Leadership next step for All-American safety Dillon Thieneman
When Ken and Shannon Thieneman walked inside Mollenkopf Athletic Center on Tuesday morning, Purdue's star safety knew something was up.
With his teammates and parents watching, Dillon Thieneman looked up as his banner was unveiled alongside Purdue's 49 other All-Americans in program history. Head coach Ryan Walters presented the newly minted banner to Thieneman on day one of the Boilermakers' spring practice, and as he's done over the last year, sang praises for the star defender.
"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," Walters said of Thieneman. "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.
The selfless Thieneman knows what the honor means for him and his career, but quickly deflected the praise to his teammates.
"It feels great. 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. "I gotta owe it to my teammates, my teammates are the real reason that I was able to get up there."
The on-field accomplishments speak for themselves. 106 tackles, setting a new Purdue freshman record, along with six interceptions and 74 solo tackles that placed him in the top three nationally. Not to mention All-Big Ten honors and the aforementioned All-American status as a true freshman.
What the Indiana native has shown between the lines makes him one of the best defenders in the Big Ten, but what Ryan Walters and safeties coach Grant O'Brien observe off the field is what makes Thieneman special.
It started during winter workouts prior to the start of last year's spring practice, where O'Brien saw the attention to detail and commitment in routine workouts. Thieneman quickly showed he belonged, despite not having reached the playing field, which he continued to prove into the summer, then fall camp and ultimately for the entirety of his freshman campaign.
"That's when I really saw he's got a mental skill set to do something special because of how he approaches a simple task," O'Brien said. "I was like this guy might have something special and then it obviously translated to production on the field."
That performance came as no surprise to O'Brien, who gawked at his consistency on a day to day basis.
"It's just first of all consistency. You know, he's consistent in how he handles his business on and off the field. [He] handles himself from a mature standpoint. And I think his character bleeds into his work habits, his consistent work habits, which bleed into his actions," O'Brien said. "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."
Thieneman approaches the game like a fifth-year senior captain. Now it's time for him to lead like one. Purdue saw seniors Sanoussi Kane and Cam Allen depart from the secondary this off-season, leaving a void in the leadership department along Kevin Kane's defensive unit.
That void has already begun to be filled by the sophomore defensive back.
"The work he did on the field and the way he carried himself in the locker room, you have to listen. You're a fool not to. So, I'm glad that he's comfortable stepping into a leadership role and being more vocal and definitely he's got every right to have the confidence that he has," Walters said.
It's a role that Thieneman is still developing, but one that he actively seeks as he progresses toward his sophomore campaign in 2024.
"I'm still working towards that. It's a new thing, but I think people do view me as a leader and I gotta step up into that leadership role," Thieneman said. "Being more vocal, try to be a leader. Kind of like the QB of the defense, because I'm deep so I can see everything that's going on and I can help to direct people."
Given what his pupil has shown over the last year and the level of respect that his teammates have for him, Grant O'Brien has no qualms about Thieneman's ability to take over as the leader of his group and a respected voice in the locker room.
"When you do it consistently every single day, I think your peers respect you for what you're pouring into [them] and it speaks for itself. So you get those platforms based on what you're doing on and off the field and and he had a great year. I think he's deserved those opportunities and now it's what's he gonna do with it," O'Brien said.
Not only is there an expectation for Thieneman to lead, but there will be eyes on what he does as an encore performances this fall. Thieneman recalled Ryan Walters' message regarding the leap the defense as a whole takes in year two of his system, which couples with the players' belief in the coaching staff.
"The longer we play it, the more people feel comfortable and are able to play fast. So Walters has said in the past, like first year starts off a little slow, second year picks up rapidly. So once we can all get comfortable, we can start to play fast, play off of each other," Thieneman said.
"Everybody loves Walt, everybody loves the staff. We just need everyone building the culture right now. So we need to get everyone on the same page, then we can start moving forward," Thieneman said.
Assuming the role of a team leader, likely captainship and being one of the faces of the Purdue program is next up for Dillon Thieneman, and if his track record is any indication, he will thrive with increased expectations.