Purdue Football: Aidan O'Connell, Payne Durham, Charlie Jones Opt Out of Citrus Bowl
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue football will be without the core of its passing game when it takes on No. 16 LSU in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl on Jan. 2 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando.
Sixth-year senior quarterback Aidan O'Connell and redshirt senior tight end Payne Durham both announced via Instagram on Thursday that they will be opting out of the postseason matchup.
Interim coach Brian Brohm confirmed that sixth-year senior wide receiver Charlie Jones has also opted out of the game.
"These last six years have been some of the best of my life," O'Connell wrote. "I've experienced countless memories that I will carry with me forever. The Purdue fans and community have supported me through countless successes and failures. For that, I am eternally grateful."
O'Connell leads the Big Ten with an average of 290.8 yards passing per game this season. He completed 320 passes for 3,490 yards and 22 touchdowns with 13 interceptions in 2022 and was named a second-team All-Big Ten selection.
Sixth-year senior Austin Burton will be the start under center for the Boilermakers against the Tigers with redshirt junior Michael Alaimo as the backup.
"Obviously, we thank him for everything he's done for the program," Brohm said. "What a wonderful career, a great young man. I wish him all the best in his future."
Durham, who earned second-team All-Big Ten honors, caught 56 passes for 560 yards receiving and eight touchdowns for Purdue, ranking second on the team in all three categories. He and O'Connell both accepted invitations to compete in the 2023 East-West Shrine Bowl on Feb. 2.
In a lengthy post on his Instagram page, Durham announced that he will be preparing for the 2023 NFL Draft.
"Another guy that's had a great career here, did a lot of good things" Brohm said. "We wish him well in his future and his preparations for the NFL. I think both those guys will have big-time NFL careers. Wish them all the best.
"We'll have Paul Piferi stepping in at that number one tight end. Drew Biber is chomping at the bit to get in there and show what he can do. It provides opportunities for other guys to show up and show everybody what they got."
Purdue's leading receiver, Jones, has not officially announced he will be opting out of the team's bowl game, but Brohm said he was one of the first players to make clear his intentions.
In just one season with the Boilermakers, Jones led the nation with 110 catches and 1,361 yards receiving while coming down with 12 touchdowns. He was a first-team All-Big Ten selection and a semifinalist for the 2022 Biletnikoff Award, which is given annually to college football's most outstanding receiver.
"Obviously we thanked him for having such a big impact with just really one semester here," Brohm said. "He had a huge impact, he was a great player for us. But again, that provides opportunity for some other receivers to step up.
"You can almost see a little bounce in some of the other receivers' steps these last couple days knowing that they may see a few more footballs. Good energy in practice for sure."
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D.J. Fezler is a staff writer for BoilermakersCountry.com. Hailing from The Region, he is from Cedar Lake in Northwest Indiana and has spent the last two years covering Purdue football and basketball.