Curtis Painter

Curtis Matthew Painter (born June 24, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Purdue Boilermakers and was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the sixth round of the 2009 NFL draft.

Curtis Painter was born in Watseka, Illinois. During his freshman year, Painter moved to Vincennes, Indiana, where he attended Lincoln High School and was a PrepStar All-American. During his high school football career, Painter had a three-year record of 28–7 with 4,946 passing yards, 49 passing touchdowns, and 17 rushing touchdowns. He ended his high school career a finalist on the Mr. Football ballot and led his team to an 11–2 record and a conference championship and a sectional championship.

Painter was a 3-star rated Pro-Style Quarterback ranked by rivals.com before committing to play for Purdue University. He also played baseball and basketball for the Alices.

Painter committed to Purdue University on October 8, 2003. Painter was not heavily recruited as he only received FBS scholarship offers from Purdue, Ball State and Indiana.

Painter committed to play for Purdue University on July 28, 2003, under head coach Joe Tiller. After redshirting in 2004, Painter backed up starting quarterback Brandon Kirsch for the first six games of the 2005 season, ultimately replacing Kirsch as the starter for the last five games of the season. On the season, Painter completed 89 of 170 passes, for 932 yards, with 3 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Painter became the Boilers' starting quarterback indefinitely after Kirsch declared for the NFL draft and left Purdue a year early.

Painter started in 14 games in his sophomore season, where he threw for 22 touchdowns and rushed for six. He set the Big Ten Conference record in seasonal passing yards, breaking Drew Brees' 3,983 mark with 3,985. His 284.6 passing yards per game ranked seventh in the nation, while leading the conference. He led the Boilermakers to the Champs Sports Bowl, resulting in a 24–7 loss to Maryland.

Starting in every game in his junior season, Painter threw 29 touchdown passes and rushed for 3. Painter's 3,985 passing yards in 2006 are the most in a single season in Purdue history, beating Drew Brees' 3,983 in 1998. Painter averaged 295.9 yards per game, which was 12th most in the nation, while tying Brees's Big Ten season record with 569 attempts. He threw for six touchdowns, completing 38 of 49 attempts with 348 total yards against Eastern Illinois. In the 2007 Motor City Bowl against Central Michigan, Painter completed 35 of his 54 passes, with three touchdowns and threw for a Motor City Bowl record 546 yards with 540 total yards.

In his last season as the Boilermakers' main starting quarterback, the fifth year senior struggled with the absence of injured running back Jaycen Taylor and the graduation of Dustin Keller and Dorian Bryant. He hurt his throwing shoulder resulting in a 4–8 overall record and only appeared in 10 games with nine starts, while reserve quarterbacks, Justin Siller and Joey Elliot, stepped in his place. His top game on the season came against Indiana in his last collegiate game, where he threw for five touchdowns, while completing 38 of 54 attempts with a total of 448 yards.