Drew Brees established himself as one of the most decorated athletes in Purdue and Big Ten history when he set two NCAA records, 13 Big Ten records and 19 Purdue records during his career. He remains the Big Ten record holder in career competions (1,026) and also held records in passing yards (11,792) and touchdowns (90). All three stats remain atop the Purdue rankings. 

Brees became a two-time Heisman Trophy finalist, two-time Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and two-time First Team All-Big Ten selection. He won the 2000 Maxwell Award as the nation's outstanding player and the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the Big Ten MVP, while also being named Academic All-American of the Year.

Perhaps his greatest stretch of games were the four in October of his senior year when he led the Boilers to consecutive wins over Michigan, Northwestern, Wisconsin and Ohio State by throwing for 12 touchdowns and 1,255 yards, propelling Purdue to its first Rose Bowl in 34 years.

After his collegiate career, Brees was rewarded with a 32nd overall selection in the 2001 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers. He spent five seasons with the Chargers before a move to the New Orleans Saints, and the rest of his 15-year NFL career was history. 

He went on to lead the Saints to their first Super Bowl (XLVI) and was named Super Bowl MVP. Brees earned two AP Offensive Player of the Year honors, Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year in 2006 and was a 13-time Pro Bowl selection. 

Brees raised the bar for NFL quarterback consistency, holding the record for most 5,000+ passing yard seasons with five (Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes are tied for second with two). He also holds the single-season competion percentage record (74.4%), most consecutive games with a touchdown pass (54), most games with at least 20 competions (61), and most games with 300+ passing yards (123).

He ranks second in NFL history in career passing yards (80,358) and passing touchdowns (571). 

Brees was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2026 and the Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009.

Scott Campbell had big shoes to fill in 1980 when he took over for record-setting quarterback Mark Herrmann, who went on to get selected in the fourth round of the NFL Draft. Campbell turned the challenge into what still stands as one of the most successful statistical quarterback careers in Purdue history.

He put up incredible numbers, including a 516-yard passing effort at Ohio State in 1981, totaling 7,636 passing yards and 45 touchdowns. At the time, his stats trailed only Herrmann in both Big Ten and Purdue history, and currently both sit seventh in school history.

Campbell followed with a seventh-round (191st overall) selection by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1984. He played six years in the NFL with the Steelers and Atlanta Falcons before he brielfy joined the Ottawa Rough Riders in the CFL. 

As a three-year starting quarterback of the Boilermakers, Gary Danielson showed pro-caliber traits with a strong, accurate arm.

In 1971, Danielson put his skills on full display when he led the Big Ten in passing offense with 1,467 yards and was the architect of six of the conference's 11 longest plays of the season. During the campaign, he set a Big Ten record for passing accuracy in conference games at 61.7-percent. 

He showed different skillsets as well throughout his career and had a 213-yard rushing game against Washington the following season. 

Following his collegiate career, Danielson went undrafted in the NFL but kickstarted a 13-year career when he signed with the Detroit Lions in 1976. He produced two 3,000+ passing yard seasons in Detroit and finished his NFL career with 13,764 yards.

Danielson was a member of the Lions from 1976-84 before he finished his career with the Cleveland Browns in two different stints between 1985-88. 

He turned to a new career in broadcasting after his NFL career when he worked with ESPN behinning in 1990. After a successful stint with ESPN, Danielson moved to CBS Sports in 2006 where he worked on the primary collegiate telecasts until his retirement following the 2025 season. He earned six Sports Emmy's during his broadasting career. 

Out of the gate, Len Dawson showed all the signs of being one of the Purdue greats.

His first season as a starter began with a four-touchdown game in a 31-0 route of Missouri, and the same season featured a victory over No. 1-ranked Notre Dame in South Bend. 

During his successful career in West Lafayette, Dawson won three Old Oaken Buckets, two Cannons and two Shillelaghs, and was anointed the "Golden Boy." At the conclusion of his career in 1956, Dawson led Purdue in passing yards (3,325) and touchdowns (29). 

The collegiate success was rewarded in the 1957 NFL Draft when Dawson was selected fifth overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers. The NFL success, however, started six seasons later during his tenure with the Dallas Texans, just one season in Texas in 1962, before the franchise relocated to Kansas City where he played from 1963-75. 

Hank Strahm, who was an assistant coach at Purdue during Dawson's career, was Dallas' head coach when Dawson arrived, and after the franchise relocated, the duo won three AFL titles and Super Bowl IV, of which Dawson was the MVP, in Kansas City. The duo spent 13 seasons together from 1962-74.

In 19 NFL seasons, Dawson finished with 28,711 passing yards and 239 touchdowns. All but 204 yards and five touchdowns came as a member of the Chiefs' franchise. 

An incredible career at both the professional and collegiate level, Dawson was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987 and Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame in 1996. 

Regarded as the first mondern-day quarterback in Purdue history, Bob DeMoss cemented himself as a member of the Cradle.

His success came immediately when he started his freshman season on a five-game winning streak that was capped off by a 35-13 victory over No. 4 Ohio State in Columbus on Oct. 20, 1945. His career with the Boilermakers concluded with 2,759 yards and 23 touchdowns. 

He was selected in the second round (13th overall) by the Boston Yanks in the AAFC in 1949 and then was selected in the 22nd round (280th overall) by the New York Giants in 1950. He held a pro career for just one season in 1949 with the New York Bulldogs.

DeMoss then returned to Purdue as an assistant from 1950-69 before a stint as the program's head coach from 1970-72. During his tenure, DeMoss helped accelerate Purdue's status as one of the top quarterback schools in the country with his recruitment  of fellow Cradle members Dale Samuels, Len Dawson, Bob Griese, Mike Phipps and Gary Danielson. 

After his coaching career, DeMoss continued at Purdue as a longtime athletics department administrator and was inducted into the Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999. 

Despite spending five years at Purdue, Jim Everett had to wait three years for his first starting opportunity. Once he stepped on the field, the rest was history.

In his first start in 1984, Everett led Purdue to a 23-21 victory over heavily favored Notre Dame at the season-opening Dedication Game of the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis. In his first year, he became the only quarterback in school history to defeat Notre Dame, Ohio State and Michigan in the same season. 

In just two seasons as the starter, Everett racked up 7,411 passing yards and 43 touchdowns that both rank eighth in Purdue history. He is tied with Drew Brees for the most 300-yard passing games in a season with seven. 

After his incredible two-year run in West Lafayette, Everett was selected third overall in the 1986 NFL Draft by the Houston Oilers. He never appeared for Houston and was traded to the Los Angeles Rams, where he spent eight seasons and led the Rams to the playoffs three times, including the 1989 NFC Championship.

He was a Pro Bowler in 1990 with the Rams, followed with three seasons in New Orleans (1994-96), and concluded his career in San Diego (1997). He amassed 34,839 passing yards and 203 touchdowns during his 12-year NFL career. 

Everett was inducted into the Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999. 

From the moment he stepped on campus, Bob Griese made an impact for the Boilermakers as a three-sport athlete and handled not only quarterback duties, but also kicking and punting.

A career that featured All-American status and Heisman Trophy runner-up as a senior, Griese totaled 4,541 passing yards and 28 touchdowns across three seasons leading the Boilermakers. He notably led Purdue to a 25-21 upset of top-ranked Notre Dame in 1965 and a 14-13 victory over USC in the Boilermakers' first-ever Rose Bowl appearance the following year.

His collegiate career was rewarded when he was selected fourth overall by the Miami Dolphins in the 1967 NFL Draft, where he would go on to play his entire 14-year professional career. With Miami, Griese was a back-to-back Super Bowl Champion in 1972-73 and helped the Dolphins put together the NFL's only undefeated season in 1972. 

On his way to becoming the only Boilermaker enshrined in the Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics, College Football and Pro Football Hall of Fame, Griese totaled 25,092 passing yards and 192 touchdowns in his NFL career. 

After the conclusion of his decorated career on the gridiron, Griese spent nearly 30 years providing commentary for NBC, ABC and ESPN. He called Super Bowl XX while at NBC and called three BCS National Championship games while at ABC. He retired from ESPN in 2011 and spent time with the Dolphins radio broadcast team. 

When it was his time to take the reins in West Lafayette, Mark Herrmann turned the opportunity into one of the most successful careers in school history. 

He was a unanimous First Team All-American and Big Ten MVP in 1980, and is the only Boilermaker with three bowl game victories and MVP performances in the 1978 Peach, 1979 Bluebonnet and 1980 Liberty bowls. 

During his career, Herrmann became the first collegiate quarterback to throw for over 8,000 yards and he finished his career with 9,946 that remains third in program history. His 71 career passing touchdowns trails only Drew Brees (90) in the Purdue rankings. 

After his collegiate career, Herrmann was selected in the fourth round (98th overall) in the 1981 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos. He spent 11 seasons in the NFL, mostly in a backup capacity, with four different franchises. He totaled 4,015 passing yards and 16 touchdowns during his career. 

In his post-playing career, Herrmann joined the Indianapolis Colts' radio broadcast from 1995-04 and later returned to radio color commentary for Purdue football in 2024. 

Herrmann was inducted into the Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010.

Kyle Orton, beginning his career in 2001, was tasked with following the decorated career of Drew Brees (1997-00). Orton responded with another one of the greatest careers in a Boilermaker uniform. 

He amassed impressive numbers, passing for 9,337 yards and 63 touchdowns, fifth and sixth in program history. By starting four consecutive bowl games, he achieved a distinction equaled by only 12 quarterbacks in college football history before him.

Orton led the Boilermakers to a 34-24 victory in the 2002 Sun Bowl when he threw for 283 yards and earned offensive MVP honors. 

Orton's showing in college led to the Chicago Bears selecting him in the fourth round (106th overall) in the 2005 NFL Draft. He went on to play nine seasons and totaled 18,037 passing yards and 101 passing touchdowns. He had three seasons with at least 3,000 passing yards and wrapped up his career with 3,018 yards in his final NFL season with the Buffalo Bills in 2014. 

Curtis Painter wasted little time adding flair to the Cradle of Quarterbacks once he took over as the full-time starter in 2006.

During that season, Painter broke the Big Ten single-season passing yards record with 3,985, two more than Drew Brees' previous record, and the total remains atop the Purdue rankings and fourth in the Big Ten rankings. 

One season later, Painter led Purdue to a 51-48 Motor City Bowl victory over Central Michigan with a then-program-record 546 passing yards to earn the game's MVP.

Painter concluded his career with 11,163 passing yards and 67 passing touchdowns that rank second and fourth, respectively, in Purdue history. 

He was selected in the sixth round (201st overall) by the Indianapolis Colts in 2009 where he began his career as Payton Manning's backup. In 2011, he started eight games for the Colts and totaled 1,541 passing yards with six passing touchdowns. Painter concluded his NFL career as a backup for the New York Giants in 2013. 

Upon his arrival in West Lafayette, Mike Phipps immediately increased the standard and made history. He became the first Purdue quarterback to defeat Notre Dame in three consecutive seasons, and he did so with the Fighting Irish ranked No. 1, No. 2 and No. 9 nationally.

In the midst of a stretch in which the Boilermakers posted a three-year record of 24-6, Phipps led them to a No. 1 national ranking in 1968. A year later, Phipps earned team and Big Ten MVP honors and was runner-up for the Heisman Trophy.

In a game at TCU, Phipps became the first player in school history to pass for more than 200 yards (286) and rush for more than 100 yards (104). He finished the season with 2,527 passing yards and 23 touchdowns, both school records at the time.

He finished his career with 5,423 passing yards and 37 passing touchdowns that both rank top 10 in program history. He is the only Purdue quarterback to eclipse 5,000 passing yards and 30 passing touchdowns in a career that ended prior to 1980. 

Phipps became the third overall pick in the 1970 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns where he spent seven seasons before a five-year career with the Chicago Bears. 

During his 12-year NFL career, Phipps started 71 games and totaled 10,506 passing yards and 55 passing touchdowns. 

He was inducted into the Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame in 1995 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006.

Dale Samuels was the first in an impressive line of Cradle members to play under Bob DeMoss, and he wasted no time etching his name in history.

On Oct. 7, 1950, in just his second game, Samuels led Purdue to a 28-14 victory over reigning national champion and No. 1-ranked Notre Dame that ended the Fighting Irish's 39-game unbeaten streak. The victory marked Purdue's first-ever win over a top-ranked team.

Samuels then became the first quarterback in school history to pass for 1,000 yards in a season (he finished with 1,076 in 1950) and throw 10 touchdown passes. As a senior, Samuels led Purdue to a Big Ten co-championship.

He ended up as a third-round pick (28th overall) by the Chicago Cardinals in the 1953 NFL Draft but never appeared in a professional game. 

Following similar footsteps as DeMoss in returning to Purdue, Samuels served as an assistant coach and in various administrative roles over nearly a quarter century. 

He was inducted in the Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001.