Former Purdue University quarterback Mark Herrmann was accustomed to taking snaps from his former center, Pete Quinn.
Now, Herrmann is taking a different kind of handoff from Quinn.
The 1977 Carmel High School graduate and Geist area resident is replacing a retiring Quinn as Purdue football radio color analyst.
Herrmann, 65, subbed in two games for Quinn in the booth last year and was the sideline reporter at Virginia Tech. Quinn, a former Geist resident who now lives in Carmel, had been the radio analyst for 32 years.
“He had a great run,” Herrmann said. “I congratulate him on that, it’s quite a commitment. I think he was ready to be a normal fan in the stands and watch the games with his family. I think he’s excited that I’m taking the reins now.”
Herrmann played in the NFL for 11 seasons, concluding his career with the Indianapolis Colts in 1992. He then had a 10-year stint as a radio analyst for the Colts. Herrmann later served as an analyst on the Colts preseason games on TV for a few seasons.
“That was a lot of fun,” said Herrmann, who is the director of leadership and alumni engagement for the John Purdue Club. “Then I did six or seven years for ESPN Plus, calling some Mid-American Conference football games.”
When Purdue Sports Properties General Manager Mark Walpole asked Herrmann if he was interested in the opening, he quickly said yes.
“I thought it would be fun to do Purdue games, so we’ll give it a go here,” he said.
Tim Newton has served as Purdue’s football play-by-play announcer since the 2009 season.
“Tim is great and a real professional,” Herrmann said. “We worked on a couple of games last year, so we have a feel for one another. He’s easy to work with, so I’m really looking forward to that. We’ll try to be as descriptive and enthusiastic as we can. It’s fun for me to talk football and the fact that it’s Purdue amplifies that. It’s a very good schedule this year, probably more than (coach) Ryan Walters wants. It will be very difficult but fun to watch how Purdue competes this year.”
Herrmann said he will have a different approach as a former quarterback than Quinn’s approach.
“I’ll give the fans a little different view from reading coverages and blocking schemes,” he said. “I might be more of a comprehensive approach. Hopefully, I can improve every week and, hopefully, a lot of folks will tune in.”
Along with being a standout high school quarterback, Herrmann helped lead the CHS basketball team to its first IHSAA state title in 1977. Herrmann. a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame, led the Boilermakers to victories in the 1978 Peach, 1979 Bluebonnet and 1980 Liberty bowls.
