April 2, 2005

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - For virtually every member of the Purdue football team, today's first spring practice meant the end of offseason conditioning.

For quarterback Brandon Kirsch, it was the first day he could call the Boilermakers his team. With Kyle Orton no longer in his way, Kirsch figures on being the guy for the next two seasons.

"I guess you could say that I've been waiting for this day for two years," said Kirsch, who will be a fourth-year junior in the fall. "I'm excited to be the leader of his team and to win a lot of football games."

The Boilermakers, under ninth-year head coach Joe Tiller, worked out for a little more than two hours under a sun-drenched sky but in a gusty wind on the intramural fields on the west side of campus.

"There's always a lot of enthusiasm the first day because guys are excited to be back on the field," Tiller said. "There's an extra bounce in their step."

Tiller noted that although the practice marked the start of the Kirsch Era, he is anything but an unknown commodity. Kirsch has played in 14 games during his career, including six starts with a 3-3 record. He has completed 60.3 percent of his passes (140 of 232) for 1,805 yards with 16 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

"Brandon's played a fair amount of football for us," Tiller said. "He knows the offense, we know what he can do, so it's not like we're breaking in someone new. We're going to experiment with some things, but Brandon is Brandon."

Tiller is anxious to see Kirsch develop as a leader.

"He has an outgoing personality and, in that way, is quite different than Orton," Tiller said. "He's popular among his teammates, which will help him."

Kirsch likes the make up of the squad.

"There's a lot of talent and good chemistry," he said. "We had a good offseason, and I think you will see us make a lot of progress over the next three weeks."

The Boilermakers return to practice Monday at 4:20 p.m. They will work out every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday through the Spring Game on April 23.

Noteworthy: Former Boilermaker offensive lineman Gene Mruczkowski, now a member of the two-time defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, took in today's practice.