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68 GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED P R E S E N T S : L A FAY E T T E L E G E N D C A R L B U E R G L E R BY ALAN KARPICK AKarpick@GoldandBlack.com I n the business world, Carl Buergler plays big and fast. Sure, he may be a 6-foot former walk-on quarterback who during his days at Purdue was buried on the depth chart behind a quarterback named Drew Brees, but that isn't the measure of the man he has become. Heck, in the 13 years since Buergler graduated from Purdue, he has be- come, at least in some measure, Brees' boss as the chief operating officer for Jimmy John's. But it didn't come easy for the Hobart, Ind., native. Buergler lives and thrives in a world where he literally must stand up and be counted every day. But his Pur- due experience helped definitely prepped him for his profesional live, for despite being a scout team player, Buergler was always counting, al- ways measuring his per- formance on and off the field, always challenging himself. As a walk-on, Buergler knew his role and played it wel back in the days of Joe Tiller and Jim Chaney. "We noticed Carl," said Tiller when he as in town in June for the Nation- al Football Foundation annual awards banquet. "How could you not? He was always doing something to make us better." Buergler was vot- ed the Verle Campbell Award winner as the outstanding scout team member in Purdue's 2001 Rose Bowl team. And for the record, Buergler really did mea- sure everything: How many passes he completed in a scrim- mage? Did his scout offense execute the opponent's plays in a way that allowed his unit to move the ball downfield? Everything. That included comparing himself with Brees. He wasn't afraid to go toe- to-toe with the Boilermaker legend in a scrimmage and takes great pride in the fact he occasionally posted better numbers than the future Hall of Fame quarterback. Buergler quotes the num- bers pretty much as if it happened yes- terday. It allowed him to do something he deems necessary to be successful: Dream. Dream big. "I let my mind go pretty far," said Buergler, who runs the operation of the wildly successful sandwich company in Champaign, Ill., where he resides. "The first spring game I played quarterback (1998), it was basically Drew and I be- cause of injuries at the position. I think the stats were something Brees was 12-of-23, for a couple hundred yards, Freaky Competitive Buergler lives life in Jimmy John's fast lane Sandra Dukes Carl Buergler, being interviewed by Nate Barrett after winning an award at June's National Football Foundation dinner, has enjoyed a meteoric rise in the corporate world since leaving Purdue 14 years ago. Buergler thrives on Jimmy John's corporate mantra: "Do it now — make it happen — be a go-getter, no excuses."