Boilermaker sophomore among nation’s best DBs
Purdue safety Dillon Thieneman burst onto the college football scene a year ago and became one of the very best defensive backs in America.
The Westfield, Ind., freshman earned Third Team All-America accolades from The Associated Press to become the 50th All-American in Purdue history. He was Purdue’s first All-America defensive back since Steve Jackson in 1990 as well as the first AP All-America Boilermaker since College Football Hall of Famer Rod Woodson (1986).
In addition, the 6-foot, 205-pounder was named 2023 Defensive Freshman Player of the Year by the Football Writers Association of America.
Fast forward one year later and to no one’s surprise the accolades are pouring in.
This week Thieneman was named to the watch list for the 2024 Bronko Nagurski Trophy, awarded to the national defensive player of the year.
Thieneman is also on the Lott IMPACT Trophy Watch List due to his impact on and off the field and several outlets have tabbed him as a Preseason All-American – Walter Camp, Athlon Sports, Phil Steele – too.
Last season, Thieneman was named the 247Sports True Freshman of the Year and ranking third nationally in interceptions (six) and solo tackles (74), leading all freshmen and setting new Purdue freshman records. His six interceptions were double the nearest freshmen, while his 74 solo tackles ranked first amongst all Big Ten defenders.
Check out these highlights from Thieneman’s freshman season in West Lafayette – https://tinyurl.com/5am4uzrt
Thieneman capped off his freshman campaign in a big way. He made two interceptions to help the Boilermakers beat Indiana and keep the Old Oaken Bucket for the third year in a row. The pair of picks brought his season total to six to surpass Stuart Schweigert’s freshman record of five for a single season. Along with his two INTs, Thieneman recorded a team-high eight tackles to lead the Purdue defense in stopping the Hoosiers. All of his tackles were solo, as he broke Woodson’s Purdue freshman record of 67 solo tackles in a single season.
Thieneman was Purdue’s leading tackler in eight different games, cracking double figures four times.
The 2023 Thompson-Randle El Big Ten Freshman of the Year also paced the nation’s freshmen in total tackles (106) and forced fumbles (2). Thieneman became the seventh Boilermaker to be named Big Ten Freshman of the Year (Brian Fox – 1988, Eric Hunter – 1989, Corey Rogers – 1991, Stuart Schweigert – 2000, Rondale Moore – 2018, David Bell – 2019), including the third Purdue player in the last six seasons. He was the conference’s 11th defensive player to win the award as well as the fifth defensive back alongside Schweigert (2000), Charles Woodson (Michigan – 1995), Jabrill Peppers (Michigan – 2015) and Brandon Joseph (Northwestern – 2020).
Last season, Thieneman was the only Big Ten freshman defender to make one of the three all-league teams, earning Second Team All-Big Ten honors from the coaches and third team accolades from the media. He was a five-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week honoree throughout the 2023 season, becoming the first defender in conference history to win any weekly award five times in a single season. The Purdue defensive back joined a list of only seven other Big Ten players (six quarterbacks, one running back) to win at least five weekly accolades in a single season and became the first Boilermaker to win a weekly conference award five times. Drew Brees (Offense – 2000), Travis Dorsch (Special Teams – 2001), Kyle Orton (Offense – 2004), Rondale Moore (Freshman – 2018) and David Bell (Freshman – 2019) collected Big Ten weekly honors four times in a season, tying for Purdue’s previous best.
Thieneman will have to be as good as advertised this season as his Boilermakers have to face one of the most difficult schedules in the country, which includes dates with Ohio State, Notre Dame, Oregon and Penn State – all four of the aforementioned are expected to be in the top 10 preseason polls when they are released next month.
Thieneman’s Boilermakers kick off the 2024 season at home against Indiana State at 12 p.m. ET Aug. 31 on BTN.
Note: Sportstothemax.net will cover Purdue football this fall as former Gold & Black Illustrated editor Doug Griffiths will weigh in often on Boilermaker happenings on the gridiron. Stay tuned!
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