#32

Desmond Purnell

Senior linebacker for Kansas State. 2025: 72 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks.

LB · Kansas State · Sr. · #32

6′0″ · 232 lb · Topeka, KS

CFB Index 86 · #31 of 583 LBsHigh confidenceReturning to Kansas State for 2026

How he plays

Carries tight ends down the field in coverage.

Solo tackles: 98th percentile.

The full scouting read

The numbers

tackles · 2025

8.5 TFL · 3.5 sacks · 4 PBU

Best game: 5 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sacks, vs TCU

His career numbers, season by season

The story

4 linebacker for Kansas State. 2025: 72 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks.

Signed as a 3-star recruit to Kansas State in 2021.

His career, year by year

Desmond Purnell

LB · Kansas State · Sr · #32

Carries tight ends down the field in coverage. Fourth year in the Kansas State linebacker corps, same address the whole way. One game to point at: 11 tackles, 0.5 TFL against Arizona — Week 3, 2025.

Low coverage — composed from the verified record.

positional archetype classification
seasons on the roster
game log

2025 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

4 seasons under Chris Klieman — 34-18 over that span.

2022Kansas State10-4HC: Chris Klieman · Run-leaning

2023Kansas State9-4HC: Chris Klieman · Run-leaning

2024Kansas State9-4HC: Chris Klieman · Run-leaning

2025Kansas State6-6HC: Chris Klieman · Run-leaning, slow tempo

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

86All-Conference level #31 of 583?

High confidenceAscending7 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: solo tackles (98th percentile). Strength: qb hurries (95th percentile).

Box-score production (7)

Solo tackles#61 / 2975 · 98th pct

QB hurries#117 / 2975 · 95th pct

Tackles for loss#175 / 2975 · 94th pct

8.5

Tackles#242 / 2975 · 92nd pct

Sacks#233 / 2975 · 91st pct

3.5

Passes defended#340 / 2975 · 86th pct

Interceptions#114 / 817 · 75th pct

Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.

Splits & context

Splits · Per-game

2025 season · 12 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Home7g	5.1	0.9	0.4	0.4
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

2026 season

Head Coach

Collin Klein

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2025

Part-time starter

Tackle volume for the position in part-time-starter range.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

86 · #31 of 583 LBs

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

How the All-Big 12 estimate is computed

35% estimated, 95% confidence interval 31–38%. Base rate measured from players who finished at a comparable rank in their conference and came back the next season. It is an estimate from a small sample, not a forecast of this player.

Career stats

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	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2025

W 38–35

vs North Dakota

5 SOLO · 6 TOT

Edged out North Dakota at home in a shootout.

With A. Johnson — 318 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · QBR 58.1 · 43 rush yds (7 car) · S. McClannan — 41 AVG · 43 LONG · 4 NO

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 12 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	TKL	SOLO	TFL	SACK	INT	PD	Note
Wk 1	L 21-24vs 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 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@ 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

How he plays

Play style

Carries tight ends and patrols the middle of the field in coverage.

CFB Index positional classification

Activity vs finishing · season enumeration

What the box score actually says

12 games

72Tackles

51Solo

8.5TFL

3.5Sacks

4Pass def.

2INT

72 tackles. 4 passes defended. 2 interceptions. 8.5 TFL.

Week 11 PD
Week 71 sack · 2 PD · 2 INT
Week 91 sack · 1 PD
Week 100.5 sacks
Week 141 sack

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.

2026 Outlook

Kansas State

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Linebacker · Kansas State

Returning around him

2 Kansas State players drafted to NFL
Transfer portal: -6 net (27 in / 33 out)

2026 Award watch

No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)

Kansas State · Last season: 6-6 (AP #17) · Talent rank #47 · 2026 recruiting class #50

DNA match

Player DNA

Coverage 'Backer

Carries tight ends and patrols the middle of the field in coverage.

His 2025 production profile sits closest to Mac Harris’s 2024 season.

Mac Harris

69%match

South Florida · 2024

Evan Eller

Wyoming · 2025

All-Mountain West

69%

Johnathan Hall

Utah · 2025

66%

Shane Lee

USC · 2022

66%

JB Brown

Kansas · 2024

66%

Matches Mac on

Weight

Tackle volume

TFL rate

Differs from Mac on

PD rate (higher)

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Fred Perry's senior season at West Virginia (2025).

Fred Perry

75%match

West Virginia · 2025

All-Conference USA

Nikhai Hill-Green

Colorado · 2024

All-Big 12

73%

Sanoussi Kane

Purdue · 2023

NFL Rd 7

73%

Jimmy Rolder

Michigan · 2025

All-Big TenNFL Rd 4

71%

Eugene Asante

Auburn · 2023

71%

Matches Fred on

Tackle volume

Solo tackle rate

Height

Differs from Fred on

Hurry rate (higher)

Weight (higher)

Player DNA

Players who play like Desmond Purnell

Jaden Robinson

Florida · 2025

75%

Taariq Al-Uqdah

Washington State · 2024

73%

Cornell Wheeler

Kansas · 2024

70%

K'Vion Thunderbird

Fresno State · 2025

64%

Tray Dunson

UTEP · 2024

63%

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology

2021

2025 snapshot

Splits & context

Awards

Part-time starter

Career stats

Signature game

Game log

How he plays

DNA match

Coverage 'Backer

Players who play like Desmond Purnell