Fresh off a banner freshman season, Purdue football defensive back Dillon Thieneman has already seen his name attached to one preseason watch list.
The sophomore was named to the 2024 Lott IMPACT Trophy Watch List recently. The award, which is named for former NFL great Ronnie Lott, is awarded to the top defensive impact player of the year.
Thieneman is one of 12 players from the Big Ten Conference on the list. Joining him are: Denzel Burks, Caleb Downs and JT Tuimoloau, all of Ohio State; Michigan’s Will Johnson and Mason Graham; Penn State’s Abdul Carter and Dani Dennis-Sutton; Iowa’s Quinn Schulte; Indiana’s D’Angelo Ponds; Southern California’s Kamari Ramsey and Oregon’s Jabbar Muhammad.
A season ago, Thieneman took the Big Ten Conference by storm as a freshman, notching 106 total stops, 74 solo tackles, six interceptions and two forced fumbles. He earned FWAA Defensive Freshman of the Year honors and was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
Thieneman, Purdue football pleased but not satisfied with last year’s success
Purdue football coach Ryan Walters has been pleased when talking about his defensive standout.
“It’s a great story, right? Like you got a freshman from right down the street, who stays home and accomplishes what he accomplished. 106 tackles and six interceptions, that’s crazy. His legacy will now be etched in Purdue history forever and to do that in year one is remarkable and the scary thing is he’s only gonna get better. That’s just a start,” Walters said.
While Walters is pleased, Thieneman admits he was a bit surprised with his freshman season.
“I I never thought I’d be able to make it this far. I kind of, at the beginning I was like, put my head down, see where I can go. Then we made it pretty far but the journey is not done,” Thieneman said.
Safeties coach Grant O’Brien is also excited when discussing what Purdue football’s defense could look like with Thieneman leading the defense.
He admitted watching Thieneman put in work last season before his freshman campaign proved he was something special.
“I was like this guy might have something special and then it obviously translated to production on the field. He’s someone you can rely on, who pours into others. He’s resilient. He’s competitive. And it all just bundles into someone who who can compete at a high level and that’s what he did this past year.”
Purdue opens the season Aug. 31 against Indiana State.
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