No. 8 Purdue receiver: Tim Stratton
By CLIFF BRUNT
ISL Editor
Tim Stratton won the first-ever Mackey Award for the nation’s best tight end as a junior in 2000, catching 56 passes for 579 yards and two touchdowns as a top receiver for Drew Brees.
“Not the most physically gifted tight end Purdue has ever had, but excelled at catching the football and benefited greatly from having Brees throwing him passes,” Doug Griffiths, Indy Sports Legends correspondent and former Gold and Black editor, said. “A good route runner who linebackers had a very difficult time matching up, with particularly with the way Purdue would spread defenses out.”
Stratton caught 204 passes, fourth in school history, for 2,088 yards and 15 touchdowns during his career.
“He was a wide receiver in a tight end’s body,” Purdue play-by-play man Tim Newton said. “Tim probably had the best set of hands on the team when he played, and he was a real go-to guy on third down or inside the red zone.”
