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110 ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 25, ISSUE 2 f F O O T B A L L F E A T U R E : A U S T I N A P P L E B Y BY STACY CLARDIE SClardie@GoldandBlack.com E asily, the load could have been lessened. The nights could have been shorter. The studying could have been ignored. The workouts could have stopped at the minimum. The communication could have been cut off. Austin Appleby could have relented, accepting that for reasons he never entirely understood, he was a backup quarterback. He'd already been bypassed for Purdue's starting job as a redshirt freshman, watching as a true freshman got the call midseason. He'd already been by- passed in the spring. He'd already been bypassed in train- ing camp this season. Surrendering could have saved him lonely, tear-filled nights. Could have prevented him from getting lost, over- whelmed with indecision about his future. Could have alleviated frustration, built because he knew he could make a difference on the field. Could have spared him the guilt, feeling like he let his team down, by not playing. Austin Appleby could have given up. Except he didn't. It's not in his makeup, not in his character, to abandon dreams, to let others down, to allow comfort to set in while a goal goes unachieved. It's ultimately why, after waiting two-and-a-half years to get his chance, when it came, Appleby seized it. "It's easy to work when people are patting you on the back and people are encouraging you, but it's really, really hard when it would be easy to just say, 'I don't need to get these extra reps, I'm not going to be playing.' Or, 'I don't have to watch this extra film, it's not like I'm going to get in.' But that's never been my mindset," he said. "I've al- ways been convinced that every week, I'm going to get the ball, it's going to be my turn, I'm going to give this team the best opportunity we have to win a championship. That's just kind of what's motivated me. A lot of those times being in the film room late, after dark, alone with the lights off, I don't know if a lot of people would do that. A lot of people questioned it and a lot of people didn't even expect me to be here this year. "But the last thing I was going to do — and it's just me not wanting to let these guys down — was relax. I couldn't 'It' Factor Appleby's demeanor, confidence transform offense 'It' Factor Tom Campbell Quarterback Austin Appleby's confident, but poised, personality sparked Purdue's of- fense to its best produc- tion of the season in his first three starts.