What Aidan O'Connell, Charlie Jones Said After Purdue's Big Ten Championship Loss to Michigan
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Purdue quarterback Aidan O'Connell and wide receiver Charlie Jones took to the podium following the Boilermakers' 43-22 loss to Michigan in the Big Ten championship.
O'Connell completed 32-of-47 passes for 366 yards. His right-hand man Jones had 13 receptions for 162 yards.
Read their full transcripts, or just watch the attached press conference video.
On playing through the death of O'Connell's brother...
O'CONNELL: "It's been very difficult, as you would imagine. You know, when you first hear of news like that, it's shock and denial and just a lot of emotions.
So last week was tough. Going into the IU game, my head wasn't really there, if I'm honest. The coaching staff was gracious enough to let me go home for a few days and spend some time with my family.
I think that was much needed. I felt a lot better this week than I did last week, but it's been a little crazy. It's going to be good to get some time to relax and spend some more time with my family hopefully."
On O'Connell handling tragedy so well...
JONES: "Yeah, I just think it proves how tough he is. Obviously it's super tough to get news like that, and with such a great family and to see him come out last week and want to be there with the team and help the team do something special is just amazing. And then on top of that, to play the way that he did, it just really shows the leader that he is and how much he means to this team."
On Jones' fearlessness going up against big teams...
JONES: "Yeah, I mean, I feel like that just comes with preparation and believing in the things that we do here and believing in the training that I've put in this, this team has put in just to be able to go out there in games like that and be able to perform."
On how tough Michigan is...
O'CONNELL: "Yeah, obviously a very good team, as Coach said. Not only good scheme and coaching but great athletes, and they recruit well. Obviously, a storied program. You know, they were tough to beat.
We were going to have to play a near perfect game to win, and, you know, just touchdowns and turnovers is what football is about, and we turned the ball over and didn't score touchdowns, so it's hard to beat a team like that.
But I'm proud of our guys. We did a great job of battling. Guys playing hurt, guys playing backs against the wall, and just finding a way to make plays. Obviously it wasn't enough, but super proud of our team."
On how the team felt after a good first half...
O'CONNELL: "Yeah, we were confident. We felt we played a good half, and obviously down one, but we needed a fake punt to put points. But we felt like we were moving the ball and playing pretty good defense. Obviously J.J. made some good plays scrambling, but, you know, we were moving the ball. We just needed some touchdowns.
I think if we scored a couple of touchdowns early on instead of field goals, I think it feels a lot different. I remember in 2017 my freshman year we played Michigan, and we were up 10-7 at half, and it felt the same way. Like we could hang with them. Obviously didn't win the game. Yeah, we had confidence going into the half."
On if Jones felt like he something to prove coming to Purdue...
JONES: "Yeah, I feel like that was the purpose of making the transition to Purdue to come in and prove that I'm a receiver, and I'm capable of doing that as well as special teams. Just thankful for that opportunity in coming here and being able to do it with people like these guys."
Related stories on Purdue Football
- WHAT J.J. McCARTHY SAID: Here's what Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy said after the Wolverines' Big Ten championship win over Purdue. Read the full transcript, or just watch his press conference video. CLICK HERE
- GAME STORY: Michigan football remained undefeated with a 43-22 win over the Purdue Boilermakers in the Big Ten Championship game on Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind. CLICK HERE
- WATCH JAMARI BROWN INTERCEPT J.J. McCARTHY Watch the replay of Purdue cornerback Jamari Brown intercepting Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy in the Big Ten football championship. CLICK HERE
- WATCH CHARLIE JONES' 26-YARD CATCH Watch this replay of Purdue wide receiver Charlie Jones' 26-yard catch off of Aidan O'Connell's bullet from the 48-yard line in the Big Ten championship versus Michigan. CLICK HERE
- WATCH DEVIN MOCKOBEE SCORE TOUCHDOWN IN TITLE GAME Watch this replay of Purdue running back Devin Mockobee's touchdown to put the Boilermakers on the board in the Big Ten championship versus Michigan. CLICK HERE
Haley Jordan is a Sports Illustrated/FanNation video director, staff writer, host and reporter for Boilermakers Country, Hoosiers Now, All Pacers and Fastbreak sites. She is a graduate from Indiana University with degrees in Sports Broadcast Journalism and Spanish.