Advanced
Computed from every play, garbage time excluded. FBS rank among players with enough volume
| Defense | Value | FBS rank |
|---|---|---|
| Havoc plays | 7 | 214th / 2758 |
| Tackles for loss | 3 | 519th / 2112 |
| Run stops | 10 | 794th / 3422 |
| Sacks | 0 | — |
| Pass breakups | 4 | — |
| Interceptions | 0 | — |
| Forced fumbles | 0 | — |
| Tackles | 39 | — |
Charting
Where Saunders's plays went: throw and catch spots, air yards and yards after the catch, read from the play-by-play
The play-by-play names the defender on breakups, interceptions and tackles, but not the man in coverage on every throw, so true times-targeted isn't in the text. Coverage plays is the closest stand-in; exact targets come from hand charting.
Career
3 seasons at 3 schools since 2014 · box-score totals, snap share estimated from play-by-play
| Season | Team | G | Snaps | Tkl | TFL | Sacks | INT | PD | Havoc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 so far |  Purdue#71 · 3-5 | 8 | 96% | 41 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 7 |
| 2025 |  Utah#7 · 11-2 | 6 | 8% | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 2024 |  Texas A&M#20 · 8-5 | 2 | 1% | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Past seasons are summed from ESPN box scores; success rates and snap shares come from the play-by-play. Don Saunders's team rank is that season's final TDC rank. A dash means the stat wasn't recorded.
Game Log
Don Saunders's box score, game by game, from ESPN, with a 0–10 game score for each (hover it for how it works). Click a result for the full game
| Defense | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk | Opponent | Result | Game score | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Hur | PD | INT | TD |
| 1 |  Indiana State | W 44–19 | 9.6 | 3 | 2 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 2 |  Wake Forest | L 36–38 | 6.3 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 3 | @ UCLA | L 38–52 | 7.2 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 4 |  Notre Dame | L 10–49 | 6.5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | · | · |
| 5 | @ Illinois | W 24–17 | 7.5 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 6 |  Minnesota | W 41–13 | 6.1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | · | · |
| 7 |  Washington | L 26–38 | 7.8 | 5 | 4 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 9 | @ Penn State | L 17–31 | 7.4 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | · | · |
| 2026 · 8 games | 7.3 | 41 | 27 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 2 | ||
2026 Season Stats
FBS rank among qualifying players
| Defense | 2026 | FBS rank |
|---|---|---|
| Tackles | 41 | 351st / 5664 |
| Solo | 28 | — |
| Tackles for loss | 3 | 596th / 2634 |
| Sacks | 0 | — |
| QB hurries | 0 | — |
| Passes defended | 5 | 75th / 1772 |
| Defensive TD | 1 | — |
| Interceptions | 2026 | FBS rank |
|---|---|---|
| Interceptions | 1 | 145th / 627 |
| Return yards | 35 | — |
| Pick-sixes | 1 | — |
| Fumbles | 2026 | FBS rank |
|---|---|---|
| Fumbles | 0 | — |
| Lost | 0 | — |
| Recovered | 1 | — |
Snaps by Game
Estimated snaps from a model trained on real NFL snap counts. Ranges in brackets are where the real number lands 80% of the time: wide for a single game, tighter over the season. How it works
| Game | Start | Opp. plays | Est. snaps | Plays made | Special teams | Penalties | Snap share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 · Indiana State | ✓ DB | 46 | ~43 (17–45) | 4 | 1 | · | 93% |
| Wk 2 · Wake Forest | ✓ DB | 68 | ~67 (27–68) | 6 | · | · | 99% |
| Wk 3 · UCLA | ✓ DB | 80 | ~80 (32–80) | 10 | · | · | 100% |
| Wk 4 · Notre Dame | ✓ DB | 58 | ~45 (18–48) | 4 | · | · | 78% |
| Wk 5 · Illinois | ✓ DB | 65 | ~64 (26–65) | 6 | · | 2 | 98% |
| Wk 6 · Minnesota | ✓ DB | 52 | ~49 (20–52) | 4 | · | 1 | 94% |
| Wk 7 · Washington | ✓ DB | 61 | ~60 (24–61) | 5 | · | · | 98% |
| Wk 9 · Penn State | ✓ DB | 76 | ~76 (31–76) | 7 | · | · | 100% |
| Season | 8 GS | 506 | 484 (367–506) | 46 | 1 | 3 | 96% |
Position Room
24 DBs on the Purdue roster, ordered by tkl
| # | Player | Pos | Class | Tkl | TFL | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | Justin Denson | DB | SO | 53 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 13 | John Slaughter | DB | SR | 43 | 0.5 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 7 | Don Saunders | DB | SR | 41 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 2 | Jaden Mangham | DB | SR | 27 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 |
| 4 | Hudauri Hines | DB | JR | 20 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 1 | Smiley Bradford | DB | JR | 18 | 0.5 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 29 | Dee Newsome | DB | JR | 8 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 |
| 6 | Mister Clark | DB | JR | 6 | 2 | 1 | — | 1 |
| 39 | Isaiah Needam | DB | SO | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 3 | Jett Goldsberry | DB | FR | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 10 | Ta'Vari Hampton | DB | SO | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| Ryan Turner | DB | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | ||
| Traveon Wright | DB | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | ||
| 32 | D'mon Marable | DB | JR | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 14 | Emoni Smith | DB | FR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 15 | Vi'Naz Cobb | DB | SO | — | — | — | — | — |
| 22 | Maxwell Barbee | DB | FR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 24 | Raderrion Daniels | DB | FR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 26 | Dax Noles | DB | SO | — | — | — | — | — |
| 28 | Dana Greenhow | DB | FR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35 | DJ Greene | DB | FR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 36 | Kaleb Richmond | DB | JR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 38 | Zyntreacs Otey | DB | FR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 47 | Braden Brown | DB | FR | — | — | — | — | — |
Stats, EPA and usage come from CollegeFootballData.com and refresh daily. FBS ranks only count players with enough volume for the stat to mean something. Qualifying for EPA takes —+ plays per team game. Purdue depth chart →