Aidan O'Connell Named to Watch List for Walter Camp Player of the Year - Purdue Boilermakers - Purdue Boilermakers
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O'Connell made his fourth watch list heading into the 2022 season, along with the Maxwell Award, Davey O'Brien Award and the Wuerffel Trophy. He also earned Big Ten Preseason Honors by the conference's media, one of only 10 players throughout the league to receive the accolade.
The Walter Camp Player of the Year Award is the nation's fourth-oldest individual college football honor, named after "The Father of American Football." The 2022 watch list will be narrowed to 10 semifinalists in mid-November.
O'Connell earned a spot on the watch list after putting together a memorable 2021 campaign. The Purdue signal caller was a Second Team All-Big Ten honoree by the conference coaches and media, the first Purdue quarterback to be named to one of the first two All-Big Ten teams since Kyle Orton in 2004. Despite splitting time at the start of the season, O'Connell threw for 3,712 yards (11th nationally) and 28 touchdowns (17th nationally). He completed 71.8 percent of his passes, setting a new school record for completion percentage and ranking fourth in the country. O'Connell also completed 26.3 passes per game to rank sixth nationally. The gunslinger produced six 300-yard games, the third-most in a single season and the first Purdue quarterback to accomplish the feat since Curtis Painter in 2007.
In games against Top 5 competition (at No. 2 Iowa, No. 3 Michigan State, and at No. 4 Ohio State), O'Connell threw for 1,301 passing yards (433.7 avg.) and completed 110-of-146 pass attempts (.753). For those three games, O'Connell had a 9-0 TD-INT ratio. He passed for a career-high 536 yards in the win over No. 3 Michigan State before ending the season with 534 yards against Tennessee in a TransPerfect Music City Bowl victory. The Long Grove, Illinois, native joined Drew Brees as the only Purdue quarterbacks to record multiple 500-yard games over a career, while becoming the only one to reach the 500-yard total twice in a single season.
Entering his final season as quarterback for the Boilermakers, O'Connell looks to maintain the top marks in program history for career completion percentage (.685) and career passing efficiency (148.2). He also ranks in the Top 10 of Purdue's career charts for 300-yard games (fifth – 8), touchdown passes (seventh – 43), completions (eighth – 506) and passing yards (eighth – 5,729).
O'Connell and the Boilermakers kick off the 2022 season at home, hosting Penn State in a Thursday night matchup (Sept. 1). The Big Ten battle is slated to begin under the Ross-Ade Stadium lights at 8 p.m. ET on FOX.
O'Connell's Preseason Accolades
- Maxwell Award Watch List
- Walter Camp Player of the Year Watch List
- Davey O'Brien Award Watch List
- Wuerffel Trophy Watch List
- Big Ten Preseason Honors List (Conference Media)
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