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Brennan Thieneman was in full resist mode.

Maybe he’d grown up as a lifelong Purdue fan and, maybe, he hadn’t even dreamed big enough to think he’d be on the field wearing gold and black. But he really, really didn’t want to follow in big brother Jacob’s footsteps. It’s what people back home in Noblesville thought he’d do — so many of them said they were the “exact same person” anyway.

So Brennan Thieneman wanted to make his own path.

But when an opportunity at Air Force didn’t materialize and no other FBS schools offered walk-on opportunities, Brennan found himself looking closely at Purdue, brother already there or not.

And now, nearly two years later, Brennan can’t believe he considered otherwise.

“It’s honestly one of the best experiences,” the younger Thieneman said this week. “We never thought this would actually happen. We used to joke about it — that it’d be insane if we were both on the field playing safeties (at Purdue). But we never actually thought it’d happen.

"Now that it’s actually happening, it’s incredible.”