Podcast Ep. 81: Spring Into Purdue Football With Legends Kevin Sumlin, Mark Herrmann and Pete Quinn, Plus Coach Ryan Walters

Kevin Sumlin:

This is Kevin Sumlin and you’re listening to, This Is Purdue.

Mark Herrmann:

This is Mark Herrmann and you’re listening to, This Is Purdue.

Pete Quinn:

This is Pete Quinn and you’re listening to, This Is Purdue.

Ryan Walters:

This is Coach Ryan Walters 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.

Kevin Sumlin:

Pride is a big deal. It’s a great thing to be a part of a university that has a world-class education that is recognized nationally for athletics and education. I’m just fortunate to be a part of it.

Kate Young:

In this episode of This Is Purdue, we’re springing into football season with esteemed former Purdue football players, Kevin Sumlin, Mark Herrmann and Pete Quinn. Plus, we’re chatting with Purdue University head coach Ryan Walters. We caught up with these four special football guests at John Purdue Club’s annual Mollenkopf-Keyes Golf Classic during President’s Council Weekend in Naples, Florida.

So, you may hear some background noise throughout this episode as these guests were getting ready to tee off on the course. You’ll hear Kevin, Mark and Pete share stories about being part of the historic teams through the 1970s and 1980s. And these three express their gratitude for the Purdue lessons, memories and relationships that have become integral parts of their lives. And Coach Walters tells us what it feels like as he and his family joined the Boilermaker community.

We’ll kick off this episode with Kevin Sumlin. Although Kevin was born in Alabama, he grew up in Indianapolis and played football, basketball and hockey at Brebeuf Jesuit Prep School. He was the starting linebacker for Purdue football from 1983 to 1986 and part of the 1984 Peach Bowl team. I asked Kevin what it meant to him to be at this golf outing as a guest of honor.

Tell us a little bit about your Boilermaker career, why you chose Purdue and you’ve come back. What does it mean to you today?

Kevin Sumlin:

It’s a big deal. I mean, without Purdue, who knows where I’d be. There’s a bunch of people that have been very influential in my life. I just told the story about a man named Jerry Simler who, he probably had what, six kids go to Purdue? Was a big time John Purdue Club person, brought me to a game and I saw the atmosphere. And for a guy who, and a lot of people don’t know this, when we moved to Indiana, I actually lived and married student housing at IU, in behind it, in this …

Kate Young:

Oh wow.

Kevin Sumlin:

And so grew up there and then moved to Indianapolis and the rest is history. And another guy took me to Notre Dame games all my life. And when I got to Purdue, it was a special feeling and I’m very, very happy just because it’s the relationships that I have to this day and with people and have affected my life have are great, there’s nothing there I would trade.

Everybody makes it. They said legend. I’m no legend. I just came out and played a little football. And from the day I got there, I actually got on the field. And at that time we played Notre Dame the first game. And if you were red shirted, you didn’t dress. And so I didn’t dress. And then the next week we were going to Miami who were defending National champs and Coach Burnett said, “Hey, look, the best people are going to get on this plane and go play Miami.” So on Thursday he said, “Look, you’re not going to play in the game, but you’re going. You had a great week.” I look up and I’m in the game. So after that, I’d never came off the field and I’m forever indebted. There’s a guy named, Joe Tiller was a defensive coordinator. How about that? So I’ve known him since I was 18 years old. Besides my dad, he’s probably the most influential man in my life.

Kate Young:

Kevin not only played for Purdue, he also coached at Purdue. In 1998, coach Joe Tiller hired Kevin as an assistant coach who was in charge of the receivers. So what were some of Kevin’s favorite Purdue memories?

Kevin Sumlin:

There’s a lot. I mean, I’ve played there, I’ve coached there. There’d be on a team that beat Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio State was a big deal, in 84. To not go to the Rose Bowl was a bigger deal. And then to comeback as a coach and actually get to the Rose Bowl was amazing. Again, what an opportunity that I was given and how life works? But to be able to be a part of those types of things, to see players, and then also to have teammates that I vacation with, Ray Wallace and we go, and guys that I played with, that we’re still friends to this day, it’s a real blessing.

Kate Young:

We interviewed Jim Everett. He was a hoot.

Kevin Sumlin:

He’s something isn’t he?

Kate Young:

He is something.

Pete Quinn:

New Mexico’s finest.

Kate Young:

If you haven’t listened to our episode with former Purdue quarterback Jim Everett, you should definitely check it out. He further details that special 1984 season when Purdue beat Notre Dame, Michigan and Ohio State. Okay. So there was one other Purdue football memory that Kevin mentioned.

Kevin Sumlin:

At that time, there’s a place called Waterfront Condominiums that was open and it was open at that point. And all those guys lived there. I didn’t live there till later, but the pool was a good spot. I’ll just put it that way.

Kate Young:

Okay. Okay. So I have no doubt that the football pool parties were fun and all. But what was Kevin’s academic experience at Purdue like? He tells us more about his athletics academic counselor, Tanya Foster, who made a big impact on his time as a student.

Kevin Sumlin:

The academic support that Purdue provides, particularly when, you’re tired as hell at six o’clock at night, and then you might have a physics test tomorrow. To be able to get the information, do all those different things and be organized, I wasn’t ready for that. It’s just a different situation. So Tanya Foster really taught me how to do that, brought me into that lifestyle of, “Hey, look, do this, this and this. You’re going to be fine.” So without people in your life like that, I mean it’s difficult. But again, Purdue is a place where those kind of people, and there are many others, but she has had a definite effect in my life.

Kate Young:

Kevin mentioned Coach Tiller a few times throughout this interview. Joe Tiller remains the winningest football coach in school history, and he was very influential in Kevin’s life.

“You talked about Coach Tiller. Would you say that was one of your greatest mentors within your life?”

Kevin Sumlin:

Besides yelling at me every day, back in those days you had only one guy could come to the bench, not the whole team. So I got heat for everything. And then he became the offensive coordinator at Washington State. And I went out there with, Bill Doba, was a position coach, too, and ended up being the head coach at Washington State. But I actually moved over to offense and he gave me my first job at the University of Wyoming when he became a head coach. And like I said, besides my dad, it’s a man I’ve known since I was 18. And I left and went to Minnesota, which he was not very happy about. And watched Mike Alstott just run up and down the field against this, and then came back to Purdue with him. And he’s a great man, visionary, really changed football as we know it with Empty and then with Drew. And we had a bunch of really good players, but his vision and how he did things and our success, I think, really, really helped a lot of different people. But I think they put Purdue back on a map again.

Kate Young:

And as far as Kevin’s football community, he says the bond he has with his old teammates is still going strong.

Kevin Sumlin:

I’d tell you, it’s crazy because when you play there, that’s one thing. So I vacationed with a guy named Ray Wallace and a bunch of other guys that we played together, talked to Rod, talked to Chris Dishman, talked to a bunch of those guys, Jim. But when, I’ve got both sides of it. So getting back here and seeing Vinny Sutherland over here and Chris Daniels back at games, Matt Light, Drew, just being at games. So for me it’s two tiered. Does that make sense? And because of that, a lot of relationships from the top, all the way to the bottom with players. And I think that’s important. That’s really part of the whole experience that I wanted to have. I didn’t know that at 18 when I was just trying to get on the field. And then over time you learn some things and then those people, as you get older, life’s about relationships and those relationships are always valuable to me. And I think that’s the best thing that you can say as a man later on in life.

Kate Young:

What does it mean to you, you come back to these events, to be immersed in this Purdue community for this long?

Kevin Sumlin:

Well, I’m very, very grateful to be invited. I mean, guys have done a lot more than I’ve done. But to have the time now to be able to enjoy things like this, the last season was the first season I was able to, I think I went to four or five games, something like that.

Kate Young:

Oh great.

Kevin Sumlin:

And because I’ve been working all my life on Saturdays and things like that. But I just think, as I said before, the ability to be able to give back and help Purdue to move forward is a blessing for me because without that, who knows where I’ve been.

Kate Young:

So what are Kevin’s thoughts on the future of Purdue football?

Kevin Sumlin:

Coach Walter’s going to be great. I think Ryan’s vision and what he’s laid out to everyone has been consistent. I think the players understand. He did a great job at Illinois last year, defensively. I think there’s nothing but upside with Ryan.

Kate Young:

We definitely agree, Kevin. This Boilermaker football legend gives us his final thoughts on this special community.

Kevin Sumlin:

The reason I’m here is because, as I said before, the ability to be around university and an athletic department, I think that Mike Bobinski is doing a great job. Pride is a big deal. It’s a great thing to be a part of a university that has a world-class education, that is recognized nationally for athletics and education. I’m just fortunate to be a part of it.

Kate Young:

See, for him? It’s all about the Purdue Pride. Next up, we talked to former Purdue football quarterback, Mark Herrmann. Well, at Purdue, Mark was a unanimous first team, all American and the big 10 most valuable player in 1980. He’s also one of only three Boilermaker quarterbacks to have started three or more consecutive bowl games.

Mark, thank you so much for joining us on This Is Purdue.

Mark Herrmann:

Well you’re welcome. My pleasure.

Kate Young:

So tell us a little bit, you’re a Boilermaker legend. Tell us a little bit about your experience at Purdue, as a student playing football at Purdue.

Mark Herrmann:

Well, it was incredible. It was more than I could have ever expected. Just the welcoming nature of Purdue, the ability to have a great academic experience. I was a [inaudible 00:12:14] student, very rigorous, but great. And then to be able to play and I was able to start my freshman year. So that was a big challenge. But I look back so fondly on those four years and how I developed as a young person and just emotionally, socially, just all the things that were involved. And so I couldn’t have picked a better place or had a better experience.

Kate Young:

I asked Mark about a favorite Purdue football memory.

Mark Herrmann:

I think back to the Notre Dame game, my junior year. I think it’s still the most highly attended game. They were top ranked. We were highly ranked and it was a game back and forth. And we finally took the lead. I hit my best friend teammate, Mark Burrell, with a touchdown pass, and we ended up winning that game. So, that game, because I almost went to Notre Dame, so that game really sticks out as something very personally satisfying. And it was just a great team effort that day.

Kate Young:

And speaking of a packed stadium, Mark shares more about what that Ross-Ade spirit means to him.

Mark Herrmann:

It was home for us and when it’s rocking, it’s the best place to be and we hopefully entertained the fans and they gave it back to us. So you couldn’t have asked for much more home support than we had. And the things that they’re doing now in the capital projects, I think it’s only going to enhance the environment and the event, and I think the fans are going to love it and the players are going to be even more excited about it.

Kate Young:

Mark graduated in 1981 with a business management degree from Purdue University’s business school, newly named after President Emeritus Mitch Daniels. I asked Mark about his favorite class at Purdue.

Mark Herrmann:

I loved history, even though I was a business management major, Doc Collins was a history professor and I loved his class and we had a lot of athletes in there and we really enjoyed it. And certainly a lot of the business classes I knew I would use further in my career. So very well set up curriculum and I couldn’t have been more prepared than I could have asked for.

Kate Young:

Mark shares some advice for Boilermaker students based on his experience at Purdue.

Mark Herrmann:

Grab onto everything starting your freshman year. I tried. I joined a fraternity. I wanted to expand my experiences and meet people all over the campus. And certainly football took up the Oman’s part of my time, but I wanted to meet people from all over the country and that’s what Purdue provides, just a great experience with people from all over the globe. And so I would say reach out. I know your world is this tiny as far as what you’re concentrating on, but try to reach out to folks all over the campus.

Kate Young:

After graduation, Mark played 11 seasons in the NFL and was inducted into the Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010. Following his NFL career, he served as a radio color commentator for the Colts for 10 years.

After graduation, how did Purdue tee you up for success?

Mark Herrmann:

Well, certainly from a quarterback standpoint, my coach, Jim Young, was amazing. Being able to prepare me for not only the physical side of it, but the mental preparation and the ability to play 11 years in the NFL was a dream. It’s a tough road, but wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. So I think certainly Purdue, from a maturity standpoint, I was ready to take on that next challenge and it worked out great and I couldn’t be happier with it.

Kate Young:

In 2020, Mark returned home to Purdue. He joined the John Purdue Club staff as the director of leadership and alumni engagement and is charged with enhancing the JPCs efforts to engage student-athlete alumni. I asked him about his decision to work for his alma mater.

Mark Herrmann:

I think it was an easy decision. Like I said, I had such a great experience and so many wonderful memories that I thought, well, how can I pay it forward to the next generation of student athletes and what I’m doing now, I can help in that cause. I can bring back our alums to help support those who are moving on with their career. So, I see it in the eyes of our student athletes, the longing and the wanting to do well and wanting to succeed. And how can you not want to support that as an individual?

We have a great energetic team and they want to give our donors an opportunity to pursue their philanthropic goals and whatever avenue they want to support, we try to open those doors for them and it enables us to support our student athletes and our coaches and make sure they have the best experience.

And I know you mentioned some memories, but I want to share one that I always think about when I sat in the locker room before the game, one of my favorite memories is when they recite, I am an American because I would sit there and I’m thinking, I am so blessed to be able to do what I do and this great country in front of so many fans. And I thought, wow, isn’t this cool? And what a great country we will live in. And it always led into entering that stadium. So I thought I couldn’t wait every home game to hear I am an American because it made me so proud.

Kate Young:

Mark is fully immersed in Purdue Athletics, so what does he think about the camaraderie and community within our coaching staff at Purdue?

Mark Herrmann:

They all share the same kind of spirit where they want to help young people succeed, mentor them, make sure they get their degree, make sure their success socially and all those things, and certainly do great in their sport, but I think they’re looking for the long term. They’re judged on wins and losses and that’s a stressful environment, but I think they want to share best practices and how are you succeeding and those things. And I think that’s what coaches should do because everybody has a little different way of approaching and I think the four that you mentioned are doing a wonderful job and you couldn’t ask for better mentors for our youth.

Kate Young:

When I ask Mark more about this Boilermaker community and the impact Purdue has had on his life, he said Purdue is simply his family.

What does it mean to you to stay involved with this Boilermaker community for this long?

Mark Herrmann:

Well, it’s my family and little did I know after those four years, it’s just beginning. That you’re going to continue those relationships and just the people you meet in the airport or a hotel or a grocery store, you’re going to see Purdue folks all over and it’s great to give them a boiler up and say, “Hey, love what you’re doing. Love that we shared the steps on campus.” So that’s the coolest part for me.

Kate Young:

What role has Purdue played in your life?

Mark Herrmann:

Well, it’s certainly been a guiding light for me. I mean, it’s structured what I am as a person, the folks that I met and those four years shaped me as an individual and it’s obvious I’m back there working and hoping to do the same thing for our youth now. So it’s been an amazing influence on me and my wife went to Purdue, my three kids went to Purdue, so we’re a Purdue family, so it clearly is the biggest part in our lives.

Kate Young:

Did any of your kids follow in your footsteps with the athletics?

Mark Herrmann:

Well, my son played some high school football and baseball. My daughter was actually almost playing soccer at Purdue and went into nursing and thought it would be tough. I mean, we all live and die by the football games and basketball games and we’re on the family text and all that, so it’s a great source of pride for us and we’re for the Boilers all the time.

Kate Young:

As for catching up with his old teammates during events like the Mollenkopf-Keyes Golf outing, Mark said something similar to what our podcast football friends, Mike Phipps and Don Kiper shared with us last year in Naples. Each year the stories get bigger and maybe a little bit more farfetched.

How often do you keep up with your teammates today?

Mark Herrmann:

Oh, quite a bit. We have a lot of them here today and that’s the fun part, the teammates and coaches and that made it even more special, just those relationships that we had to be able to continue to grow those to see them this day. And the stories get bigger and crazier, but …

Kate Young:

We’ve heard that before.

Mark Herrmann:

Absolutely. But it’s so much fun.

Kate Young:

Is there anything else you want to tell our listeners, the faithful Boilermaker football fans?

Mark Herrmann:

Well, I absolutely love the Purdue Nation and it’s so fun and it’s just a source of pride and the way our university is from an academic standpoint with Mitch Daniels and now Mung Chang, it’s amazing. So we’re just fortunate that we can call this our home. And the folks that we’ve met along the journey are our friends and family.

Kate Young:

We couldn’t talk to Mark Herrmann without also talking to his teammate, Pete Quinn. Pete was a starting offensive lineman for the Purdue football team from 1978 to 1981 and the team captain in 1979 and 1980. In 1987 he was voted to the Purdue University 100 year all time football team and is the color analyst for Purdue Football on the Purdue Sports Radio Network.

Pete, thank you so much for joining us on This Is Purdue, the official university podcast. Tell us a little bit about your Boilermaker background.

Pete Quinn:

Gosh, it’s actually a long story. I played ball here. Last season was 1980. I played center. Started all four years with Hall of Fame quarterback Mark Herrmann. So that was a big highlight. I married a Purdue girl, met my wife at Purdue. We just celebrated. We’re celebrating our 39th anniversary next month. All three of my kids are Purdue grads, two of them engineering, one of them in sales. I started with a couple of buddies, the Boilermaker Business Exchange about 10 years ago. I’m the chairman of the Boiler Business Exchange, and Learfield reached out to me and asked me if I’d be interested in being the color analyst for the Purdue Football Network. And I told my wife and I said, “I’ll do it for one year.” So this was my 31st year doing that. So I’m around Purdue a lot. I’ve had a lifetime love affair with Purdue and events like these are so great because you see all the generations coming together and see a lot of old friends and you make a lot of new friends. So really happy to be here today.

Kate Young:

What does it mean to you to be ingrained in this Purdue culture, this athletics culture for so many years?

Pete Quinn:

It’s unique to Purdue. I have a lot of friends. I’m in commercial real estate. That’s what I do for a real living and I work for a developer called Samsung Group now after 30 years of having my own company and working for larger companies. So I meet a lot of people in my business. Everybody has good experiences to talk about with their alma maters, but Purdue truly is unique. When I travel, I travel rather extensively on business. I always wear something that says Purdue on it. And you would be amazed how many people will stop you and say, “Oh, you’re a Purdue guy.” And I still will always love Arnette Tiller for coming up with the phrase Boiler Up. And I’ll never forget when she did that. My wife Susan and I became really good friends with Joe and Arnette and when she first came up with that, she took it from cowboy up because they were from Wyoming.

And everybody thought, well, this is going to catch on. And obviously it caught on in a big way. And so when I go through an airport, when I’m in any city in the world, I’ll get at least three or four Boilers Up if I’m wearing my Purdue shirts and you stay together. A lot of people go to other schools, they have a good experience, they leave, they don’t get back much. But coming to an event like this, I saw guys that played with Leroy Keys and Vinny Sutherland, obviously when he was here with Drew Brees. And you got Kevin Sumlin who had an amazing career as a head football coach, and he’s back here. I found out today. I’ve known Kevin for years. I didn’t realize he was a walk-on. And that’s another thing about Purdue. If you come to Purdue, you’re going to get an opportunity. We had a lot of walk-ons that end up having Hall of fame pro careers. So Purdue’s just a unique place. It’s more like family.

Kate Young:

Pete has been involved with Purdue for decades now, and I asked him about a favorite story or memory when it comes to Purdue football. And this story actually isn’t about Pete’s successful football career. It’s about another Purdue legend. Any favorite football stories or behind the scenes stories you can tell our listeners?

Pete Quinn:

I have quite a few I can’t tell your listeners, but there’s been a lot of them.

Kate Young:

You can tell us after.

Pete Quinn:

Doing the radio for 31 years people ask me, is there any highlights that stick out? And interestingly enough, and I think your viewers will enjoy this story, it had nothing to do with football that when my son is a Purdue grad, he’s 36 years old now, but when he was 14, I brought him and two of his friends up into the press box, don’t have any memories on who we played that day, but I really wanted him to meet our halftime guest who is one of the greatest Boilermakers of all time.

And a good-looking older gentleman, probably about 70 years old, wearing a suit, very classy, articulate. And I said, Peter, Shane, Anthony, this is my halftime guest. When he was 14 years old, he grew up in Ohio, he had two dreams. One was to get an engineering degree from Purdue and the other one was to march in the Purdue marching band. Not only did he get his degree, but he became a four-year starting varsity band member. Well, my son and his two buddies were jocks, so they didn’t care, but they were raised right. So they faked it and, “Oh, that’s really cool.” Kind of halfheartedly shook his hand. My guest looks at me and he gives me a bear hug and goes, “I’ve been introduced a few times, that’s my best introduction.” And I said, “Peter, guys, come back, one more thing. He’s also the first man to ever walk on the moon.”

So the whole game I’m trying to broadcast and behind me, my son is with Neil Armstrong, my wife is with Neil’s wife, and I wanted to be in those conversations so much, but they stuck with us for the whole game. And that’s what makes Purdue special. He would not allow us to interview him during halftime because he didn’t want to miss the band’s performance. And I bet you most people don’t even know that Neil was in the band.

Kate Young:

To any of our, This Is Purdue listeners out there who heard our episode featuring the big bass drum and percussion instructor, Pam Nave, you do know that Neil Armstrong was in Purdue’s all-American marching band. Here’s Pete again.

Pete Quinn:

We’ve got the greatest band. When I was a player, it was tough going on the road, playing in the Big 10 or playing at UCLA in California, but when you saw the Purdue band there, you knew you had a chance.

Kate Young:

We certainly agree, and if you haven’t heard our episode celebrating 100 years of Purdue’s big bass drum, be sure to check it out at purdue.edu/podcast. I ask Pete about this special community within Purdue athletics between Coach Painter and Coach Gerald’s, coach Shondell and so many others. Pete says the support between these coaches is truly unique and it’s real, too. None of it is manufactured.

Pete Quinn:

When you get to know the head coaches, Katie Gearlds, she’s going to have Purdue in the final four for women’s basketball, I promise. Dave Shondell is a legend in the volleyball world. You see a legend like Gene Keady and he comes here, he got a standing ovation. Matt Painter’s done an amazing job. Think about the fact, how many coaches using IU as an example, and this isn’t a bad take, it’s just reality. They’ve probably had 10 coaches the same amount of time we had two. And that’s unbelievably unique and I’m hoping Ryan Walters becomes that next coach, becomes our next Joe Tiller, and I think he will. I know he is going to have success, but I think he’s already bought into and already understands the culture of Purdue and he’s been welcomed as a family member. So I think him and his family are really enjoying their selves down here.

Kate Young:

And ask for any advice for incoming Boilermakers? Well, Pete thinks it’s the best time in the world to be a Purdue Boilermaker.

Pete Quinn:

All the new students, kids going there now, you’re coming at a great, great time. I think Mitch Daniels, in my opinion, did the best job of a college university president in history. I’m a huge Mitch Daniels fan and Matt Painter’s, a Hall of Famer, Ryan Walters is an exciting hire. We’ve got Katie Gearlds now building the program. We’ve got a great group of coaches, great group of student athletes, and the world’s changing. We’ve got this new NIL stuff going on, which is going to be hard to navigate, but I think Purdue is leading the nation on doing it the right way. And I’ve got a lot of my friends from the Boiler Business Exchange involved in that. And I think it’s just a great time to be a Boiler. It’s always a great time, but it’s best time in the world to be a Boilermaker.

Kate Young:

And finally, we had the opportunity to talk to the newest Boilermaker head coach, Ryan Walters. Coach Walters was announced as the 37th head coach in Purdue football history on December 13th, 2022.

Coach Walters, thank you for joining us on This Is Purdue, the official university podcast. How has your welcome been so far to the Boilermaker community?

Ryan Walters:

Oh, it’s been awesome. It’s been very welcoming, first class experience. I’m just excited to be a part of the Boilermaker Brotherhood.

Kate Young:

I know you’re really close to your family. You’re really excited to have your kids grow up in West Lafayette. Tell us a little bit about how they’re feeling with everything.

Ryan Walters:

They can’t wait to move out. We’ve bought a lot and are going to build a place in West Lafayette, so they’re excited to get out here and get inundated with the community and the fan base. And they’re already wearing Purdue gear every day to school, even though they’re still in Champagne.

Kate Young:

They’re excited.

I asked Coach if he had any specific goals he was diving into first and which games he was looking forward to most during this upcoming season.

Ryan Walters:

Right now it’s just to get better every day, be better today than you were the day before, and just to continue to get to know the locker room and develop chemistry there, and really to develop personal, individual, real relationships with the guys in the locker room.

We got a daunting schedule, so I’m looking forward to all of them. To play Michigan and Ohio State in the same year, to go to Virginia Tech. It’s going to be a special experience and we can’t wait to get to work to be ready and prepared to compete at a high level in those games.

Kate Young:

As for his favorite memories so far as a Boilermaker, coach says the recruiting process with tight end, George Burhenn was a special moment for him. George was one of 12 players nominated for the 2022 Indiana High School Sports Mr Football Award, and won the Indiana Class 4A State Title as a junior with Mount Vernon High School.

Ryan Walters:

I think the recruiting process with George Burhenn, he’s from the state of Indiana, was committed here obviously to the previous staff. He’s got a really special family and obviously when Coach Brohm left, he was wavering, was thinking about going to Louisville. We delayed his commitment to the second signing period and he gave us a chance to get to know us and to be able to retain him. He was a very talented kid and like I said, very special family. That was a really, really gratifying and rewarding recruiting experience.

Kate Young:

As for this Boilermaker, community and spirit, Coach Walters says he’s already feeling it.

How do you feel about this spirit that’s within this Purdue athletics world from Coach Payne or Coach Shondell or Coach Gearlds? How does that feel to be a part of that now?

Ryan Walters:

It feels special. You definitely can feel the energy. It’s almost tangible. I mean, it’s a competitive environment. I’ve got some big shoes to fill to keep up the standard and the expectations of what Purdue athletics are.

Kate Young:

This Is Purdue will be doing a more in-depth interview with Coach Walters soon, but in the meantime …

Is there anything that the Boilermaker fans don’t know about you that they should?

Ryan Walters:

I don’t know. I’m a pretty open book. I’m excited to be out here in Naples getting to play golf. I do like to golf a lot. I like to travel a lot. My family and I, we go to Hawaii almost every year, so we got two dogs that are named Maui and Kona, so that’s probably as intimate as stories you’ll get from me.

Kate Young:

What kind of dogs are they?

Ryan Walters:

They’re Bernedoodles.

Kate Young:

Is there anything else you want to tell our listeners, the faithful Purdue football fans?

Ryan Walters:

Just that we can’t wait to get to work. We are extremely proud to be a part of this university and to be able to uphold the standards and expectations to go compete, chase and win championships at a sustained success rate.

Kate Young:

If you want to watch our full video interview at the gorgeous golf course, the Club at the Strand in Naples, Florida, head over to our podcast YouTube page, youtube.com/@thisispurdue. And remember, follow us on your favorite podcast platform to never miss an episode.

This Is Purdue is hosted and written by me, Kate Young, at this special podcast shoot during the Annual President’s Council weekend in Naples, Florida, our podcast team consisted of Ted Schellenberger, Jon Garcia, Becky Rubinos and Trevor Peters. Our social media marketing is led by Ashlee Schroyer. Our podcast design is led by Caitlin Freeville. Our podcast team project manager is Emily Jessalitis. Our podcast YouTube promotion is managed by Megan Hoskins and Kirsten Wars, and our podcast research is led by our, This Is Purdue intern, Sophie Ritz.

Thanks for listening to This Is Purdue. 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.