Give God Glory
“He must become greater; I must become less.”
John 3:30
Before the 2019 season, not many fans knew the name of quarterback Aidan O’Connell. However, as the 2019 Purdue Boilermakers team was plagued with injuries, Aidan O’Connell got his chance at the helm. Immediately he took advantage, leading a game winning drive for the Boilermakers against Nebraska and becoming the starter for Purdue throughout the rest of the year. From walk on to starter, O’Connell has now become the face of coach Jeff Brohm’s Purdue football team. But through all of this, he relies on his faith to keep him grounded.
Born in Illinois, faith has always been an important aspect of life for Aidan O’Connell. But O’Connell says that over the years he has grown in his faith and become more mature in what he believes.
As O’Connell has continued to grow in his faith, he has been making it a part of his everyday life which ultimately has strengthened him throughout his time at Purdue. For O’Connell, whenever he takes the field he emphasizes using the opportunity to play football as an opportunity to glorify God.
“My faith has influenced my football career in many different ways. Really, my faith has influenced every aspect of my life. The goal of a Christian life is to give glory to God in every action you do. Obviously, I fall short of that everyday and rely on God’s grace and mercy to cover me. But, that doesn’t change my goal of trying to give God glory in every action, and that includes football.”
Through all of the successes and setbacks, O’Connell has been relying on God, which has given him strength and the will to push forward.
“Every opportunity and experience is a blessing and I am just trying to decrease myself so that God can increase in me. As I mentioned before, I fail at doing this everyday. I often let football influence my faith and let a bad practice or game determine my attitude. But I’m trying to continue to grow into someone who puts their faith first in all circumstances.”
“I’ve learned a lot of different lessons from this battle with COVID-19. The biggest thing I’ve learned is that I often let things of this world hold too much value in my heart and mind. I think there are a lot of great things about my life and I am extremely blessed to get to experience those things. However, I found that I was putting football, relationships, school and more in front of my faith. Despite the uncertainty of the upcoming season, I’m trying to find the importance in putting my faith first.”
After starting the 2021 season as the backup quarterback, O’Connell became the starter a few games into the year and helped lead Purdue to upset wins over top 5 teams Michigan State and Iowa. After capping the year with an incredible overtime win over Tennessee in the Music City Bowl, Aidan says he is just so grateful for all the opportunities God has given him to play the game he loves.
“God has been so gracious in allowing me to experience memories I’ll cherish forever.”
O’Connell announced that he would be returning to Purdue for his 6th year of eligibility, were he looks to continue inspiring others and helping lead the Boilermakers to wins. Quick to deflect the credit to God and his teammates around him, O’Connell is admired by all those around him for the way he carries himself and his leadership on and off the field. Now looking towards the offseason and preparing for the 2022 year, his story from walk on to star quarterback will be one that is forever remembered in West Lafayette.
