In an effort to spark a horrible offense, Purdue coach Darrell Hazell has made a quarterback change, turning to true freshman Danny Etling.
He replaces fifth-year senior Rob Henry, who was moved to safety on Wednesday and should see immediate time at his new position, both because of his athleticism and the Boilermakers' lack of depth in the secondary. Purdue is off this week and plays host to Nebraska on Oct. 12.
Etling (6-foot-2, 218 pounds) enrolled early and looked good in spring practice. But he struggled in fall camp, at one point falling to No. 3 on the depth chart. When Henry was benched during last week's loss to Northern Illinois, Etling came on and threw for 241 yards and two touchdowns.
Etling -- whose Twitter account includes the motto "Be cool in the moment" -- has a nice arm and moves well in the pocket, and seems likely to give Hazell, in his first season at Purdue, a nice building block for the future.
"It's a pretty surreal feeling," Etling told reporters after Hazell announced the news following practice. " ... I'm trying to be pretty casual about it, take it in stride, not be too high or too low."
Purdue is averaging only 17 points per game, which is last in the Big Ten by more than 11 points per game -- that figure also ranks tied for 113th nationally. The Boilermakers' average of 301.6 yards per game also ranks last in the Big Ten and 119th nationally.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
