Purdue Starting Quarterback Aidan O'Connell Expected to Play in Big Ten Championship Game
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — As Purdue begins preparation for its first-ever appearance in the Big Ten Football Championship Game, starting quarterback Aidan O'Connell is not on campus. He and his family are dealing with the unexpected loss of his oldest brother, Sean.
Coach Jeff Brohm said during his weekly press conference that O'Connell is expected to play when the team kicks off against No. 2 Michigan at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The sixth-year senior will return to West Lafayette this week before leading the Boilermakers on Saturday.
"Yeah, he'll play Saturday, I believe," Brohm said. "He'll be back here in the next day or two I believe when he takes care of what he needs to take care of."
In the wake of everything O'Connell and his family have had to deal with this past week, there was also a chance that he was to miss Purdue's matchup against Indiana. But the Long Grove, Ill., native made the choice to suit up and went on to lead the Boilermakers to a 30-16 win.
"Things happened very suddenly, so, yes, there was concern about whether he would be available to play, understandably," Brohm said. "So we just wanted to support him as he was going through that, be there for him, answer any questions he had. Being around his teammates I think did slightly help."
O'Connell delivered a strong performance for Purdue, completing 18 of his 29 passes for 290 yards passing and two touchdowns.
After falling behind 7-3 at halftime, the Boilermakers opened the third quarter with two straight touchdown drives, which included a 15-yard score on a pass from O'Connell to redshirt senior tight end Payne Durham.
O'Connell later connected with sixth-year senior wide receiver Charlie Jones on a 60-yard touchdown to give Purdue full control of the game. The Boilermakers led 24-10 with 9:38 left to play and never looked back.
As the team celebrated its second consecutive victory in the Old Oaken Bucket game against in-state rival Indiana while adorning apparel that read "2022 West Division Champions," O'Connell was noticeably emotional on the sideline.
"Then of course he had to manage all the emotions and the things he was going through, which I can't imagine how hard it would be," Brohm said. "Without question, I give Aidan a lot of credit. He did what he thought was best. He played his heart out for his teammates and gave us a great effort.
"Of course, he's got things he has to deal with this week as well, but I think we'll be there to support him, and whenever we can get him back here to get back to work, we look forward to that."
O'Connell has now thrown for 3,124 yards passing, 22 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 2022. He has completed 67% of his passes over his career, making him the most accurate passer in program history.
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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.