Aidan O'Connell
Aidan James O'Connell (born September 1, 1998) is an American football quarterback for the Purdue Boilermakers. High school career. O'Connell attended Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois. In his only season as a starter he threw for a school record 2,741 yards and 26 touchdowns. College career. O'Connell joined Purdue as a walk-on in 2017. After not playing in 2017 and 2018, he played in six games in 2019 and started three. He made his first career start against Northwestern, completing 34 of 50 passes for 271 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Overall that season , he completed 103 of 164 passes for 1,101 yards with eight touchdowns and four interceptions. O'Connell entered 2020 as the starter before suffering a season-ending injury after three games. He completed 88 of 136 passes for 916 yards with seven touchdowns and two interceptions. O'Connell entered 2021 as the backup to Jack Plummer, but eventually took over as the starter and completed 315 of 440 passes for 3,712 yards with 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He decided to return to Purdue in 2022 rather than enter the 2022 NFL Draft.