Ryan Browne isn't the QB Purdue needs ... yet, but showed upset

WEST LAFAYETTE — While Ryan Browne the Purdue football quarterback remains a work in progress, Ryan Browne the pure football player has arrived.

There's no better example than his high-awareness play for the Boilermakers' first touchdown in Saturday's eventual 33-17 loss to USC .

Purdue had worked on that trick play throwback to the quarterback for a while. However, Browne said it had not practiced the contingency of receiver Michael Jackson III 's pass back to him also being a backwards pass. This time it was, in part because Jackson's pass had to account for USC linebacker Eric Gentry, who read the play perfectly and draped himself over Browne.