Nic Scourton, Dillon Thieneman lead Purdue Big Ten defensive honorees
OLB Nic Scourton and S Dillon Thieneman have been stalwarts for the Purdue defense all season. And they were rewarded today by receiving postseason honors from the Big Ten.
Scourton was a consensus second-team All-Big Ten pick, while Thieneman was second-team by the coaches and third-team by the media.
OLB Kydran Jenkins (consensus), S Sanoussi Kane (consensus) and DL Isaiah Nichols (coaches) were honorable mention.
Also honored: Tyrone Tracy, third-team coaches/honorable mention media as a return specialist.
Scourton leads the Big Ten with 10.0 sacks, the most by a Boilermaker since Ryan Kerrigan (2012). Along with his sacks, Scourton also is No. 3 in the Big Ten in TFLs with 15.0.
Thieneman leads the Boilermakers with 106 tackles, ranking fifth in the conference. He also ranks second in the country and leads the Big Ten with six interceptions, the most by a Boilermaker since Ricardo Allen recorded six in 2013.
Thieneman leads the nation’s freshmen in tackles (106), solo tackles (74), interceptions (6) and forced fumbles (2). He earned five Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors in the 2023 season.
Jenkins led the Boilermakers with 15.5 TFLs, ranking second in this Big Ten and 18th nationally, while also sitting second in the Big Ten in sacks (7.5).
Kane made 79 tackles to rank second on the team behind Thieneman and 15th in the Big Ten, averaging 6.6 per game. The team captain paced Purdue with seven pass breakups and added 6.0 TFLs.
In his only season as a Boilermaker, Nichols started all 12 games on the defensive line, registering 20 tackles.
Tracy tallied 1,270 all-purpose yards, including 408 kick return yards, to rank second in the conference in both categories. In the opener vs. Fresno State, Tracy took the opening second-half kickoff 98 yards to the end zone. It was Purdue’s first kickoff return for a TD since Raheem Mostert took a 100-yard return to pay dirt at Penn State in 2013.
