WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Big Ten media selected Purdue quarterback Aidan O'Connell to the conference's preseason honors list, announced Monday afternoon (July 25). O'Connell was one of only 10 players (five representatives from each division), regardless of position, to receive the honors ahead of the 2022 season.
O'Connell was one of only two quarterbacks on the list, joining C.J. Stroud of Ohio State. The pair earned All-B1G honors a season ago. The Purdue signal caller was a Second Team All-Big Ten honoree by the conference coaches and media, the first Purdue quarterback to be named to one of the first two All-Big Ten teams since Kyle Orton in 2004. Despite splitting time at the start of the 2021 season, O'Connell threw for 3,712 yards (11th nationally) and 28 touchdowns (17th nationally). He completed 71.8 percent of his passes, setting a new school record for completion percentage and ranking fourth in the country. O'Connell also completed 26.3 passes per game to rank sixth nationally. The gunslinger produced six 300-yard games, the third-most in a single season and the first Purdue quarterback to accomplish the feat since Curtis Painter in 2007.
In games against Top 5 competition (at No. 2 Iowa, No. 3 Michigan State, and at No. 4 Ohio State), O'Connell threw for 1,301 passing yards (433.7 avg.) and completed 110-of-146 pass attempts (.753). For those three games, O'Connell had a 9-0 TD-INT ratio. He passed for a career-high 536 yards in the win over No. 3 Michigan State before ending the season with 534 yards against Tennessee in a TransPerfect Music City Bowl victory. The Long Grove, Illinois, native joined Drew Brees as the only Purdue quarterbacks to record multiple 500-yard games over a career, while becoming the only one to reach the 500-yard total twice in a single season.
Entering his final season as quarterback for the Boilermakers, O'Connell looks to maintain the top marks in program history for career completion percentage (.685) and career passing efficiency (148.2). He also ranks in the Top 10 of Purdue's career charts for 300-yard games (fifth – 8), touchdown passes (seventh – 43), completions (eighth – 506) and passing yards (eighth – 5,729).
O'Connell, along with six other preseason honorees, are scheduled to attend Big Ten Media Days this week in Indianapolis. The Boilermakers are slated to arrive on Wednesday, July 27. Joining O'Connell in representing Purdue is the trio of Cam Allen, Payne Durham and Jalen Graham.
The Purdue Boilermakers kick off the 2022 season at Ross-Ade Stadium, hosting Penn State in a Thursday night matchup (Sept. 1). The Big Ten contest is set for 8 p.m. ET on FOX.
B1G PRESEASON HONORS LIST
East Division
Blake Corum, RB, Michigan
Jayden Reed, WR, Michigan State
TreVeyon Henderson, RB, Ohio State
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Ohio State
C.J. Stroud, QB, Ohio State
West Division
Jack Campbell, LB, Iowa
Peter Skoronski, OT, Northwestern
Aidan O'Connell, QB, Purdue
Braelon Allen, RB, Wisconsin
Nick Herbig, OLB, Wisconsin
O'Connell was one of only two quarterbacks on the list, joining C.J. Stroud of Ohio State. The pair earned All-B1G honors a season ago. The Purdue signal caller was a Second Team All-Big Ten honoree by the conference coaches and media, the first Purdue quarterback to be named to one of the first two All-Big Ten teams since Kyle Orton in 2004. Despite splitting time at the start of the 2021 season, O'Connell threw for 3,712 yards (11th nationally) and 28 touchdowns (17th nationally). He completed 71.8 percent of his passes, setting a new school record for completion percentage and ranking fourth in the country. O'Connell also completed 26.3 passes per game to rank sixth nationally. The gunslinger produced six 300-yard games, the third-most in a single season and the first Purdue quarterback to accomplish the feat since Curtis Painter in 2007.
In games against Top 5 competition (at No. 2 Iowa, No. 3 Michigan State, and at No. 4 Ohio State), O'Connell threw for 1,301 passing yards (433.7 avg.) and completed 110-of-146 pass attempts (.753). For those three games, O'Connell had a 9-0 TD-INT ratio. He passed for a career-high 536 yards in the win over No. 3 Michigan State before ending the season with 534 yards against Tennessee in a TransPerfect Music City Bowl victory. The Long Grove, Illinois, native joined Drew Brees as the only Purdue quarterbacks to record multiple 500-yard games over a career, while becoming the only one to reach the 500-yard total twice in a single season.
Entering his final season as quarterback for the Boilermakers, O'Connell looks to maintain the top marks in program history for career completion percentage (.685) and career passing efficiency (148.2). He also ranks in the Top 10 of Purdue's career charts for 300-yard games (fifth – 8), touchdown passes (seventh – 43), completions (eighth – 506) and passing yards (eighth – 5,729).
O'Connell, along with six other preseason honorees, are scheduled to attend Big Ten Media Days this week in Indianapolis. The Boilermakers are slated to arrive on Wednesday, July 27. Joining O'Connell in representing Purdue is the trio of Cam Allen, Payne Durham and Jalen Graham.
The Purdue Boilermakers kick off the 2022 season at Ross-Ade Stadium, hosting Penn State in a Thursday night matchup (Sept. 1). The Big Ten contest is set for 8 p.m. ET on FOX.
B1G PRESEASON HONORS LIST
East Division
Blake Corum, RB, Michigan
Jayden Reed, WR, Michigan State
TreVeyon Henderson, RB, Ohio State
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Ohio State
C.J. Stroud, QB, Ohio State
West Division
Jack Campbell, LB, Iowa
Peter Skoronski, OT, Northwestern
Aidan O'Connell, QB, Purdue
Braelon Allen, RB, Wisconsin
Nick Herbig, OLB, Wisconsin