When the Oregon Ducks added Dillon Thieneman from Purdue in the transfer portal, they knew they were getting an elite on-field talent. But the impact in the locker room through his first couple of months have gone above and beyond. 

Thieneman made the move to Oregon this offseason as the top safety prospect available in the transfer portal. During his two years at Purdue, he racked up impressive statistics, totaling 210 tackles, seven tackles for loss, one sack, six interceptions, two forced fumbles, and nine pass break-ups. 

His performance speaks volumes. It became evident early on that the Ducks were gaining a standout player, but throughout the spring season, it became clear that Thieneman is more than just an average "good player"; there's something exceptional about him. 

Whether it's his on-field achievements or his dedication and preparation off of it, both coaches and teammates couldn't stop praising Dillon Thieneman in Eugene this spring. Here’s a glimpse of what people had to say about No. 31.

Dan Lanning on Dillon Thieneman

“He's a dynamic player on film. And then when you meet his family, unbelievable family, a guy that is infatuated with football, right? And infatuated with the extra work, you know. There's probably not a day that goes by that Dillon's not in the weight room, getting bonus work, doing extra rehab, getting extra film. His intelligence, all those things are really picking up, you know, establishing some standards for the DB group and how they're going to operate. I think he's done a great job of that, and I know he's not satisfied. So I love having players here that aren't satisfied, that are looking to get better and improve. I think he saw what Oregon could bring him, and I know he's going to bring a lot to Oregon."

Tosh Lupoi on Dillon Thieneman

"When there's an individual like a Dillon (in the transfer porta), that's that's always the concern is, how committed is this individual? Does he love the game? You can tell so much on film, and that's what's extremely clear to us now with Dillon: this guy is an absolute pro with preparation. So he's an individual that's in here, you know, early, leaving late. He wants to do bonus meetings. You know, the millisecond he kind of made this decision to come here, the process really started of, you know, let's learn this defense. So, obviously, we've only had two days of no pads here, but he's certainly doing a nice job leading up to this point."

Chris Hampton on Dillon Thieneman

"I tell you what, when you watch the film, obviously, he's a guy that's made a bunch of tackles. He's been really productive. He had over 100 tackles two years in a row, and had six interceptions his true freshman year. So you knew he had some ball production, some ball judge ability, and he was a really good tackler. But what you didn't know is the person. We didn't recruit him out of high school. Once you get to know him, the person is much better than the player. His attention to detail, his work ethic is like none other I've ever coached. The guy's relentless in his pursuit for greatness. He's trying to get better each and every day. I mean growth. We say growth. I mean he's all about growth, every rep, every day, every meeting, like he's a pro, and so that's what you didn't know, is like, that's like, whoa. The intangibles about this guy were really tremendous."

Teitum Tuioti on Dillon Thieneman

"I think his preparation, just every day coming in here, continuing to just go through his routine. That's something I see every day in the morning, I see him do the same thing every day, stretch, hot tub, his walk through mechanics are elite. He communicates. You don't see him do too many things wrong, like he's he's always here, always meeting, and I'm excited for what you're going to do this year.”

Kenyon Sadiq on Dillon Thieneman

“First of all, his work ethic is like, second to none. I'm getting in here every day and he's one of the first guys in, you know, I get here and his car is already here and stuff. Just seeing him in the training room and stuff in the morning. But going on the field, you know, very technical and sound. He's going to be in the right position all the time. He plays a really good technique. So it just challenges me to play with a better technique. Getting off his line, just even coming down to blocking, he uses his hands really well. But no, we've both gotten a lot better coming against each other."