Purdue S Dillon Thieneman wraps up freshman campaign as All-American
At this time a year ago, Dillon Thieneman prepared for his last week of finals at Westfield High School and signed his letter of intent to play for new Purdue head coach Ryan Walters.
A consensus three-star recruit, Thieneman arrived early for spring practices and immediately began to turn heads. As fall camp progressed, it became apparent that the true freshman would start at safety from day one.
Thieneman wasted little time making an impact, leading the team with 10 tackles and picking off a pass at a crucial point of the season opener against Fresno State.
That performance proved to be a sign of things to come, as the true freshman racked up gaudy statistics all season long. Thieneman wrapped up the season with six interceptions and 74 solo tackles, good for second and third in the nation in each respective category.
In the season’s final game, Thieneman recorded eight tackles to break Rod Woodson’s school record for solo tackles by a true freshman, and his pair of interceptions pushed him past Stuart Schweigert’s freshman record of five picks.
Record-Setting Season Leads to Post-Season Awards
After the play on the field concluded, the accolades began to roll in for Thieneman. He earned the Thompson-Randle El Big Ten Freshman of the Year Award after garnering conference Freshman of the Week honors five times throughout the season. Coaches voted him as a second-team all-conference member, while the media tabbed him to the third team.
Nationally, The Athletic named him a first-team Freshman All-American after he earned consensus mid-season All-American honors.
The big one came on Monday, however, when the Associated Press placed Thieneman as a third-team All-American, becoming the 50th Boilermaker to ever earn All-American honors. It marked the first time since 1990 that a Purdue defensive back received All-American honors when the Gannett News Service chose Steve Jackson to its team.
Thieneman ended the season as the nation’s leading freshman in tackles, solo tackles, interceptions, and forced fumbles.
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