From dark-horse to sure-shot to has-been, Purdue quarterback Kyle Orton has been cast in essentially every role in the 2004 Heisman trophy drama.

The senior — who leads the Big Ten in passing yards per game, total offense and pass efficiency — started the season as a dark-horse candidate for the Heisman. After Purdue climbed to fifth in the AP Poll following a 5-0 start, Orton began garnering all the Heisman talk and seemed to be a shoo-in for the award. But now he has fallen out of most Heisman predictors’ charts after consecutive losses to No. 6 Wisconsin and No. 12 Michigan.

But you wouldn’t know from talking to Orton whether he had just had an explosive performance against Syracuse or whether the Boilermakers were coming off a two-game losing streak that most likely knocked them out of the Big Ten championship picture.

That’s because Orton may be one of the most level-headed, calm individuals you could ever meet. His easygoing Midwestern personality washes over everyone like a cool, autumn breeze.

Maybe that’s why the Heisman talk hasn’t seemed to faze Orton all year. He wouldn’t allow himself to get caught up in it earlier in the season, and he hasn’t become engulfed in the discussions concerning his fall from the race.

“I don’t really care what people say or think about me,” Orton said. “My impact is how I play on the football field. If I play well, my profile goes up. If I don’t, then it goes down. I leave the rest up to other people.”

And that coolness is the reason why he and Purdue coach Joe Tiller have become such close friends over Orton’s four-year career as a Boilermaker. Tiller and Orton’s personalities are very similar and have allowed them to forge a close bond.

“(Orton’s) a college guy, and he’s having a good time,” Tiller said. “He’s enjoying life right now.”

The pair’s discussions about politics have been widely reported — Orton hopes to be a politician someday — but the friendly talks in Tiller’s office are what the coach values the most.

“He was in my office talking, and I’m not going to say what we were talking about, other than the fact that it was not politics,” Tiller said. “It may have had something to do with his social life.

“He said to me, ‘The media really should be talking about what we’re talking about in our conversation because they’re making a lot of assumptions (by saying) the only thing we discuss is politics. It’s really the thing we discuss the least.’

“I think he’s a typical young person who is quite frankly refreshing to visit with.”

As much as Tiller values having Orton as his team’s leader, Orton values Tiller for being a stabilizing force in his life.

Orton said Tiller has always had an open-door policy with him and said he feels he can talk to Tiller anytime something is bothering him.

“It’s meant a lot,” Orton said. “You have a lot of ups and downs at quarterback, and he’s been there the entire way.”

With the recent firing of Florida coach Ron Zook, Orton said he realizes the stresses of coaching and said he admires Tiller for being able to carry on in his profession.

While players always have their guaranteed scholarships, Orton said, coaches walk a much finer line and must be able to shoulder the burdens and pressures of the position.

“You have to be a special person to be a coach and to filter out all the negatives,” Orton said. “He does a great job of just being our coach.”

Like Tiller, Orton is not caught up on personal accolades or achievements. Both are primarily concerned with the status of their team.

If the Heisman trophy comes with the team’s success, that’s just an added bonus for both. But if it doesn’t, Orton and Tiller won’t be disappointed as long as the Boilermakers accomplish their goals.

“It’s just a game,” Orton said. “It’s not important enough to lose sleep over.

“We worry about ourselves, and we don’t worry about what other people outside are talking about us.”

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