Desmond Purnell is a linebacker who has not played this season; the last season with a stat line was 2025, at Kansas State.
Purnell carries tight ends down the field in coverage. Fourth year in the Kansas State linebacker corps. One game to point at: 11 tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss against Arizona — Week 3, 2025.
Play style
Carries tight ends and patrols the middle of the field in coverage.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
72 tackles. 4 passes defended. 2 interceptions. 8.5 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
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| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Kansas State | 72 | 51 | 8.5 | 3.5 | 4 | 2 |
| 2024 | Kansas State | 46 | 33 | 9.5 | 4.0 | 1 | -- |
| 2023 | Kansas State | 51 | 34 | 4.5 | 0.5 | 2 | 1 |
| 2022 | Kansas State | 17 | 6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 2 | -- |
| Career | 186 | 124 | 23.5 | 8.0 | 9 | 3 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 12 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 21-24vs No. 22 Iowa State | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 1 | W 38-35vs North Dakota | 6 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 21-24vs Army | 10 | 10 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 17-23@ Arizona | 11 | 5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 11 tackles |
| Wk 5 | W 34-20vs UCF | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 34-35@ Baylor | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 41-28vs TCU | 5 | 4 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2 | 2 | |
| Wk 9 | W 42-17@ Kansas | 9 | 5 | 1.5 | 1.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 10 | L 20-43vs No. 13 Texas Tech | 4 | 3 | 1.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 14-6@ Oklahoma State | 8 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | L 47-51@ No. 13 Utah | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | W 24-14vs Colorado | 9 | 8 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 72 | 51 | 8.5 | 3.5 | 2 | 4 |
Week 7 · 2025
W 41-28
vs TCU
2 interceptions · 1 sack · 2 tackles for loss
Edged out TCU at home in a shootout.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
72tackles this seasonTFL rate
12%8 TFLSack rate
5%4 sacksPD rate
6%4 pass breakups72 tackles · 8.5 for loss · 3.5 sacks · 2 interceptions.
4 seasons under Chris Klieman — 34-18 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 5.8 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.3 |
| Road5g | 7.2 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 5.3 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.4 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 7.0 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Chris Klieman
Pass share
46.4%
342 pass / 395 run
Plays / game
61.4
12 games
Team sack rate
3.6%
361 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2025
About as many tackles a game as a typical FBS linebacker who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #31 at the position.
2026 outlook
In the mix for All-Big 12
Based on 2025: #6 of 73 Big 12 LBs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 35% of returning players who ranked #4–10 at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 31–38%).
The No. 1,426 recruit in the country is starting at linebacker in the Big 12 as a senior.
A stat line in 47 games over four seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2021–2025
1 coachPlayed every college season under Chris Klieman.
