Quarterback Curtis Painter will wrap his final spring practice session with Purdue soon. Before he does, he took some time to chat about his legacy, the talent on offense and looked ahead to next season.
You've already broken some records here and you'll probably leave as one of the best statistical quarterbacks in Purdue's history. Do you think about that much? Not really. It really means a lot to be mentioned in the same sentence as some of the guys who are up there, but as far as numbers and records, it doesn't mean much to me. I'd be a lot happier with a very successful season and ending with a great career than being in the record books for a bunch of statistics.
Did you watch much film on yourself over the winter? A little bit, the games we've played. It's really just a learning process in the offseason. By the end of the season, you forget the last game you play, so going back and taking a look kind of refreshes you on things. You take a mental note of that and try to fix that when you come out here in spring ball.
Winning the Motor City Bowl was big for the program, but especially the fashion in which you guys did it, needing a last-minute drive and then that game-winning field goal, what did that do for your confidence? I think it is a big confidence boost. The last couple years, we haven't been known for winning it in the end. We've had a couple close ones, and we've been on the other side of it. We do all this work, practicing the two-minute game, practicing the last-minute field goal. To have it be successful, it really means a lot.
Let's take a look at your weapons on offense. You lost Dorien Bryant and Dustin Keller and two starting offensive linemen. What about the guys who could replace them? I think we've got a lot of ability. Those guys were playing behind a couple good guys, both at the line and at the receiver spots. I think right now it's just a matter of getting a little rhythm, getting the chemistry with me and them.
You probably haven't scouted the Big Ten much yet, knowing who is back and who isn't, but where do you think you guys can finish in the league? Can you beat Ohio State and Michigan? I think we have the ability. It's just keeping that rolling throughout the entire season, not having those (bad) games. We played some great teams, but we should have been more effective on offense. So just trying to keep those games we took a step back out of the system. I think we can definitely compete with those teams.
-- By Stacy Clardie, The Journal Gazette