Former Texas QB Hudson Card Transfers to Purdue — The Train Rolls Strong

With standout QB Aidan O’Connell departing for the NFL, the Boilermakers are in desperate need of a talented QB. While he isn’t the most seasoned QB, Hudson Card still brings some much needed arm talent to a rather depleted QB room. The former Lake Travis standout threw for 1,523 yards and 11 touchdowns in seven starts at Texas.

Hudson Card is going to bring an entirely new dynamic to this Purdue offense. He has plenty of arm talent, and is athletic enough to extend plays and make throws off-schedule. He’s an accurate passer, and is able to put zip on his throws. In an extremely pass heavy, air raid style of offense, he will have plenty of opportunities to showcase why he was so highly touted coming out of high school.

As naturally gifted as he is, he doesn’t have much experience. This is obviously an issue, and when you turn on the tape, you can see why. His biggest issue is that he starts to panic when pressure gets to him, and he  tends to leave the pocket much too early. When he stays in the pocket while under pressure, his footwork gets sloppy. He tends to try to make a lot of throws off of his back foot, which often puts the ball in danger. He takes quite a long time to through his reads, which further amplifies his lack of pocket presence.

He can’t throw on the run very well. His mechanics are a bit sloppy in that aspect, and he isn’t able to deliver very accurately. He doesn’t take care of the ball while in the pocket, often holding the ball too far away from his body. This leads to strip sacks and unnecessary turnovers.

Regardless, Hudson Card is still a great QB, he just needs some experience. With time, I expect him to do great things at Purdue, both individually, and as a team. Purdue has a shot to make another run for the Big Ten West next season, as this addition filled what was potentially going to be their biggest question mark in 2023.