Aidan O'Connell

Aidan O'Connell
refer to caption
O'Connell with Purdue in 2022
No. 12 – Las Vegas Raiders
Position:Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1998-09-01) September 1, 1998 (age 26)
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 as of Week 17, 2024
Passing attempts:552
Passing completions:343
Completion percentage:62.1%
TD–INT:18–10
Passing yards:3,616
Passer rating:84.5
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Aidan James O'Connell (born September 1, 1998) is an American professional football quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Purdue Boilermakers and was selected by the Raiders in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL draft.

Early life

O'Connell was born in Long Grove, Illinois, on September 1, 1998.[1] O'Connell is the middle child of five brothers: Sean, Patrick, Liam, and Seamus. He also has one sister, Grace.

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, as his only scholarship offer came from Davenport University, a Division II school.[3] In 2016, his only season as a starter, he threw for a school record 2,741 yards and 26 touchdowns.[4][5]

College recruiting information
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 
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: NR (IL)  ESPN: NR (national), NR (QB, pocket passer), NR (IL)
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Purdue Football Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  • "2017 Purdue Football Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  • "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  • "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 6, 2023.

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.[6][7]

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.[8] 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.[9] 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.[10] He decided to enter the 2023 NFL draft after the 2022 season.[11] In the 2022 season, he passed for 3,490 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions to go with a rushing touchdown.[12]

College statistics

Season Games Passing Rushing
GP Record Cmp Att Pct Yds Avg TD Int Rtg Att Yds Avg TD
Purdue Boilermakers
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

Pre-draft measurables
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[13][14]

2023 season

O'Connell was drafted by the Las Vegas Raiders in the fourth round with the 135th pick of the 2023 NFL draft.[15]

On October 1, 2023, O'Connell made his first career NFL start, filling in for an injured Jimmy Garoppolo. Playing against the Los Angeles Chargers, he went 24-of-39 for 238 yards and had his first career rushing touchdown on a goal-line sneak. The Raiders lost 24–17 in his debut.[16] On November 1, 2023, O'Connell was named the starting quarterback for the remainder of the season.[17] In Week 15, O'Connell threw four touchdown passes in a dominant 63–21 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.[18] During the Week 16 Christmas Day game against the Kansas City Chiefs, where despite his team winning 20–14, O'Connell went 9 of 21 in pass attempts for 62 yards, never completing a pass after the first quarter.[19] O'Connell went 5–5 as a starter. He finished with 2,218 passing yards, 12 passing touchdowns and 7 interceptions to go with a rushing touchdown.[20]

2024 season

Following a preseason quarterback competition with new free agent signing Gardner Minshew, O'Connell was named a backup to begin the season.[21] After the Raiders began the season with a 2–3 record, O'Connell was named the starter on October 9.[22] In his first start of the season, O'Connell passed for 227 yards, one touchdown, and one interception as the Raiders lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers 32–13. Against the Los Angeles Rams on October 20, O'Connell suffered a fractured thumb and was later placed on injured reserve.[23] After missing four games, the Raiders activated O'Connell to the 53-man roster on November 28, ahead of the team's Week 13 matchup against the Chiefs.[24] In his return from injury, O'Connell produced the first 300-yard performance of his career, finishing with 340 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions, but miscommunication in the final minute resulted in a lost fumble as the Raiders lost 19–17.[25]

NFL career statistics

Year Team Games Passing Rushing Sacks Fumbles
GP GS Record Cmp Att Pct Yds Y/A Lng TD Int Rtg Att Yds Avg Lng TD Sck SckY Fum Lost
2023 LV 11 10 5−5 213 343 62.1 2,218 6.5 50 12 7 83.9 17 11 0.6 3 1 24 173 4 2
2024 LV 8 6 2−4 130 209 62.2 1,398 6.7 58 6 3 85.4 17 17 1.0 13 1 10 82 2 2
Career 19 16 7−9 343 552 62.1 3,616 6.6 58 18 10 84.5 34 28 0.8 13 2 34 255 6 4

Personal life

O'Connell is married to Jael O'Connell (née Johnson), who played volleyball at Purdue.[26]

References

  1. ^ "Aidan O'Connell biography". purduesports.com. Purdue University Athletics. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
  2. ^ McGraw, Patricia Babcock (October 6, 2016). "Daily Herald: Stevenson's 'O' vs. Lake Zurich's 'D'". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  3. ^ Narang, Bobby (December 14, 2016). "Recruiting notes: Stevenson's Aidan O'Connell opts for college football". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  4. ^ Reaven, Steve (March 6, 2017). "Purdue-bound QB Aidan O'Connell wraps up Stevenson athletic career". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  5. ^ McGraw, Patricia Babcock (September 15, 2016). "Stevenson's O'Connell making the most of his chance". Football Focus. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  6. ^ a b Carmin, Mike (November 8, 2019). "Aidan O'Connell's journey; Wheaton College commitment to Purdue's starting quarterback". Lafayette Journal & Courier. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  7. ^ Narang, Bob (December 9, 2021). "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?". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  8. ^ Carmin, Mike (November 9, 2019). "Purdue, Aidan O'Connell produce more fourth-quarter magic at Northwestern". Journal and Courier. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  9. ^ Rittenberg, Adam (December 4, 2020). "Purdue's O'Connell to have surgery; season over". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  10. ^ "Aidan O'Connell 2021 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
  11. ^ Fezler, D. J. (December 13, 2021). "Quarterback Aidan O'Connell Announces Decision to Return to Purdue Next Season". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  12. ^ "Aidan O'Connell 2022 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
  13. ^ "Aidan O'Connell Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  14. ^ "2023 NFL Draft Scout Aidan O'Connell College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  15. ^ Edwards, Levi (April 29, 2023). "Raiders trade up to No. 135 to select QB Aidan O'Connell". Raiders.com. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  16. ^ Edwards, Levi (October 1, 2023). "What did rookie Aidan O'Connell learn in his first NFL start?". Las Vegas Raiders. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  17. ^ Simmons, Myles (November 1, 2023). "Aidan O'Connell will replace Jimmy Garoppolo as Raiders starting QB". NBC Sports. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  18. ^ Edwards, Levi (December 14, 2023). "Quick Snap: Raiders put up franchise record 63 points against Chargers". Raiders.com. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
  19. ^ Skretta, Dave (December 25, 2023). "Raiders stun sloppy Chiefs with 2 defensive TDs in 20-14 victory on Christmas Day". Yahoo! News. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
  20. ^ "Aidan O'Connell 2023 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  21. ^ "Raiders name Gardner Minshew starting QB over Aidan O'Connell". Fox Sports. August 18, 2024. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  22. ^ Gutierrez, Paul (October 9, 2024). "Raiders benching Gardner Minshew, name Aidan O'Connell QB1". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
  23. ^ Shook, Nick (October 21, 2024). "Raiders QB Aidan O'Connell out 4-6 weeks with fractured thumb, headed to injured reserve". NFL.com. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  24. ^ "Raiders activate QB Aidan O'Connell, place CB Jakorian Bennett and QB Gardner Minshew on Reserve/Injured list". Raiders.com. November 28, 2024. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
  25. ^ Skretta, Dave (November 29, 2024). "Chiefs recover botched snap by Raiders in closing seconds, clinch playoff berth with 19-17 victory". Associated Press. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
  26. ^ Auerbach, Nicole (August 30, 2022). "Aidan O'Connell, Purdue's elder statesman QB, sets sights on a season for the ages". The Athletic. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
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