WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – With two interceptions and a team-high eight tackles to help Purdue Football beat rival Indiana to end the 2023 season, defensive back Dillon Thieneman was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week for his performance. The weekly accolade was no stranger to Thieneman, as the Purdue freshman earned the honor for the fifth time this season.
Thieneman joins 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, while becoming the first defensive player in conference history to accomplish the feat. He is 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 the previous best.
Ending his first season as a Boilermaker, Thieneman went out with a bang by breaking a pair of school records. The Westfield, Indiana, native made a pair of interceptions in the first half against Indiana, bringing his season total to six to surpass Stuart Schweigert's freshman record of five for a single season. Thieneman became just the eighth Boilermaker to record six interceptions in a season, the first since Ricardo Allen in 2013.
Along with his pair of picks, 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 College Football Hall of Famer Rod Woodson's Purdue freshman record of solo tackles in a single season. Woodson ended his 1983 freshman campaign with 67 solo tackles, while Thieneman registered 74 this season.
The Old Oaken Bucket Game marked the eighth time that Thieneman paced the Boilermakers in tackles, which includes the first three games and the final three games to bookend the season. Purdue ended 2023 with a double-digit fourth quarter comeback to beat Indiana 35-31 and keep the Old Oaken Bucket for the third straight year.
Thieneman joins 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, while becoming the first defensive player in conference history to accomplish the feat. He is 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 the previous best.
Ending his first season as a Boilermaker, Thieneman went out with a bang by breaking a pair of school records. The Westfield, Indiana, native made a pair of interceptions in the first half against Indiana, bringing his season total to six to surpass Stuart Schweigert's freshman record of five for a single season. Thieneman became just the eighth Boilermaker to record six interceptions in a season, the first since Ricardo Allen in 2013.
Along with his pair of picks, 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 College Football Hall of Famer Rod Woodson's Purdue freshman record of solo tackles in a single season. Woodson ended his 1983 freshman campaign with 67 solo tackles, while Thieneman registered 74 this season.
The Old Oaken Bucket Game marked the eighth time that Thieneman paced the Boilermakers in tackles, which includes the first three games and the final three games to bookend the season. Purdue ended 2023 with a double-digit fourth quarter comeback to beat Indiana 35-31 and keep the Old Oaken Bucket for the third straight year.