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Dillon Thieneman, Purdue DB, captures B1G’s Freshman of the Year honor

Paul Harvey

By Paul Harvey

Published:

Dillon Thieneman produced a a strong freshman season while playing a key role for Purdue’s defense. As a result, he added the Big Ten’s Thompson-Randle El Freshman of the Year to his credit during a Wednesday announcement.

Despite being a freshman, Thieneman ranks second nationally with 6 interceptions and is third in the country in solo stps (74). Both of those numbers are now freshman records at Purdue and are the best in the country by a freshman in 2023.

He is also the national freshman leader in total tackles (106) and has forced 2 fumbles.

Thieneman is the 7th Purdue player all-time to win the Freshman of the Year honor and the 3rd in the past 6 seasons. He joins receivers Rondale Moore (2018) and David Bell (2019) as recent recipients of the award. The last defensive back in the B1G to win the award was Northwestern’s Brandon Joseph in 2020.

Purdue’s defense is looking for some growth after a disappointing performance in Ryan Walters’ first season with the program. Fortunately, Thieneman is a building block for that unit heading into 2024.

Paul Harvey

Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.