Dillon Thieneman

Dillon Thieneman (born August 8, 2004) is an American college football defensive back who plays for the Oregon Ducks. He previously played for the Purdue Boilermakers.

Dillon Thieneman

Thieneman with Purdue in 2023
Oregon Ducks
Position	Safety
Class	Sophomore
Major	Engineering
Personal information
Born:	(2004-08-08) August 8, 2004 (age 20) Carmel, Indiana, U.S.
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	205 lb (93 kg)
Career history
College	Purdue (2023–2024) Oregon (2025–present)
High school	Westfield (Westfield, Indiana)
Career highlights and awards
Third-team All-American (2023) Big Ten Freshman of the Year (2023) Second-team All-Big Ten (2023)
Stats at ESPN

Early life

Thieneman was born in Carmel, Indiana and attended Westfield High School. In Thieneman's high school career he totalled 246 tackles with 11 being for a loss, half a sack, 11 pass deflections, five interceptions, and a fumble recovery.^[1] Thienaman would decide to commit to play college football at Purdue University over other schools such as Indiana, Minnesota, and Northwestern.^[2][3]

College career

Thieneman was named a starting safety as a freshman in 2023.^[4] In his first career game in the season opener, he recorded ten tackles and an interception, earning Big Ten Conference freshman of the week honors.^[5] The following week versus Virginia Tech, Thieneman recorded another interception.^[6] In week 6, he recorded eight tackles and an interception in a loss to Iowa. For his performance on the week, Thieneman was named the Big Ten freshman of the week for the second time.^[7][8]

In the final week of the season, Thieneman recorded two interceptions and eight tackles as Purdue defeated Indiana to keep the Old Oaken Bucket. He was named Big Ten freshman of the week for the fifth time, becoming the first defensive player to win the award five times.^[9]

At the end of his freshman season, Thieneman was named the Thompson-Randle El Freshman of the Year as the best freshman in the Big Ten. He set Purdue freshman records for interceptions (6) and solo tackles (74).^[10] On December 11, Thieneman was named a third-team All-American by the Associated Press, one of two freshmen to be named.^[11]

On December 4, 2024, Thieneman announced that he would enter the NCAA transfer portal.^[12]

Personal life

Thieneman has two brothers, Jake, and Brennan, who both played safety at Purdue.^[13][14]