Koutouvides/Browne connected

Think of it as one Milford (N.Y.) Academy player helping another. That’s what former Purdue LB standout Niko Koutouvides was doing when he made a sales pitch for the Boilermakers to QB Ryan Browne roughly two years ago.

Now, Browne finds himself as QB1, primed to make his second career start for the Boilermakers (1-5 overall; 0-3 Big Ten) as they prepare to play host to No. 2 Oregon (6-0;3-0) on Friday at 8 p.m. ET on FOX. Koutovides will be in West Lafayette to serve as an honorary captain.

“I got a call from (Milford coach) Bill Chaplick,” said Koutouvides, who played at Milford before coming to Purdue in 2000. “He won’t call me unless he really sees something in a player. He told me: ‘Hey, I have this stud quarterback. Great kid. Just dominated this year. Tall, big, humble. I think he should be a Purdue guy. Can you put me in touch with the East Coast recruiter?’ “

Purdue had already reached out to Browne and was on the radar of the Boilermakers, who at the time were being coached by Jeff Brohm.

Milford Academy, located in New Berlin, N.Y., was the fourth stop on Browne’ peripatetic high school journey that began in Michigan and included stops at two Florida high schools before finishing at Milford in the 2022 season. While in Florida, he lived in an apartment by himself while his family remained in Michigan.

“Growing up, my dad played in the NFL,” said Browne, who had 415 total yards in his starting debut last week in a 50-49 OT loss at Illinois. “So, I was raised to play football, and I’ve always really wanted it. When the decision came for me to have to (live by myself), I didn’t think twice about it.

“Looking back at it, I’m really happy it happened. Because once I got here a year and a half ago, I feel like a lot of people have to adjust to college and living by yourself. I’d already been doing it for two years, so wasn’t much of a difference.”

From Venice High in Florida–where Browne was voted the 2021 Class 8A Florida Player of the Year–the 6-4, 210-pound Browne opted to play an extra prep year at Milford because he wanted to raise his recruiting profile.

“I didn’t have a lot of film in high school because I only really had a full year starting as a senior (at Venice), and I had a really good senior year,” said Browne.

“A lot of colleges recruit quarterbacks early on in the recruiting process. So, I felt like just doing an extra year would give me that extra time for people to see me and for people to just see what I can do.”

Despite the post-grad year at Milford, Browne still remained largely overlooked. Smaller FBS and FCS programs mostly sniffed around. A few offered … Toledo, Holy Cross, Rhode Island, among others. Power Five offers? Browne had one: Purdue. And he jumped on it soon after an offer was made in October 2022.

Koutouvides, 43, did his part for Purdue, at one time at the behest of Chaplick attending a player combine in Connecticut to watch Browne and talk to him.

“I went to the combine,” said Koutouvides, who is a successful real estate developer in Connecticut after a nine-year NFL career. “I saw him perform. He was far more advanced than most of the players. He’s tall. He’s a gunslinger. And he’s a really good kid. I told him that historically, Purdue has a lot of talent at quarterback.

“And, as far education, there aren’t many schools better academically than Purdue. He didn’t make the decision because of me, but he did so because he felt comfortable at Purdue.”

Now, Browne is a mature 21-year-old redshirt freshman who has been building for this moment for years.

“I have a chip on my shoulder from kind of bouncing around before I got here,” said Browne, “having to go to a prep school. So, I feel like I have a lot to prove, and I just love football. So, it’s nothing more than really just loving the game and just really wanting to win, because that’s why you play it.”

MORE: First look: Oregon | Big picture: Mixed feelings after near miss at Illinois | First and 10 | QB Ryan Browne to start vs. No. 2 Oregon: “It would be unfair not to” | The 3-2-1 | Opponent view | Browne ready for his big moment