Staying Ready

Football is a grind, unlike any other sport. Baseball’s season lasts forever, basketball is a high-energy sport with few breaks between games, and honestly every sport requires dedication, and a commitment to pushing physical boundaries. But football…hard on the body, hard on the mind. A relentless slough through repetition, do it again, do it better, faster, take the hit, study the playbook do your job and don’t be the problem.

For quarterbacks it’s even worse. Your job is the most complicated: you have the ball on every snap the offense takes, you make the big decisions, you’re the most vulnerable. You take the biggest hits, your mistakes are replayed the most, you get asked the most questions, win or lose. What you do right is front and center, as is what you do wrong. No QB escapes blame, even when times are good. It’s not all bad; the QB-and-head-cheerleader trope exists for a reason. But there’s…a lot…that goes into being a QB, nevermind being a good QB.

Take a glimpse at Aiden O’Connell’s record. One year as a starter in high school. Less than 300 attempts that year. Walk-on at Purdue. Didn’t play in 2017. Didn’t play in 2018. How many of you knew his name prior to October 5th? Don’t lie. In front of him on the depth chart - at least at the end of last season - was cannon-for-an-arm Elijah Sindelar, 3-star recruit Jack Plummer, 3-star recruit Nick Sipe. Each arriving in West Lafayette with reasonable hopes of playing in a real game. Each, now seriously injured.

Did AOC come to Purdue with the reasonable hope of playing in a real game? He looked good in the Spring game this past year, albeit against a beat-up defense. But even with Sipe ruled out early, 3rd string walk-on QBs with an established starter and a promising backup don’t usually expect to play.

So what’s a depth chart filler QB to do? Read the charts, stand next to the QB coach or the Offensive Coordinator. High five the guys playing. Attend practice, toss the ball to the 3rd string WRs and take snaps from the backup Center. Watch tape, comment when necessary. Lift, stay in shape. Stay sharp, focused. Stay ready.

Because sometimes the improbable does happen. Sometimes the starter who throws the ball like it might blow up in his hands suffers another devastating injury. Sometimes the mobile, precocious backup gets hit in a bad way and spends the rest of the season in a t-shirt.

Football loves its mantras. And the one, perhaps heard more than most? Next man up. The dude in front of you, your friend, your brother, your teammate, goes down? Find a helmet and get out there. No excuses, no ability to go back in time and focus harder during those third-string reps, or pay closer attention to the tape, or study the playbook a little bit more. No more time to work out a rhythm with your offensive line, or to understand the tendencies of your 4-star stud of a WR. Or the ins-and-outs of the freshmen who fill too many of the other 10 spots on the field with you. Nope, you buckle the chinstrap, take a few reps tossing the ball to calm your nerves, and you do your job.

But even that is an easier version of what AOC had to go through. He wasn’t being asked to milk the clock and hold on to a lead. Nor was he asked to play out the string during a bad loss. Jack Plummer came out of the Nebraska game, injured at a time when the game was still yet to be decided. One pass against Penn State? Hell, 14 against Illinois? Didn’t matter. Those games were lost. Those passes were thrown for the sole benefit of feeling the game around you, moving in the pocket, hearing the crowd, feeling the malevolence of the defense. Tasting failure yeah, but maybe a little success too (the TD against Illinois prevented the shut-out). All leading to Nebraska. Leading to stepping up, being ready, and winning the game.

And staying ready. There are no breaks left. No recruits with shiny Rivals profiles were gonna darken those locker room doors. If Purdue is going to win, then AOC is going to have to do it for them.

And do it, he did. 50 passes, a go-ahead final drive, and a 24-22 win later, AOC knelt on the sidelines, head in hands. His teammates, rubbing his head, patting his pads, whispering, shouting, encouragement in his ear. He shook his head. Disbelief? In his reality, in his capability, in the story he was writing for himself? Perhaps. But, it was there, clear as his 5th in the conference QBR, his 404 yards, his three passing touchdowns. Output, and outcomes, derived from just being ready.