Podcast Ep. 93: Former Purdue Quarterback Curtis Painter on Playing for Coach Tiller, His NFL Career and Returning Home to Indiana

Curtis Painter:

This is Curtis Painter and you’re listening to This is Purdue.

Kate Young:

Hi, I’m Kate Young and you are listening to This is Purdue, the official podcast for Purdue University. As a Purdue alum and Indiana native, I know firsthand about the family of students and professors who are in it together, persistently pursuing and relentlessly rethinking. Who are the next game-changers, difference-makers, ceiling-breakers, innovators? Who are these Boilermakers? Join me as we feature students, faculty and alumni, taking small steps toward their giant leaps and inspiring others to do the same.

Curtis Painter:

I think what’s great about residing in Indiana and so close to Purdue is there’s so many fans around the area. I mean, you see Purdue shirts at the grocery store and Purdue fans are always very friendly to me. I like that we’re close and my family and I can get up to games whether it be football, basketball or what have you. I love going back to campus.

Kate Young:

It’s finally fall in Indiana. The leaves are turning, the days are getting shorter and the weather is getting cooler. And with fall comes the return of football season. So it’s a perfect time to catch up with one of our former Purdue football stars.

Kate Young:

In this episode of This is Purdue, we’re talking to former Purdue and NFL quarterback, Curtis Painter. Curtis, a member of Purdue’s legendary cradle of quarterbacks, shares more about his experience at Purdue, some of the biggest moments of his NFL career, including what it was like playing with football icons, Peyton and Eli Manning and his family’s longstanding legacy in Purdue Athletics.

Kate Young:

A quick listener note, we shot this interview right in Curtis’s backyard on a beautiful sunny day. So special thanks to the Painter family for their hospitality as we took over their backyard with our equipment. But you may hear the neighborhood ponds fountain in the background throughout this interview. All right, let’s get to it.

Kate Young:

Curtis, thank you so much for joining us on This is Purdue, the official university podcast. We are thrilled to talk to you today. So let’s kick it off with your Purdue journey. Tell us about when you first heard about Purdue and why you eventually decided to play at Purdue and go to Purdue.

Curtis Painter:

Yeah. Well, first of all, thanks for having me. Purdue has actually been part of my life for quite a while, even before me going there for college and everything. My grandfather played basketball there. I had an uncle that played football. My dad went there as a student. Many other family members as well. So I’ve grown up a Purdue fan. And so once I got to the point where I was selecting schools and finishing up my high school career, Purdue was an obvious choice, but I wanted to go into it with an open mind, make sure that I gave all my options a chance.

Curtis Painter:

Now, once I got offered, it was hard to pass that up. At that time, the offense was incredibly attractive to a quarterback, right? A young guy coming in. We threw the ball a lot, had a lot of great players before the cradle of the quarterback. So the decision was easy. Just a little bit of a journey to get there for sure.

Kate Young:

So clearly two things ran in the family, a passion for Purdue and athleticism. Curtis was the last quarterback to play under the late coach, Joe Tiller, who remains the winningest football coach in school history, and recently had the Tiller Tunnel named in his honor at Ross-Ade Stadium. Curtis discusses what it was like to play under this legendary coach.

Curtis Painter:

Such a great coach, such a great guy. I’ll tell you, he was an old school type of coach. He wasn’t afraid to yell and scream and get on guys. So to be completely honest, as a freshman coming in, that didn’t gel real well with my personality and I wasn’t real fond of that. But once you start realizing that he’s successful and he’s successful for a reason, he’s got a wealth of knowledge and once you start buying into the program, it’s very easy to follow his lead.

Curtis Painter:

We had a great relationship throughout my years. He’s one of those guys that you could sit in his office and it just feels like you end up talking to him for hours. Most of it’s not even about football. So very approachable guy, great coach, obviously very successful in his years. There’s a lot of people that miss him him dearly. Just nothing but great things to say about him.

Kate Young:

During Coach Tiller’s final game, Curtis led the Boilermakers to victory against that certain rival down south. On November 22nd, 2008, he completed 38 of 54 passes for 448 yards and five touchdowns. The Boilermakers scored on their first 10 possessions and ultimately beat the Hoosiers 62 to 10 at Ross-Ade Stadium. This 52-point margin of victory was Purdue’s biggest win over IU since 1893. Curtis expands on this victory, which was also the last game of his college career.

Kate Young:

What was it like to wrap up your college career that way and what did it mean to you? That was Coach Tiller’s last game as well, so what did it mean to you to send him out on such a great note?

Curtis Painter:

We all want to end on a bang, right? That’s the reason why that saying is around. So just to be able to do that leave on a high note was incredibly special. My last home game at that point, I didn’t know if I was going to play another down of football in my life, so I certainly hoped I would. So just to be able to end on a high note was huge. It was kind of a perfect storm. Coach Tiller’s last year. A lot of my peers, the senior class, our last game. It was an incredible honor. But when I look back, I’m certainly such a small part of the Tiller era.

Curtis Painter:

A lot of good players came through. He won a lot of great games, Rose Bowl, bowl games and all those kind of attributes. So to be able to send him out on a high note and at least be a part of that was awesome. Really glad we had such a great game to send him off well.

Kate Young:

What was the locker room like after that win?

Curtis Painter:

As you could probably imagine, it was pretty exciting. It lets your imagination run on that one, I guess

Kate Young:

Nothing else needs to be done.

Curtis Painter:

Yeah.

Kate Young:

I asked Curtis about his favorite memory during his time playing for Purdue, and surprisingly, it wasn’t that game that we just discussed. It’s actually a memory from his first year at Purdue when he wasn’t even the starting quarterback yet.

Curtis Painter:

I often get asked that, and it’s easy to point out bowl games, the IU game, certain games and plays. Those things always stick in your memory, but I think when you just try to sum up a great experience, it’s running on the field for the first time. I played at a pretty small school in southern Indiana for high school, and so running out on the field in front of 50, 60,000 people for the first time is quite a rush. That freshman year, even though I wasn’t playing, Kyle Orton was a senior. Just being in that situation was pretty remarkable and something that feeling that you’ll just never forget. It’s just weird when you go back to campus and you start thinking about.

Curtis Painter:

It’s going to sound corny, but smells come back to you. You’ve got the different things. The concession stands and the fans. It’s funny how it all rushes back to you just being on campus and going to games, and I’ll never forget that moment for sure.

Kate Young:

Curtis, also shares his favorite memories as a Purdue student.

Curtis Painter:

Football was such a big part of my life and part of my college experience that most of my memories evolve around that. But I think some of the best times as a student or maybe outside of sports were the summers. We were as athletes, or at least on the football team. We were required to be there and participate in practices and stuff, but we also took classes. And so I just think that the summertime was a lot of fun. We weren’t in the hustle and bustle of heavy practices where they obviously mattered, but it wasn’t a huge focus.

Curtis Painter:

So we had a little bit more downtime in the summer and we got to maybe get a glimpse at a college student life for a little bit of time. So I would say those are probably my favorite.

Kate Young:

I have heard from other players that the pool parties in the summer were not to be missed.

Curtis Painter:

Yeah. It was a good time. And I had a summer birthday, so it was nice to be on campus and celebrate that.

Kate Young:

So Curtis was born in Illinois, but later moved to Vincennes, Indiana. He played quarterback at Lincoln High School as a three-year starter who set school records with 5,039 passing yards and 49 touchdowns. He was a Mr. Football finalist and selected to the Indiana all-star game as a senior leading the team to an 11 and two record and conference and sectional championships. And then as we know, Curtis went on to play in college at Purdue, right here in Indiana. But where it gets really interesting and quite unique really, is when the Indianapolis Colts drafted Curtis in the sixth round of the 2009 NFL draft.

Kate Young:

So let’s talk about, you’ve been drafted, you grew up in Indiana. You went to school at Purdue in Indiana, and then you get drafted by the Indianapolis Colts. What were you feeling? You got to stay here in Indiana and plant roots?

Curtis Painter:

Incredibly fortunate for a number of different reasons, but I always tell people if I got drafted to California team or New York team, I’m not sure I would’ve made it as long as I did. I’m a homebody. Just being able to be in a state where there’s so much support. Most of my family lives here. Obviously had a lot of friends that went to Purdue that were from Indianapolis, so being able to go to games and see that support staff was huge for me.

Curtis Painter:

I think what people don’t realize, and not to downplay anybody’s job or anything, but the NFL is a pretty… It’s business, Right? And so everybody had a job to do and there was a lot more that went into it than I think a lot of people realized. So having that support staff around when you’re struggling or when you’re grinding, that was a huge help. So I’m very fortunate for that. And then just to be on a great team, a successful team, a lot of good players on it, that was all very, very fortunate for me.

Kate Young:

Now, did you know that you were going to the Colts or what was that recruitment and draft was like?

Curtis Painter:

Yeah. No, I didn’t. I had no idea and I didn’t even really have a team that I was hopeful for. At that point, you just want to make a team. But ironically, there were two teams that… If I remember correctly, two teams that I never talked to whether it be an in-person interview or a phone interview or at the combine, and that was the Colts and the Steelers. So ironic that maybe I was so close to home. They didn’t need to ask me any questions. They knew all they needed to know, but I always thought that was kind of funny. It’s a surreal moment when you get the phone call and you’re trying to watch the draft but not get too excited and then you get the phone call and it’s pretty special. I was able to spend it with a lot of friends and family at my parents’ house, so really great memories there too.

Kate Young:

Curtis played in 11 games with the Colts and started in eight of them over three seasons. And he played backup for a pretty iconic NFL quarterback and a Colts fan favorite, Peyton Manning. Have you ever heard of him? So when Peyton was injured, Curtis was in, I asked Curtis what was going through his mind during that first NFL game as he took the field to play on that big stage in front of millions.

Curtis Painter:

A lot of emotions for sure. I mean, that’s kind of… On the surface of it, that’s what we all… Or at least probably young guys like me, you grow up, you want to play in the NFL, right? You want to make it to the elite stage. So one, I made it there getting ready to play in my first game. So a lot of just incredible emotions. Probably a lot of nervousness, scared all that runs into it, but once you get the game going, you forget about all that outside factors and you focus on the game. But yeah, I mean, that season probably well documented, right? Peyton gets hurt.

Curtis Painter:

We have a couple quarterbacks come in and then I start for a stretch of games. We don’t necessarily win any of them, but I always think that no experience is a bad experience if you learn something from it. So there were a lot of maybe negative things and things that didn’t go our way, but I think learning from those mistakes or those mishaps only made it better and made my following games better and the rest of the years better.

Kate Young:

In October 2011, Curtis threw his first career touchdown pass against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That 87 yard pass is tied for the third longest in Colts franchise history. So what was that moment like for Curtis?

Curtis Painter:

Once you do that, that’s a cherry on the top right? If I remember correctly, it was a night game in Tampa, obviously. I can’t remember if it was Sunday night football or Monday night football, but a lot of emotions just like we did it type of emotion. I always think that the quarterback has a fairly easy job when you have players like that around you. And Pierre such an incredible receiver, Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, all those guys were incredible.

Curtis Painter:

So for a quarterback like me, if I could just get it in their hands, let them make the plays, that was probably the best course of action rather than try to do too much. So he made a great play and got lucky on it, and it ended up being a long one.

Kate Young:

Curtis’s NFL career shifted and evolved and he spent the 2012 preseason with the Baltimore Ravens before concluding his career, playing in three games with the New York Giants in 2013. Okay. So are you putting the pieces together yet? Colts, Peyton Manning, New York Giants, Eli Manning. That’s right. Curtis served as the backup quarterback to both Manning brothers.

Kate Young:

Something really cool about you is that you’ve played with both Peyton Manning and Eli Manning. Do you have any insider stories, anything fun about those two?

Curtis Painter:

I will say I love to watch them on TV and the Monday night football stuff that they do. And I will say that everything that you see is pretty genuine. They’re both funny guys. They give each other crap all the time. They’re great people to be around. For me, very fortunate to, like I’d mentioned, to go to the Colts and learn behind Peyton. Such a true professional. When you look at it, at the end of the day, technically I was fighting for the same job he was, but he never approached it like that.

Curtis Painter:

He wanted everybody around him to elevate their game, and that would mean the team was more successful. So helped me out tremendously. Greatly enjoyed my time with him. And the same with Eli. I was only with him for a little over a year, but the same true professional. It’s incredible how successful that family is, right in the sporting world and even the young ones coming up. Love my memories with those guys and the rest of the teams.

Kate Young:

Could you ever have imagined back then that they would have this successful, their own football show essentially?

Curtis Painter:

What don’t they have their hands in, right? I think Peyton has a whiskey brand that he’s with and the TV show.

Kate Young:

That Netflix quarterback show that he’s executive producing?

Curtis Painter:

Yeah. I mean, I don’t think I necessarily saw that coming, but it doesn’t surprise me. Those guys, tremendous workers, so anything they put their mind to, they’ll be successful. And that’s case in point with everything that they’ve done.

Kate Young:

As for some of Curtis’s favorite memories during his time in the NFL, he shares more about his experience going to Super Bowl 44 with the Colts in 2010.

Curtis Painter:

Biggest best memory would probably be the Super Bowl. My rookie year we went and we went down to Miami, played the Saints. We didn’t win, but to be a rookie and to go to the biggest stage, terrifying that I was one play away from actually playing if Peyton ever got hurt. But you see on TV when the Super Bowl is playing and the kickoff and you see all the cameras flashing, it doesn’t quite do it justice unless you’re there. So I think for the first probably 30 seconds, I just stared at the crowd and just watched everybody take the pictures when the ball was getting kicked and just such a surreal moment. Great time. Obviously, we lost the game, but one of those things that you just never forget.

Kate Young:

Did you catch up with [inaudible 00:15:36] after the Super Bowl that year?

Curtis Painter:

I’m sure I did. Maybe not afterwards. He was probably celebrating, but I know within the course of the week, we definitely were able to see each other and at least say hi. But yeah, what a game they had and he had and congrats to them for sure.

Kate Young:

And Curtis shares another behind the scenes story from his rookie year with the Colts that involves a Thanksgiving Turkey.

Curtis Painter:

Going back to just a funny memory, we always had some kind of rookie. I don’t want to say hazing. They weren’t bad.

Kate Young:

initiation.

Curtis Painter:

Initiation, there you go. And so the best one, and I don’t think it’ll give any secrets away if someone watches it, but the older guys usually had arranged this Turkey pickup for Thanksgiving, and it was well orchestrated. You can tell they did it for years, but they would have all the rookies go and pick up their turkeys, and they had worked with the local grocery store that was in on it too. And so you had to go back in the back and you had to sing a song and you spun a wheel and you had to act something out to get your Turkey.

Curtis Painter:

So kind of like a little initiation. So we would do it and it was filmed. We would watch it the next day. And to our embarrassment, if that wasn’t enough, they didn’t actually give us turkeys, they gave us a block of ice. So guys put it in their car or left it in the car, left it outside. It would melt obviously. So if the singing and the dancing wasn’t embarrassing enough, you had a wet spot on your house or your car or whatever.

Kate Young:

What a great story as we head into the Thanksgiving season. So looking back, how does Curtis assess his career as a professional quarterback in the NFL?

Curtis Painter:

The history and everything that I did has been well documented. And the season Peyton gets hurt, I play a little bit. And then Andrew Luck the next year. So again, maybe on paper, not a lot of success, but I certainly had an incredible time. I learned a lot about myself, learned a lot that has helped me further on in life, work ethic, being a good teammate and all that kind of stuff. So I think that when I look at it, I hope that I was a good teammate. I hope I helped the people in front of me or even behind me. Again, certainly had a great time and we’ll always remember those days with the Colts and briefly with Baltimore and then New York.

Kate Young:

Well, like you said, it’s a massive accomplishment to just get to that big time stage. In June 2023, Curtis was recognized as one of the best quarterbacks to come through the state of Indiana when he was inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame during the National Football Foundation, Joe Tiller Chapter Honors Reception. I asked Curtis what this accomplishment means to him.

Curtis Painter:

It’s tremendous honor. There’s a lot of great players throughout the history at of Purdue or Indiana. So a tremendous honor. I said it at the ceremony. I wouldn’t be able to accept it without recognizing everybody else that was around me. Football is one where you have 10 other guys on the field with you. So I had to rely on a lot of people to be successful, and luckily I had a great team around me, great coaches around me. So it’s obviously a personal award, but so much of that goes to everybody else.

Kate Young:

Curtis has also said that Kyle Orton, former Purdue quarterback and Indiana Football Hall of Fame member was a great mentor to him. Kyle played under Coach Tiller right before Curtis, and if you haven’t checked out our, This is Purdue episode with Kyle, yet, you can listen right after this episode. Curtis and his wife Megan, currently live in Westfield, Indiana with their two sons, Edison and Hayes. He shares more about his life post NFL Career. Now, tell us about what you’re doing today. Obviously at some point people stopped playing football. How did Purdue tee you up for a career post football?

Curtis Painter:

I would love to say that I’m using my major. I graduated with a degree in computer graphics technology with a focus on construction and residential construction. So I’m not doing anything along those lines, but in terms of preparation, there’s so many things that outside of the actual stuff that you’re learning that prepare you, right, the studying, the dedication that it takes to get a project done or whatnot. So today I work with Indiana Liquor Group, and so we are a retailer of right now 58 liquor stores, mostly northeast Indiana. We’ve got eight different brands.

Curtis Painter:

So we had our first acquisition back in 2018, and we’ve been growing since then. I focused mostly on the marketing side of things in-store developments, relocations and remodels and that sort of thing. So again, not much about what major actually was, but a lot of things that I learned at Purdue and through sports that helped with what I do today.

Kate Young:

And does football still remain a large part of Curtis’s life? He tells us more about the end of his football career and how he’s doing in his current fantasy football leagues.

Curtis Painter:

It’s interesting when you sit there and think about it, when you kind of think about my career, the last year that I was in New York, I think was around 2014. As a football player, at least in the NFL, you never really know who’s going to call if another team’s going to call, maybe you played your last game, you don’t know. So I did stay pretty invested in football for a couple years after that. Worked out hard, waited by the phone for a phone call, and then at some point you kind of realize that that phone call is not coming.

Curtis Painter:

And so I stayed engaged as a guy who would always watch film, looking at defenses and trying to figure out what they’re playing or looking at offense from a strategy wise. I did that for a few years, but I think the business side of it is finally over. I’m able to join some fantasy football leagues and actually be a fan a little bit. So I enjoy watching it. It’s kind of a routine for us. We like to watch Saturday College and then Sunday and Monday night football. It means football is back and that’s exciting for me at least.

Kate Young:

Do you have any advantages in your fantasy football league since you played the big time?

Curtis Painter:

I don’t. I’m actually terrible. People think that I should be good, but I’m not. People ask me quite often what I think of the Colts or the Purdue, and I wish I could tell them that I had insider information, but I definitely don’t. I get lucky every now and then, but I’m definitely not very good.

Kate Young:

Okay. That one surprised me. I was expecting a former NFL quarterback to have a thriving fantasy football team. So after graduating 15 years ago, Curtis reflects back on what role Purdue has played in his life.

Curtis Painter:

Kind of going back to the teaching moments, just understanding how to be a professional, how to treat it like a job. I mean, that’s what Purdue was like. I always kind of tell people that football got a lot less fun and more like a business the higher up I went. High school was fun. We all had a great time. Not that we didn’t focus on football, but we had a lot of fun. And then you go to college and obviously it’s still a lot of fun, but there’s a little bit more riding on college than there was high school and then even to the next level. So just understanding that business aspect, work ethic, what goes into it, I think that in general will always stay with me and help me in life.

Kate Young:

And why is Curtis proud to be a boilermaker? What makes this school and community unique in his eyes?

Curtis Painter:

I think what’s great about residing in Indiana and so close to Purdue is there’s so many fans around the area. I mean, you see Purdue shirts at the grocery store and Purdue fans are always very friendly to me. I like that we’re close and my family and I can get up to games, whether it be football, basketball or what have you. I love going back to campus. So just being so close kind of like what I mentioned, being with the Colts, there’s a lot of Purdue supporters around here, and it’s fun to be around them.

Curtis Painter:

There’s obviously a lot of IU supporters too, which is great, but I just like being so close to home. You mentioned it earlier, went to high school here, college, and then now bringing a family up. It’s a great place to live, and being close to Purdue certainly makes it worth it.

Kate Young:

And finally, Curtis reflects on what the Boilermaker spirit and the avid Purdue Athletics fans mean to him. Looking back when you were describing running out onto the field at Ross-Ade your first game, what does that Boilermaker spirit mean to you when you’re in that packed stadium and when you look back on those memories?

Curtis Painter:

I think that we’ve always had a great fan base. I think the students show up every week in and week out, and so just having such a great fan base means a lot. I will say that the players feel it. When the stadium has energy, the students have energy, we feel it. And so I know that those guys do as well. And so if I could say anything to the fans and the alumni, it’s stick with them. There’s probably going to be some ups and downs, whether it’s football or any other sporting event, but stick with the players because I can promise no one is trying to throw an interception. No one is trying to lose a game. It just happens sometimes. So having that support is going to help those guys play well, for sure.

Kate Young:

Is there anything else that I missed that you want to tell our loyal football fans, This is Purdue fan?

Curtis Painter:

I look forward to supporting the team through any ups and downs. Hopefully a lot more ups than downs, but I guess ask that everybody does the same. I’m excited about where the program is.

Kate Young:

Well, we can’t thank you enough for your time. It was a pleasure.

Curtis Painter:

Yeah, thank you so much. Glad to be here.

Kate Young:

We can’t thank Curtis and his family enough for allowing us to come shoot this awesome interview at their home. You can head over to our podcast, YouTube page, youtube.com/@thisispurdue to watch some of our video clips from this interview. And if you’re wondering how to throw a perfect spiral, you can watch Curtis teach us how right in his backyard. And remember, follow us on your favorite podcast platform, including YouTube to never miss an episode.

Kate Young:

This is Purdue is hosted and written by me, Kate Young. At this special podcast shoot at Curtis’s home, our podcast videography was led by Ted Schellenberger in collaboration with Jon Garcia, Bad Boone and Zach Mogenson. Our social media marketing is led by Ashlee Shroyer and Maria Welch. Our podcast distribution strategy is led by Theresa Walker. Our podcast design is led by Caitlin Freeville. Our podcast team project manager is Emily Jesalutis. Our podcast YouTube promotion is managed by Megan Hoskins and Kirsten Bowman. Our resident Purdue Athletics expert, Tom Schott helped with the football stats for this episode. Additional writing assistance is led by Joel Meredith, and podcast research is led by Sophie Ritz.

Kate Young:

For more information on this episode, visit our website at purdue.edu/podcast. There you can head over to your favorite podcast app to subscribe and leave us a review. And as always, Boiler up.