Ryan Walters 'fully anticipates' Hudson Card to make a big jump in second year at Purdue

QB Hudson Card got his first chance to be a full-time collegiate starter last year after transferring to Purdue. Now, going into his senior year and second with the Boilermakers, Ryan Walters expects even better from him this fall.

Walters spoke about Card’s upcoming season during their appearance last week at Big Ten Media Days from Indianapolis. He thinks that his quarterback’s path has brought him to this year where everything sets him up for success. That’s especially so now with it being his second in West Lafayette.

“You know, if you look at Hudson’s career and where he’s headed, last season was his first time being a full-time starter at the collegiate level at quarterback. You couple that with being in a brand-new system for the first time with a brand-new environment and all the things that go into it, you know, year two you generally see a big jump from an experience standpoint,” said Walters. “We’ve seen that in terms of his command of the offense and what we’re trying to get accomplished there schematically. We’ve seen him embrace his role as a leader on the team and we’ve added some pieces around him to protect him and guys to throw the ball to.”

Card played and started in all but one game last season for 11 in total. That more than doubled his starts from his first three college seasons while at Texas where he made 22 appearances. While on The 40 Acres, he found himself on the sideline behind other names like Sam Ehlinger, Casey Thompson, and finally with Quinn Ewers.

During his lone season so far at Purdue, Card threw for 2,387 yards with 15 touchdowns and eight interceptions on 58.9% completion. He also rushed for five more scores.

All of those statistics for the most part were obvious career-bests en route to being a Big Ten Honorable Mention. However, one category in completion rate is one that they’re all hoping is a little more accurate for this year.

“Yeah, obviously, we want that number to be higher and fully anticipate that it will be,” said Walters.

Card has more than just veteran experience on his resumé with him leading the Boilermakers in 2023. 2024 is now, with those starts, another chance to play and play well for Purdue.

“I fully anticipate him having a big jump from year one to year two in the program,” said Walters.