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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 27, ISSUE 3 21 BY STACY CLARDIE SClardie@GoldandBlack.com J eff Brohm's top priority in his first two weeks as Purdue's head coach was to bolster the roster by playing "catch up" in recruiting. But that's only the start to what will be a considerable task ahead of the former Western Kentucky head man in West Lafayette. Brohm knows it, though, and starting from what he called "ground zero" even has him a bit excited. Because that's just what is in the first-year coach's DNA. Brohm talked expectations, struggle, family, recruit- ing philosophy and much more during an hour-long ap- pearance on "Gold and Black LIVE" on Dec. 19, two weeks to the day after he was hired as Purdue's 36th football coach. Here are excerpts from the interview: Gold and Black: In the interview process, what did Purdue do to convince you this is a challenge that could be met? Brohm: "Well, I think they were honest with me from Day 1. They didn't hold back on where they thought the program was and where it needed to go and all the steps that needed to be done and that it wasn't going to be easy. But they really made me believe that they were going to do their part. They understood that there's a few things that we may be behind a little bit in. With the practice facility being built, I think it's an important step not only to get with the times but also to be a great recruiting tool for young student-athletes wanting to come to Purdue." Gold and Black: When you haven't had success, where does the resolve to keep fighting come from? Brohm: "The challenge of it can be as much fun as anything. I'm married now, and I have a wife (Jennifer), but even the chase in a relationship is something that can be fun. The things that happen easy, those normally don't work out. The fact that there's a lot of work to be done, the fact there's some great teams we're going to play against each and every year that have a lot of his- tory and tradition and have been winning a lot lately, is a great challenge. But I believe I'm a football guy who likes to find ways and be creative and do things that are cutting edge and try to give my team a chance to win and to try to make it fun and enjoyable while we're doing it. The aggressive approach we're going to try to take in ev- erything we do is going to be there. It'll be something we learn along the way and adjustments we have to make, but if we can get our players to believe in the fact they can be as great as we want to be, if we can bring them together as a team, normally you can achieve more than you think. "Sometimes when you come in some of these games as underdogs, there's a lot to play for. We have a chip on our shoulder. That's the type of players I'm used to coaching. Guys out to prove people wrong, to prove may- be they should have gotten a bigger scholarship, should be somewhere else where it's easier. But to come some- where where you have to work for it the hard way, to me, that means a lot." Gold and Black: What is your working relation- ship like with your brothers, Greg and Brian, who 'Football Guy' Brohm Ready To Work Fiery first-year coach eager Q&A