Former Purdue QB Kyle Orton 'thankful to have a special relationship' with Joe Tiller

WEST LAFAYETTE – Kyle Orton was watching Purdue’s season opener against Penn State at home when the Fox broadcast crew mentioned the Boilermakers hadn’t beaten the Nittany Lions since 2004.

Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt brought up Orton’s name. Orton’s son, Jack, heard it.

“He looked at me and said: ‘Is that you?’ I said, ‘Who else do you think that is?’ ” Kyle recalled.

Jack and Orton’s daughter, Olivia, witnessed their first Purdue game at Ross-Ade Stadium last weekend as the Boilermakers rolled over Indiana State as Orton was recognized.

The star quarterback who directed Joe Tiller’s high-flying offense and played for five NFL teams, including the Chicago Bears, was inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame during the National Football Foundation Honors Receptions last weekend. Orton was also introduced along with other former Bears players at Sunday’s game against San Francisco at Soldier Field.

The Indiana Hall of Fame honor wasn’t on Orton’s radar until a couple of months ago.

“Tom Schott (NFF advisory board member and former Purdue athletics communications director) called me and said they were working on it,” said Orton, who is from Altoona, Iowa. “Grateful to have people back here who supported me and still support me, and they did a lot of work nominating me and all that. It’s a nice honor to have.”

More from Kyle Orton in this Q&A:

Question: What comes to mind when you think about your Purdue career:

Answer: Probably a lot of different thoughts now that I’m 20 years removed. Just a lot of happy thoughts and all relationships everybody makes in college and I’m no different than that. I still have a lot of great friends from back in that time. Looking back, you see all the support staff and the coaches and the Tom Schotts in the media department who took so much time out of their day to help you and not only do their job but go above and beyond to help you through college. I’m thankful for all of that.

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Q: Why did you and Joe Tiller have a strong connection?

A: So thankful to have a special relationship with coach. It wasn’t just because he told me everything I wanted to hear – and half the time he was telling me things I didn’t want to hear. That’s what coach did – he shot you straight. He told you right where you were at and took a special interest in me. I think back to the hours and hours in his office, and everybody knew him as an X’s and O’s coach but not one time in his coaching career with me did he draw up a play, talk about a specific play, how you’re supposed to read anything. He was more about how you’re supposed to lead a team and how you’re supposed to live your life and I’m grateful for that.

Q: So, how did you know where to go with the ball?

A: That’s what Jim Chaney and coach (Blaine) Bennett were for. He let the position coaches coach. He was a management-style coach who overlooked the whole thing. He was great.

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Q: How did the path to Purdue evolve and play out?

A: I was a small town kid from the Midwest and wanted to get out of the state and get on my own but also I knew what I was looking for. Coming from a small school, we only threw the ball 13-14 times a game and I turned on the TV and watched coach Tiller’s offense with (Drew) Brees throwing the ball 50 times a game, that’s what I thought I needed to become the quarterback I wanted.

Q: Were you confident that if you got in the right system, your skill set would come out?

A: Coming from a small town, I might have been the first kid to become a Division I football player. You always have some doubts but having a great dad that was always supportive and a great high school coach, they told me I could do it and I believed them.

Q: You grew up a Nebraska fan and your connection to Brook Berringer has been chronicled …

A: “Huge Nebraska fan but it’s sad to see what’s happened. They’re a great program and one of the best ever and would love to see them have success. On Brook, the ultimate teammate. He went through a year where they had Tommy Frazier and he was a great quarterback but had blood clots and he was out. Brook played great and should’ve maybe played in the national championship game, but Frazier came back and set the way, but Brook was a great teammate. I thought it was awesome. I was an eighth grader and right before the draft, he passed away in a plane crash. I wore his number and a cool thing my senior year, his mom read the story of why I wore the number and his mother, Jan Berringer who is from Kansas but was in Chicago and took the opportunity to drive down to see me and we talked in Tom’s office for two hours. That was a special moment for sure. It was just that one meeting but it was great.

Q: What was your favorite pro stop?

“I was lucky. I played for some great organizations. Looking back, I’m definitely a Bear and had some of the best success with the Bears and we had great teams and great friends but to be able to play with the Bills, the Cowboys and the Broncos and the Chiefs. Lucky to have good stops along the way and play for some great owners and great coaches and learned a lot from everybody."

Mike Carmin covers Purdue sports for the Journal & Courier and USA Today Network. Email mcarmin@gannett.com and follow on Twitter and Instagram @carmin_jc

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Ex-Purdue QB Kyle Orton talks Indiana Hall of Fame, Joe Tiller