Top 30 Players: No. 1 Dillon Thieneman
Purdue has started preparations for the 2024 campaign in training camp, gearing toward the season-opener on August 31 at home vs Indiana State. Let’s count down the top 30 Boilermakers as we march to the start of Ryan Walters‘ second season in West Lafayette.
No. 1 Dillon Thieneman, S, Sophomore
As far as debuts go, no Purdue player ever has had a better one than S Dillon Thieneman in 2023.
The honors rolled in: Big Ten Freshman of the Year, AP third-team All-American, second-team All-Big Ten, FWAA Defensive Freshman Player of the Year.
And in the spring, an All-American banner with his image was unfurled in the Mollenkopf Athletic Center.
“It’s an awesome feeling,” said Thieneman.
It has been a rapid, storybook ascent for Thieneman. This time last year, he was a true freshman who was enrolled early, just trying to find his way. Now, a year later, the sophomore is honored as one of the best to have played at Purdue. But, Thieneman has only just begun to author his story.
What’s next following a sensational 2023 debut? For one thing, Thieneman is adding punt return duties to his tool box.
“It’s definitely something I want to do,” he said. “Coach P (special teams coach Chris Petrilli) came, talked to me and asked me if I wanted to do it … “
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Thieneman is set to reprise his role in the back end of the defense after ending his 2023 campaign ranked third nationally in interceptions (6) and solo tackles (74), leading all freshmen and setting new Purdue freshman records in both catergories.
“He’s always in (safeties coach Grant) O’Brien‘s office watching quarterback operation time, seeing who the deep threats are, getting formation tendencies,” said Purdue coach Ryan Walters.
“At practices, he’s calling it out. He’s practicing full speed. You go in the weight room and like Dillon could be in there by himself with a workout plan and you know he’s going to attack every rep with everything he’s got with no supervision because that’s who he is, the way he lives his life.”
Walters sense what he has in Theinieman.
“It’s like he was created in a lab somewhere,” said Walters. “You try to find things in his game, things in his personality, things in his life where you’re like, oh, he needs to pick it up in this area.”
TOP 30 PURDUE PLAYER COUNTDOWN
