What They Have Said
About Drew Brees

Purdue Head Coach Joe Tiller —
“His fierce competitiveness is what I like. He does something that very good quarterbacks and good athletes do that probably 90 percent of the people who compete in intercollegiate athletics don’t do. When he makes a mistake, he has the ability to focus on the next opportunity versus dwelling on the past mistake.”

Michigan Head Coach Lloyd Carr —
“He’s not only gifted athletically, he’s gifted intellectually. He knows where the pressure is coming from. He knows where the coverage is going to be rolled. He makes such great decisions. There’s nothing he can’t do.”

Minnesota Head Coach Glen Mason —
“I think Brees is the best quarterback in college football right now. He is just a great pin-point passer.”

Wisconsin Head Coach Barry Alvarez —
“No one has more respect for Drew Brees than myself. There’s no better quarterback in the country.”

ABC Announcer Brent Musburger —
“Joe Tiller and Drew Brees. One of the fine combinations, coach and quarterback, in the college game today. Brees is to Tiller’s wide-open offense what Laurence Olivier was to Hamlet. Nobody does it better. This is a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate. This is a young man who plays with talent, spirit and heart. It’s so much fun to talk to him because he has such a good attitude. You know, the smile, he lights it up. He’s a delightful young man to be around.”

ABC Announcer and NFL Hall of Fame Quarterback Dan Fouts —
“The thing that coach Tiller likes about Drew Brees, he’s very competitive, he’s very accurate and he’s very smart. He has tremendous control of this offense, knowledge of it. It’s like having a coach on the field. I just love the way he keeps his head up and is always looking down the field. He has such a good delivery, and his ability to find the open guy is amazing. He’s only 6-1, if that. The wild card is that Brees creates big plays when he runs with the ball in the backfield, always looking down the field, trying to make a big play. One of the reasons why they call him ‘Cool Brees,’ besides the obvious is that he doesn’t get flustered.”

Former Purdue Quarterback Len Dawson (1954-56) —
“I’m very impressed with Drew’s composure and the way he runs this offense. He’s a football player, and I think that’s the best complement I could pay anyone who plays this game. That means he’s always into the game, he’s trying to find ways to throw touchdowns and help his team win, whether it’s through the air or on the ground.”

Former Dallas Cowboys Director of Player Personnel Gil Brandt —
“Over the past three years, I have come to know Drew as a terrific person and a great football player. When I see Drew Brees, I see Peyton Manning on and off the field. He is extremely intelligent with excellent character and outstanding football skills. He’s also a proven winner. There’s no question in my mind that Drew will be successful as an NFL player ... and in anything he chooses to do thereafter.”

Miller Elementary School (Lafayette, Indiana) Second Grade Teacher Jenniffer Dickensheets —
“Drew is an exceptional person. He has such a positive influence on the students. He is willing to work 1-on-1 with children with special needs. He has a heart bigger than Texas. He is every parent’s dream.”

Drew Brees Stats & Stories

• His nicknames are "Cool Brees" and "Hurricane Drew"

• His high school team, Austin (Texas) Westlake, was 28-0-1 with Drew as the starting quarterback as a junior and a senior, including 16-0 and a state championship his senior year when he was voted the Class 5A (big school) Most Valuable Offensive Player. (Former Indiana quarterback Jay Rodgers preceded Drew at Westlake.)

• He suffered a torn left anterior cruciate ligament during the playoffs his junior season — as a result, schools such as Texas and Texas A&M backed off on recruiting him.

• He chose Purdue over Kentucky — his recruiting host on his official visit to UK was quarterback Tim Couch.

• He has a 3.41 cumulative grade-point average in Purdue’s School of Management. He had a 4.0 GPA during the 2000 spring semester, and he has made the Dean’s List three out of the last four semesters.

• He is an active participant in Purdue’s Gentle Giants program, assisting elementary school children in the classroom every week.

• He has teamed with the American Lung Association in an anti-smoking campaign, “Enjoy The Brees, Don’t Smoke,” allowing his name and likeness to be used.

• He has served as a spokesman for the March of Dimes and for Census 2000, been involved with the Muscular Dystrophy Association and made appearances at the Lafayette Boys and Girls Club and the Boy Scouts of America.

• He also played basketball and baseball in high school.

• His childhood idols were Joe Montana and Drew Bledsoe.

• His mother, Mina, wanted him to play tennis (her favorite sport) and become “the next Pete Sampras or Andre Agassi” — Drew has yet to beat his mother in tennis.

• His father, Chip, played freshman basketball at Texas A&M.

• His grandfather, Ray Akins, is the third-winningest high school football coach in the state of Texas.

• His uncle, Marty Akins, was a three-year starting quarterback and an All-American at Texas from 1975-77.

• He is a member of Sigma Chi Fraternity — so were former Purdue quarterback greats Bob DeMoss, Bob Griese, Mark Herrmann and Jim Everett.

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