarkisian tabbed Card to open the 2021 season as his first starting quarterback, one of the highest profile positions in sports. Things unraveled just two games into the 2021 season: Shaky play, lingering injuries, an incoming transfer at season's end from savior-to-be Quinn Ewers, who then beat Card in the 2022 quarterback battle. 

As quickly as Card's dreams appeared ready to take off at his hometown university, he had to start his recruitment over. 

Then he got a call from the patron saint of Texan quarterbacks: Purdue legend Drew Brees. The fellow Austin native told him about his experience at Purdue, where he developed into one of the greatest college football players of all time. He encouraged him to make Purdue home, which Card did in December of 2022. 

"It's pretty special because that's the same journey that I'm going on in a way," Card told CBS Sports. "Drew obviously means a whole lot to the Austin community, as he should, and the Purdue community." 

However, the story of Hudson Card landing at Purdue University is really the culmination of a 30-year story, dating back to the hiring of Joe Tiller and modernization of the spread offense. But perhaps more than anything, it's the story of a program that's up for anything. 

"One thing about Purdue is that they haven't ever been scared to be different," Purdue offensive coordinator Graham Harrell told CBS Sports. "Being innovative, being a little bit different, it's always been a part of this place." 

Setting the foundation

When Tiller arrived at Purdue in 1997, he knew the program had to be different to have any shot in the Big Ten. The program had not made a bowl game in 13 seasons and had not won a conference championship in 30 years. 

And really, that's why Purdue decided to gamble on a Wyoming coach who innovated the spread under Dennis Erickson and Mike Price. The Big Ten was a conference of muscle; a high-speed passing attack would never work in the Midwestern cold (even though it just worked in Laramie). In basketball-crazed Indiana, the staff sold it as Basketball on Grass. 

"That's what we knew, that's who we were," said Georgia State offensive coordinator Jim Chaney, who was Tiller's offensive coordinator at Purdue. "I think it was fortunate that we brought our entire staff with us from Wyoming, so everybody kind of knew each other and we didn't have to relearn a lot of that stuff. We hit the ground running from an X and O and camaraderie standpoint." 

Helping matters, Purdue had quietly been a QB factory, even before Brees. Bob Griese, Len Dawson and Jim Everett gave the Boilermakers one of the top collections of quarterbacks in NFL history. But to have success, Tiller's staff had to find its own. 

The first-year staff had a decent quarterback to build around that first year, senior Billy Dicken. Jim Mitchell and Ben Smith both committed to the program. To run the passing system Tiller coveted, they needed more. 

By Chaney's recollection, it was co-offensive coordinator Tim Lappano who first saw Brees practicing while scouting down in Austin. He was short, but accurate. The ball jumped out of his hand. He tore his ACL as a junior, but came back to win Class 5A State MVP and lead Westlake High School to its first state championship. 

"Jim, I just watched this kid," Lappano told Chaney. "I thought he was really good." 

Ironically, the spread aficionados had to beat out the Air Raid innovator Hal Mumme at Kentucky for his services, but Brees went on to transform the program. After backing up Dicken as a freshman, Brees eviscerated the Big Ten record book. In 2000, he threw for 3,668 yards and led the Boilermakers to their first Big Ten championship in 33 years. 

Of course, Brees went on to become one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history and the league's No. 2 all-time passer. Over the coming years, Tiller and his staff had their pick of underrated quarterback recruits. 

"There wasn't a 5-7 white kid in the world that didn't think they could come play at Purdue there for about five years after Drew," Chaney said. "Every short quarterback could play for us, it was just kind of the nature of the beast." 

Purdue's staff created a massive quarterback camp and worked with Texans from Chase Daniel to Todd Reesing. Even Harrell was recruited heavily by Purdue as a high school player before landing at Texas Tech to run the Air Raid. The prospect of throwing the ball dozens of times in the Big Ten was a major draw that brought future NFL draft picks Kyle Orton and Curtis Painter to West Lafayette. 

Said former Purdue quarterback David Blough, a fellow Texan: "As an undersized, underrecruited kid who shared the same initials as Drew Brees? Everything I wanted to be was Drew." 

Crosstown clash

While Brees and Card are now united at Purdue, they grew up on opposite sides of a classic Austin blood feud. Lake Travis High School and Westlake High School are separated by only 12 miles, right in the shadow of the Texas Hill Country. The schools have combined for 10 state championships since Brees' first ring in 1996. 

The short stretch of Bee Cave Road is perhaps the most fertile ground of major college quarterbacks in America. Super Bowl champion Nick Foles went to Westlake. Heisman winner Baker Mayfield went to Lake Travis. Sam Ehlinger and Cade Klubnik? Westlake. Garrett Gilbert and Todd Reesing? Lake Travis. In fact, Lake Travis went on a silly run of 11 consecutive quarterbacks landing in the FBS -- and counting. 

Notable QBs from area rivals Lake Travis, Westlake

"Kids grow up wanting to be football players and wanting to play for their schools," Lake Travis coach Hank Carter told CBS Sports. "Both programs have had state championship runs and long tradition. That gets kids excited. They see it as young kids when they go to games, go to state championship games – and then they go on to play in them." 

Card only moved to Lake Travis from the Houston area before his freshman year of high school. He spent his sophomore year at wide receiver, catching passes from eventual Ohio State signee Matthew Baldwin and putting together a 1,000-yard season next to future New York Jets receiver Garrett Wilson. In 2018, he moved to quarterback for good and threw 74 touchdowns in two years. 

"I can't overstate how freaking tough this guy is," Carter said. "Hudson just kind of puts his mind in another place. Most guys can do that. I'm really proud that he's got a mindset that he wants to be there for his brothers." 

When Harrell joined Ryan Walters' staff at Purdue, it was immediately clear they needed a player to compete for the starting job. Aidan O'Connell had just left for the NFL Draft and the room was bare. 

Harrell was offensive coordinator at North Texas and USC when Card was going through his high school recruiting process, and Card committed to Texas quickly. Because of how sought-after Card was, Harrell was not able to develop a close relationship with him. When Card went on the market, though, Walters and Harrell were in lockstep. 

"He was our first guy we wanted to go try to sign," Harrell said. "We got fortunate enough taht he wanted to come play for us. From a talent standpoint, he can really spin the football. The intelligence part, football comes really naturally to him. Probably a lot of that has to do with his high school program, they did a great job." 

The transition for Card was tough at times as Purdue struggled to a 4-8 season in 2023. However, his stats were solid. In 11 starts, Card threw for 2,387 yards and 15 touchdowns. He rushed for five more scores and had five games with multiple touchdowns. 

Purdue fans are extremely passionate, but are also plenty forgiving. Harrell encouraged Card to lean on his national gifts to make plays for his team, especially as the offense slowly improved around him. At first, it was an adjustment. Eventually, he found his confidence and grew to appreciate the magic of a place that didn't always have the pressure turned up to 10. 

"You're a little bit more under the microscope at Texas, I would say," Card said. "I had a shorter leash, in a sense. I think that's one of the reasons why I came here is just so I could play free and have the ability to do things and make mistakes and be able to grow myself in that sense." 

Texan connections

It comes as little surprise that Texans are the most prolific quarterbacks in college football. According to CBS Sports analysis, 16 Texas high school football products are starting at one of the 68 power programs. California (11) is the only other state with more than seven. 

Chaney points to the offenses that are run at the high school level. It's rare to go anywhere in Texas and see a big school team that doesn't throw the ball consistently. Blough also notes the prevalence of 7-on-7 and flag football, which allows players to practice throwing and catching year-round, potentially giving them thousands more reps. 

"Everything's bigger in Texas," Card said. "We have great competition down there, great players, great programs, great coaches. They live and die by football down there, so I think it's just the tradition that Texas football has. You know as a kid, that's where you want to be. You want to be the next one in line."

When Tiller was at Purdue, the program started a camp for elite quarterbacks to get on campus. It was always stacked with Texans. Hiring Harrell, an Ennis native and Texas Tech legend, has helped Purdue get back into the state. 

Brees and Blough both landed in the NFL from Texas. Three members of Harrell's quarterback room at Purdue are Texans: Card from Austin, walk-on Jake Wilson from the Metroplex and freshman Marcos Davila from Midland. Card and Davila had plenty of other offers, but the Texan connections helped grease the wheels. 

"People are just different in Texas," said Caesar Davila, Marcos' father. "It's kind of old school -- a lot of yes sir, no sir… West Lafayette kind of reminds us of back home. It's a blue collar community, great people, it's kind of a home away from home." 

But even 20 years after graduating, Brees still remains a consistent figure in the program. When Jeff Brohm resigned to take the Louisville job, he happily stepped in as an interim assistant coach for the bowl game. Even when the Boilermakers were brutally bad, he still kept a watchful eye. 

Blough committed to Purdue out of Carrollton Creekview despite the Boilermakers limping to a 1-11 season one year earlier. Brees was busy throwing for nearly 5,000 yards for the Saints. Still, Brees stayed in touch. After going 1-7 as a starter in 2015, Blough finished his career by helping the Boilermakers reach back-to-back bowl games.  

"I remember multiple times when I was a player, he would send me encouraging texts after a hard loss or supportive text after we won," Blough said. "He was always trying to pick my head up and get me back out there to lead the troops."

Fighting for the Shillelagh

Let's turn back the clock one more time. It's 1997, the first year of the Tiller era at Purdue. The Boilermakers entered a Week 2 game against No. 12 Notre Dame on an 11-game losing streak against the Irish. A 36-22 loss to Toledo in Week 1 meant expectations were low. 

But after a 99-yard first quarter touchdown drive, Purdue started to believe. Then a second touchdown drive. Then a 43-yard scoop-and-score. The final line for Purdue quarterback Billy Dickens: 26-of-38 for 352 yards to set up three rushing touchdowns and a shocking 28-17 victory over the famous golden domes. 

"They hadn't done that, hadn't beaten Notre Dame in a lot of years," Chaney said. "It was kind of unique that we did and it was fun from that point on. I kind of felt like the players trusted that we knew what we were doing." 

The win went on to set up one of the most consequential seasons in program history. Tiller's Boilermakers went on to win nine games for the first time in 17 years, since Hall of Famer Jim Young coached the program. It kicked off perhaps the greatest period of success in progarm history. 

Even after losing against Northern Illinois last week, Notre Dame remains ranked No. 18 ahead of Saturday's afternoon showdown (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS). The Boilermakers are on an eight-game losing streak against the Irish dating back to 2007, when Tiller still led the program. The opportunity is not lost on Purdue. It could be the start of something. 

"I definitely think there is an element of proving it or earning respect," Purdue coach Ryan Walters said at his press conference. "I would be lying to you if I didn't say this game was circled on my calendar. We're excited." 

Perhaps the biggest stage comes for Card. In many ways, playing Notre Dame is an opportunity for him to reintroduce himself to a national audience that probably has not watched him since a gritty, gutty effort on a hobbled ankle -- and in relief of an injured Ewers -- as he nearly orchestrated a shocking Texas upset of Alabama in 2022. He played some of the best football of his career to close 2023, throwing six touchdowns with zero interceptions in wins over Indiana and Minnesota. In Week 1, Card completed 24 of 25 passes against Indiana State, tying the FBS record for the highest completion percentage by a player with at least 20 attempts. 

When Card committed to Texas, he never thought his career would take him 1,100 miles north into the Midwest and playing for an Irish walking stick, which is the prize on the line Saturday. But at Purdue, Card is a product of all that came before him, the lines of Texans and great Boilermaker quarterbacks of before. 

Now, he has a chance to become who he was always meant to be -- the next in line. 

"I wouldn't change anything for the world," Card said. "I learned so much about myself and I wouldn't be the person I am today if I didn't go through those times. There were a lot of ups and downs, but it made me the man who I am today."