Aidan O'Connell
Aidan James O'Connell (born September 1, 1998) is an American football quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Purdue.
.jpg.webp) O'Connell with Purdue in 2022 | |
| No. 9 – Las Vegas Raiders | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Quarterback |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | September 1, 1998 Long Grove, Illinois, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Weight: | 210 lb (95 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Stevenson (Lincolnshire, Illinois) |
| College: | Purdue (2017–2022) |
| NFL Draft: | 2023 / Round: 4 / Pick: 135 |
| Career history | |
| |
| Roster status: | Active |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Career NFL statistics | |
| Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |
Early life and high school career
O'Connell was born in Long Grove, Illinois, on September 1, 1998.[1] O'Connell is the middle of four brothers; his brothers are Sean, Patrick, Liam and Seamus.
O'Connell played high school football and basketball for Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois.[2] He was not a highly recruited Illinois high school athlete who was being offered a scholarship by Davenport University.[3] In 2016, his only season as a starter, he threw for a school record 2,741 yards and 26 touchdowns.[4][5]
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | 40‡ | Commit date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aidan O'Connell QB |
Lincolnshire, Illinois | Stevenson (IL) | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Feb 6, 2016 | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A | ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: NR (IL) ESPN: NR (national), NR (QB, pocket passer), NR (IL) | ||||||
Sources:
| ||||||
College career
On February 3, 2017, O'Connell committed to play college football for Wheaton College,[6] but less than a month later, he accepted a preferred walk-on spot with Purdue.[7][8]
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.[9] 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.[10] 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 enter the 2023 NFL Draft after the 2022 season.[11]
Statistics
| Purdue Boilermakers | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Games | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||||
| GP | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 2017 | 0 | — | DNP | ||||||||||||
| 2018 | 0 | — | |||||||||||||
| 2019 | 6 | 1–2 | 103 | 164 | 62.8 | 1,101 | 6.7 | 8 | 4 | 130.4 | 15 | -9 | -0.6 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 3 | 2–1 | 88 | 136 | 64.7 | 916 | 6.7 | 7 | 2 | 135.3 | 12 | -64 | -5.3 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 12 | 7–3 | 315 | 440 | 71.6 | 3,712 | 8.4 | 28 | 11 | 158.5 | 25 | -120 | -4.8 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 12 | 7–5 | 320 | 499 | 64.1 | 3.490 | 7.0 | 22 | 13 | 132.2 | 43 | -81 | -1.9 | 1 | |
| Career | 33 | 17−11 | 826 | 1,239 | 66.7 | 9,219 | 7.4 | 65 | 30 | 141.6 | 95 | -274 | -2.9 | 2 | |
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 3+3⁄8 in (1.91 m) |
213 lb (97 kg) |
32+1⁄4 in (0.82 m) |
9+3⁄4 in (0.25 m) | |||||||||
| All values from the NFL Combine[12][13] | ||||||||||||
O'Connell was drafted by the Las Vegas Raiders in the fourth round with the 135th pick of the 2023 NFL Draft.[14]
References
- "Aidan O'Connell biography". purduesports.com. Purdue University Athletics. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
- Patricia Babcock McGraw (October 6, 2016). "Daily Herald: Stevenson's 'O' vs. Lake Zurich's 'D'". www.chicago.suntimes.com. Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
- Bobby Narang (December 14, 2016). "Recruiting notes: Stevenson's Aidan O'Connell opts for college football". www.chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
- Reaven, Steve. "Purdue-bound QB Aidan O'Connell wraps up Stevenson athletic career". chicagotribune.com.
- McGraw, Patricia Babcock (September 15, 2016). "Stevenson's O'Connell making the most of his chance". Football Focus.
- Mike Carmin (November 8, 2019). "Aidan O'Connell's journey ; Wheaton College commitment to Purdue's starting quarterback". jconline.com. Lafayette Journal & Courier. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
- Carmin, Mike. "Aidan O'Connell's journey | Wheaton College commitment to Purdue's starting quarterback". Journal and Courier.
- Narang, Bob. "Aidan O'Connell had no Division I scholarship offers coming out of Stevenson. But in his first season starting for Purdue, he has become one of the nation's top QBs. Is the NFL next?". chicagotribune.com.
- Carmin, Mike. "Purdue, Aidan O'Connell produce more fourth-quarter magic at Northwestern". Journal and Courier.
- "Purdue's O'Connell to have surgery; season over". ESPN.com. December 4, 2020.
- Fezler, D. J. "Quarterback Aidan O'Connell Announces Decision to Return to Purdue Next Season". Sports Illustrated Purdue Boilermakers News, Analysis and More.
- "Aidan O'Connell Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
- "2023 NFL Draft Scout Aidan O'Connell College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
- "Raiders trade up to No. 135 to select QB Aidan O'Connell". Raiders.com. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
- Doering, Joshua. "Purdue QB Aidan O'Connell giving glory to God as Boilermakers seek another top-5 win". Sports Spectrum. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
- Auerbach, Nicole. "Aidan O'Connell, Purdue's elder statesman QB, sets sights on a season for the ages". Retrieved 6 December 2022.