After his football career ends, Aidan Quinn wants to be remembered at SIU as a man of God (Profile, Part Two)

READ PART ONE

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Having long since conquered the disorders that slowed his childhood development, Aidan Quinn became an immediate contributor to Saluki Football as a true freshman in 2022.

The Nashville native began his career on special teams, before earning the starting tight end job and making a major contribution to SIU’s playoff team in 2023.

He’s overcome setbacks, including a shoulder injury that cost him most of the 2024 season, and a broken thumb that has hindered his 2025 campaign.

Most importantly, Quinn has matured spiritually since arriving at Southern. His faith led him to reconnect with the godly woman he called his best friend in high school. They married last January and plan to move west and work in the cattle business after his football career ends.

Now in his final season as a Saluki, Quinn will leave a powerful legacy on the football field at SIU, but ultimately, he wants to be remembered less for his football accomplishments and more for his love of Christ and as a man of God.

Quinn has played this season with a cast on his broken left thumb that required surgery.

StrongDawgs Conversation with Aidan Quinn (Part Two)

SD: How'd you wind up coming to SIU?

AQ: That's an interesting story, actually. My senior year was in 2021, and because of COVID, the NCAA let all the seniors come back. I had seven offers, and then the week before signing period, all my offers got pulled.

SD: What were some of the offers you had?

AQ: They were all FCS. I had some larger schools looking at me, but I don't know if it was because I wasn't good enough or because of COVID that they never pulled the trigger. Austin Peay, Sanford, The Citadel, and I think Navy might have offered me.

At one point, six of my offers had already been pulled when I called Southern Illinois. They said they really wanted me, but didn’t have the money for a full scholarship, so they offered a half scholarship. At the time, they were recruiting me for linebacker. I was like, okay, half scholarship, I can do that for one year, but after that I was going to be out of money. I didn't want to take any loans out. I was talking to the Navy about enlisting, but decided to give college football a try one year. So I signed, then I get a phone call, hey, you're not going to play linebacker, you’re going to play tight end. Okay, that's fine with me. I get here, played a little bit as a freshman, then ended up earning the scholarship, and the rest is history.

SD: Did you ever think twice about leaving the linebacker position?

AQ: When I first switched, that definitely crossed my mind, but once they made the switch, I'm a Saluki, and my two main priorities are winning football games, and for me personally, playing in football games. Playing tight end had the opportunity to contribute to winning, and I could also play as a freshman. Once the switch was done, I'm a tight end now. Let's make it work and see what happens.

Quinn had 27 catches in 2023 and helped lead the team to the FCS Playoffs.

SD: Talk about your breakout junior year in 2023, when you had 27 catches and the team made the playoffs.

AQ: That year was the first year I was starting. Every year before that, we had older tight ends in the room, and I was just a special teams guy. I knew what I was capable of, but I don't think a lot of people really expected me to have quite the year I did. I just went out there and played my style of football.

As a team, we had a great defense that year, one of the best in the country. Offensively, I’ve always believed, and maybe this is just my bias, but a team will be as good as their tight ends, because a good tight end really puts a defense in a bind. You can throw the ball, you can run the ball, and it really is a pain for defenses to stop a great tight end. So between Schwendy (Ryan Schwendeman) and I, we were solid tight ends and really helped make it go. We had a good group with (Nic) Baker at quarterback, our running backs, Jay Strong and Romeir Elliott, and solid up front, everything we needed to have a solid year.

SD: Was 2024 the first time you had a major injury in your career and how did it happen?

AQ: I missed one game in high school for a pulled groin, but other than that, every injury I've had has been minor enough to where I could just play through it. So, yeah, that was the first time I had surgery due to injury and ended up missing almost an entire year.

I tore my labrum in spring practice, blocking. That was my first major surgery and the first few weeks were extremely painful, a hard recovery. The hardest part of it was being stuck at home by myself, the post-surgery blues, not able to be with the boys.

The Salukis beat FCS Northern Illinois in 2023.

SD: What was your thought process heading into the 2025 season, and how did that change after you broke your thumb and have been wearing a cast while you play?

AQ: My whole life, I thought that God wants me to be an NFL player, but at this point, I don't think he wants me to do that. If he does, he'll make that door open. My mindset for the season was that I'm going to play it like it's my last, and then whatever happens after that will be up to God. No matter what, though, I just wanted to have fun, and I've been having fun all year. All the ups and downs, the frustration, that’s what makes football so great.

With the thumb, I didn't have that in the cards, but I can look at it two ways. I can be super upset and angry about my thumb and let that take the joy out of football, or I can adapt and still enjoy football and play the best I can. That's what I've been trying to do.

SD: And how did the thumb injury happen?

AQ: Blocking versus Indiana State, my thumb bent all the way backward, and then one of the bones broke into three pieces, so I had to get some pins put in to hold it all together. I told the doctors, this is my last year and the most important thing for me is to not miss time. So if getting surgery means I'm gonna miss time, then I'm just not gonna get surgery and I'll play with the broken thumb and let it heal on its own. The doctor told me that my thumb was so unstable that he'd rather me play after the surgery than not have the surgery at all. Normally, it would have been at least two weeks off. I had the surgery on a Monday and played that Saturday.

Quinn married his high school best friend, Emma Marshall.

SD: You were married earlier this year. Can you tell the story of how you met your wife?

AQ: I met my wife, Emma Marshall, in sixth grade when I moved to Tennessee. Really, from the moment I moved to Nashville, we became best friends. All the things that made me different, my mental delays, my ticks and Tourette's and stuff, the things that made me different and weird from other kids were the things that she really loved. She still thinks they're very cute for some reason.

We were just best friends all through middle school and high school. My senior year in high school, we kind of had a falling out. I wasn't the best of men in high school, as most high school boys aren't. I went to college and had a girlfriend, not her. That relationship didn’t work out. I learned from it that what I was looking for, I had the whole time, I just threw it all away.

So I reached back out to her and she was kind enough to forgive me and give me a second chance, and this time I didn't waste it. A good woman is worth her weight in gold. Proverbs says, a godly woman is more valuable than all the rubies and treasures of the earth. That's what she is, a godly woman who's more valuable than all the treasures I could ever get. We were married on January 31st of 2025.

SD: Do you think your spiritual growth coincided with you recognizing the best friend you had in your wife-to-be?

AQ: That's something me and my wife talk about. I didn't always treat her well in high school. I needed a lot of time to mature in my spiritual walk with Christ and become the man she needed me to be. God works in mysterious ways, but you know, His timing is perfect. I needed to grow in my faith  before I was ready for that commitment.

SD: How important is Saluki Football’s emphasis on the spiritual side of life, supporting the whole person beyond just playing football?

AQ: It’s very important to me. We pray before and after every game, we have our team chapels that Jacqueline (Crain) leads, and there's a good group of guys that really live it. One thing I try to emphasize to the guys on our team is that football is what we do, it's not who we are. I'm a child of God and my identity is in Christ. As much as I love football, and it's been a huge part of my life, that time, for me, is winding down quickly. Some of the younger guys have more time, but even in the grand scheme of things, four or five years of college football is a very short time. If you don't realize that your identity is in Christ, when football ends, there's an identity crisis. So it's really important to understand that Christ is the center, and through him, we will be fulfilled.

SD: Are you gonna give the league a shot, and what about life after football?

AQ: Yeah, if the opportunity is there, I'll give it a shot. As much as I'd love to play at the next level, I'm also ready for my body to not be as injured and broken as it is, so some time off wouldn't be too bad.

Me and my wife want to move out west. I'm in the School of Ag, so I'm looking for work in the cattle business, hoping to get out there to Montana or Wyoming or Idaho somewhere. I’ve been applying to jobs and hopefully have something lined up and move out in the spring.

SD: Any parting words for Saluki Nation?

AQ: If people could remember me at SIU for one thing, it's my love of Christ, and me being a Christian man. I wasn't always the best early in my career, but I don't want to be remembered as a football player. I want to be remembered as a man of God. Hopefully, people will see me that way.