What's next for Brady Allen?

The Brady Allen era is over before it even got started.

The Purdue true freshman quarterback announced on social media on Monday morning that he was entering the transfer portal.

“It was a tough process,” Brady Allen’s father Chris Allen told GoldandBlack.com. “Brady loves Purdue and we have so many family and friends that love Purdue.”

Brady Allen was the presumed future of the program, a four-star prospect and 2021 Indiana Mr. Football from Gibson Southern High who was straight out of central casting for a Purdue program famous for being the “Cradle of Quarterbacks.”

Now, Allen is gone after just one year in West Lafayette.

As is the case with so many players who enter the portal, Brady Allen’s impetus to jump in was a coaching change. The coach who signed Allen in 2022, Jeff Brohm, left earlier this month for Louisville. Purdue countered by hiring Illinois defensive coordinator Ryan Walters to lead the program.

With Brohm, Allen knew what the plan was for him. With the new staff, unknowns percolated for Allen. Walters has hired Graham Harrell as offensive coordinator. It’s believed Harrell will operate a quarterback-centric attack based on “Air Raid” principles he learned as a quarterback under Mike Leach at Texas Tech. Harrell later worked for the late Leach as an assistant at Washington State. Harrell also has had stints as an OC at North Texas, USC and West Virginia.

“I know we’re bringing in Graham, but what’s this offense going to look like?” said Chris Allen, who says there wasn’t a plan for Brady Allen to play in the Jan. 2 Citrus Bowl vs. LSU. “And what’s their plan for (Brady)?”

Was the 6-6, 215-pound Brady Allen a fit for what Harrell wants at quarterback? It’s thought Allen had some conversations with Walters and Harrell in recent days. How extensive were those discussions?

Perhaps Walters and Harrell want a signal-caller who is more mobile than Allen, who spent the past season running the scout team vs. the No. 1 Boilermaker defense.

“What if they bring in dual-threat quarterbacks?” said Chris Allen “Not that he’s not athletic. I think a lot of people will think because he’s 6-6, he’s not athletic. … He’s athletic.”

• Brady Allen has entered the portal

• Purdue transfer portal tracker

This seems to be certain: Walters will import a quarterback from the transfer portal. But, the Allens knew Brohm had the same plan, as Purdue had to replace sixth-year seniors Aidan O’Connell and Austin Burton.

“We absolutely knew that whether Jeff was still here, or Coach Walters had come in, that they were gonna have to have a portal quarterback,” said Chris Allen. “Maybe one or two. My son is not worried about competition. He expects it.

“He’s not a guy that says ‘Hey, you got to play me right now or I’m gonna leave.’ That’s 100 percent not him. What he does need to know is: What’s the plan?”

But, why not wait, go through spring football and the decide to transfer? Shouldn’t Brady Allen give the new regime a chance? See what the offense and staff is like, and then decide. The second portal window opens May 1-15. The current window closes Jan. 18.

“Well, as a quarterback, you lose six months of preparation in getting to the next place,” said Chris Allen on the issue of staying though spring drills. “So, that’s got to come into your thought process, too. You’re gonna be on your third offense in a year. That’s a big part of this whole process.”

Brady Allen already has suitors reaching out to family and friends, soliciting his interest. Could Allen still return to Purdue? The family has not shut the door.

“We’re not asking anybody to play favorites,” said Chris Allen. “That’s absolutely not it. We’re not asking for guarantees. We never asked for NIL. We’re just different that way. But I do need to know a plan.”

Allen’s exit means Purdue for now will enter spring drills with just two scholarship signal-callers: redshirt junior Michael Alaimo and incoming freshman Ryan Browne, who is enrolling in January. Again, Purdue is in the midst of sifting through portal signal-callers and may land one for the spring semester. Stay tuned.

Being a Boilermaker was important to Allen, his family and friends, which made this decision to hop in the portal a difficult one. Now, Allen—the prize of the 2022 Purdue recruiting class who had enrolled last January—has hit the reset button on his young career.

“Were trying to get a list together (of schools Brady wants to consider) over the next couple of days, to a week,” said Chris Allen. “It’s been crazy. My phone hasn’t stopped. Some surprises, some not surprises. And I’m sure we’ll find out more as the day goes.

“He wants to give it a look. And he wants to vet what’s out there. And, honestly, we feel like he made a really, really good decision three years ago (when Allen committed early to Purdue), and he lived up to what he was asked to do. Ultimately, this isn’t about Purdue. It’s got to be something that fits him and it’s got to be a staff that fits him.”