One of the first quarterback pieces of the college football all-star game puzzle has slotted into place. The East-West Shrine Bowl announced Wednesday that Purdue quarterback Aidan O’Connell is heading to Las Vegas to represent the Boilermakers in the longest-running college football all-star game.
Aidan O’Connell Officially Accepts 2023 Shrine Bowl Invite
O’Connell officially accepted his Shrine Bowl invitation with a social media post confirming that the Boilermakers senior will head to Las Vegas. It’s a major coup for the longest-running college football all-star game, with O’Connell receiving rave reviews from scouts across the nation despite Purdue’s 2022 season falling short of the expectations set with a nine-win campaign from last fall.
Last season, O’Connell threw for 3,712 yards while completing a career-high 71.6% of his passes. The Purdue quarterback also racked up 28 passing touchdowns while adding another score on the ground. While this season hasn’t had the same statistical success — with injuries to his surrounding talent impacting this — O’Connell still leads the Big Ten conference with 304.8 yards per game while completing 64% of his passes.
MORE: 2023 NFL Draft Big Board
It was apparent early on in the all-star game process that O’Connell was a quarterback that Shrine Bowl scouts and staff wanted to attract to Las Vegas. During his weekly Monday Morning GM piece published on Pro Football Network, Shrine Bowl Director of Football Operations and Player Personnel Eric Galko had praised the Purdue passer as early as Week 3 of the 2022 college football season.
“O’Connell showcased the maturity, composure, and confidence under pressure to lead two touchdown drives to give his team a lead with under a minute left,” Galko commented on the performance against Syracuse. “O’Connell — who I’ve often compared to Jimmy Garoppolo — showed he has the wherewithal and short memory to be an NFL quarterback.”
The comparison to Garoppolo is a pertinent one.
The former Eastern Illinois standout elevated his stock with an impressive performance at the Shrine Bowl, parlaying that performance into a second-round selection of the New England Patriots in the 2014 NFL Draft. While not currently talked about in scouting circles as being a high-round draft selection, O’Connell has the opportunity to put himself on a similar path to success by appearing in Las Vegas at the 2023 Shrine Bowl.
It won’t be the first time in his career that O’Connell has made the most of an opportunity to elevate his standing. A fifth-year quarterback who came to Purdue as a walk-on, he battled his way up the depth chart, becoming the starter, before earning second-team All-Big Ten accolades last fall.
The Shrine Bowl will give the Purdue talent the opportunity to impress NFL coaches — the event is the only all-star game this cycle with a complete NFL coaching staff — up close and personal. However, as Pro Football Network NFL Draft Analyst Ian Cummings revealed in his scouting report on O’Connell, he already ticks a lot of boxes that teams look for at the quarterback position.
“O’Connell checks a lot of the traditional boxes that teams look for out of quarterbacks,” wrote Cummings. “He has size and multiple years of experience as a starter at the collegiate level. He’s tough and poised in the pocket, a quick decision-maker, and a generally accurate passer who can perform as a distributor in the short and intermediate ranges, and work in touch down the field.”
During his weekly NFL Draft News and Rumors Mailbag, Pro Football Network’s Chief NFL Draft Analyst Tony Pauline was asked which quarterback of the 2023 NFL Draft class drafted from outside of the top 10 could make an immediate impact as a rookie.
“If I had to choose one quarterback, I’d say Aidan O’Connell,” Pauline responded. “He gets the most from average skill players at Purdue, he makes good decisions, and he has an NFL body.”
With an accepted invitation to the 2023 Shrine Bowl in his back pocket, O’Connell is already taking strides along the road to the NFL. The longest-running all-star game takes place on Feb. 2 at Allegiant Stadium, the home of the Las Vegas Raiders. Televised on NFL Network, Pro Football Network will have in-depth access and analysis across the entire week of practice.