Pro Football Focus Ranks Purdue Quarterbacks Jack Plummer, Aidan O'Connell

The 2021 college football season is inching closer, but starting rosters are all but finalized, even for a majority of the country's top programs. 

Pro Football Focus used its advanced college database, coupled with scheme and film review, to rank all the starting quarterbacks for the 130 programs in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The Boilermakers' starting quarterback situation is anything but clear-cut, but the team still ranked among the middle of the pack in the Big Ten and the nation. 

Both fifth-year senior Aiden O'Connell and junior Jack Plummer played three games for the Boilermakers in 2020, and the two signal-callers put up nearly identical statistics. According to PFF, the duo ranks 60th in the country, which is good for sixth in the Big Ten. 

Their ranking falls under what PFF calls the average quarterback. 

"These college quarterbacks rank right in the middle of their peers. Some of them have hardly shown an ability to produce at a quality level and are consistently average. And then there are others who have flashed stellar play but then negated it with poor performances. The signal-callers in this tier need elite supporting casts on both sides of the ball if their teams are to have big years."

O'Connell, who started the first three games of the season before missing the rest of the year due to injury, completed 88 of his 136 passes for 916 yards and seven touchdowns. His two interceptions last year came in a victory against Iowa on Oct. 24. 

After O'Connell was knocked out of the starting lineup, Plummer stepped in for the final three games of the season. He completed 88 of his 124 passes for 936 yards and eight touchdowns. He also threw two interceptions. 

Despite the similarities in their performances, both of Purdue's wins last season came with O'Connell under center. The Boilermaker finished the year with an underwhelming 2-4 record. 

Here's where every starting quarterback in the Big Ten Conference landed, according to PFF: 

• No. 5: Michael Penix Jr., Indiana 
• No. 20: C.J. Stroud, Ohio State 
• No. 26: Graham Mertz, Wisconsin 
• No. 36: Tanner Morgan, Minnesota 
• No. 37: Taulia Tagovailoa, Maryland
  
• No. 60: Jack Plummer / Aidan O'Connell, Purdue
• No. 62: Payton Thorne / Anthony Russo, Michigan State 
• No. 70: Cade McNamara / Alan Bowman, Michigan 
• No. 75: Adrian Martinez, Nebraska
• No. 88: Sean Clifford, Penn State 
• No. 94: Noah Vedral, Rutgers 
• No. 96: Brandon Peters, Illinois 
• No. 112: Spencer Petras, Iowa 
• No. 116: Ryan Hilinski, Northwestern

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