WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – With the middle of October serving as the halfway point of the 2023 college football season, Purdue defensive back Dillon Thieneman has been named a Midseason Freshman All-American by multiple media outlets. As the nation's leading freshman in tackles (62), solo tackles (45) and interceptions (3), Thieneman received Midseason Freshman All-America honors from 247Sports, The Athletic, the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and On3.
In just the first seven games of his career, Thieneman has already become a leader on the Boilermaker defense and one of the best defensive players in the country. The Westfield, Indiana, native ranks second nationally in solo tackles, making 45 of them to average 6.4 per game. Add in 17 assisted tackles, Thieneman's 62 total tackles lead all freshman and are the 18th-most by any player in the country. Thieneman paced Purdue in tackles in his first three games (10 vs. Fresno State, 7 at Virginia Tech, 14 vs. Syracuse), while becoming the first Purdue freshman to record multiple double-digit tackle games since Ja'Whaun Bentley (New England Patriots) in 2014.
Along with making tackles, Thieneman has tallied a team-high three interceptions this season to rank 12th nationally and lead all freshman. He became the first freshman in school history to record an interception in each of his first two games, and his trio of INTs is tied for the third-most all-time by a Purdue freshman. In the season opener, Thieneman's first career INT marked just the third time since 1996 that a Purdue true freshman made an interception in their debut (1999 - James Dunnigan vs. UCF, 2016 - Josh Hayes vs. Eastern Kentucky).
Thieneman has earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors twice this season (Sept. 4, Oct. 9), joining Frankie Williams as the only Boilermaker defenders in program history to become a two-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week recipient. He became the fourth Boilermaker in the past six seasons to collect the weekly accolade multiple times, alongside Rondale Moore (2018), David Bell (2019) and teammate Devin Mockobee (2022).
Thieneman and the Boilermakers are off this weekend, but they return to the gridiron by closing out the month of October at Nebraska (Oct. 28). The first of back-to-back road games for Purdue, kickoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
In just the first seven games of his career, Thieneman has already become a leader on the Boilermaker defense and one of the best defensive players in the country. The Westfield, Indiana, native ranks second nationally in solo tackles, making 45 of them to average 6.4 per game. Add in 17 assisted tackles, Thieneman's 62 total tackles lead all freshman and are the 18th-most by any player in the country. Thieneman paced Purdue in tackles in his first three games (10 vs. Fresno State, 7 at Virginia Tech, 14 vs. Syracuse), while becoming the first Purdue freshman to record multiple double-digit tackle games since Ja'Whaun Bentley (New England Patriots) in 2014.
Along with making tackles, Thieneman has tallied a team-high three interceptions this season to rank 12th nationally and lead all freshman. He became the first freshman in school history to record an interception in each of his first two games, and his trio of INTs is tied for the third-most all-time by a Purdue freshman. In the season opener, Thieneman's first career INT marked just the third time since 1996 that a Purdue true freshman made an interception in their debut (1999 - James Dunnigan vs. UCF, 2016 - Josh Hayes vs. Eastern Kentucky).
Thieneman has earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors twice this season (Sept. 4, Oct. 9), joining Frankie Williams as the only Boilermaker defenders in program history to become a two-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week recipient. He became the fourth Boilermaker in the past six seasons to collect the weekly accolade multiple times, alongside Rondale Moore (2018), David Bell (2019) and teammate Devin Mockobee (2022).
Thieneman and the Boilermakers are off this weekend, but they return to the gridiron by closing out the month of October at Nebraska (Oct. 28). The first of back-to-back road games for Purdue, kickoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1.