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WEST LAFAYETTE – Purdue football quarterback Hudson Card’s season-opening performance came with a noticeable flaw.
As in literally one flaw, per offensive coordinator Graham Harrell’s game film scrutiny — and it came on a completion. Card chose to throw to running back Devin Mockobee too early in one progression, passing up a bigger opportunity elsewhere.
For shame.
Card completed an FBS record 24 of 25 passes in the season opener against Indiana State. Could have been 26 of 27, too, if not for two completions called back by Boilermakers holding penalties. Even the lone incompletion — a bomb over the top which fell a bit beyond receiver Jahmal Edrine — passed Harrell’s inspection as a good decision.
Card displayed the poise expected from a veteran quarterback facile in his offensive system. That frequency of correct live-fire assessments lends Harrell to believe his quarterback will hold up against more complicated challenges. Such as Saturday, when No. 19 Notre Dame brings what many consider one of the best secondaries in the nation to Ross-Ade Stadium.
“His understanding, his grasp of what we’re trying to do, his decision-making, the action of the football are all things that kind of snowballed into having the kind of performance he had the other night,” Harrell said.
Those attributes also have only improved in Card’s second year in the program. That could make a critical difference against a Notre Dame offense floundering after a 16-14 loss to Northern Illinois. Riley Leonard, in his second game after transferring from Duke, completed 20-of-32 pass for 165 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions.
That’s partially a positive reflection on Northern Illinois — a top-25 overall defense in 2023 which ranked in the top 10 in opposing quarterback rating. It also suggests Leonard and Notre Dame have not synched…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/purdue-footballs-key-transfer-qb-082025682.html
Author : Indianapolis Star
Publish date : 2024-09-12 08:20:25
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