Donovan Saunders
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away. Played for three head coaches across three seasons and three programs. One game to point at: 10 tackles against UCLA — Week 3, 2026.
41 tackles · 0 sacks
Play style
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
41 tackles. 5 passes defended. 1 interception. 3 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.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Last game (Wk 9): 2 pass breakups, 5 tackles.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 44-19vs Indiana State | 3 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 36-38vs Wake Forest | 7 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 38-52@ UCLA | 10 | 8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 10 tackles |
| Wk 4 | L 10-49vs No. 3 Notre Dame | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 5 | W 24-17@ Illinois | 6 | 5 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 41-13vs Minnesota | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 7 | L 26-38vs Washington | 5 | 4 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 17-31@ Penn State | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Total | 41 | 28 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 5 |
Oct. 31 · L 17-31 at Penn State, play by play
5 tackles, including 2 passes broken up, tied for 7th-most passes broken up in FBS that week.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 6 for him; the box score credits 5.
Against his own season: tied for his best passes defended game of the season so far.
His game this year: coverage — 5 passes defended in the 8 games with play by play.
How Purdue’s defense played that day
Penn State’s 8 drives: 3 stopped · 5 scored. While the game was within a score they held 2 of 6. His pbu came with Purdue down 7.
5 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
3 tackles, including 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
6 tackles, including 2 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
2 tackles, including 2 passes broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
10 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
7 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 6 of his 7, sacks included.
A defensive touchdown: his interception went 35 yards for the score. 3 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Intercepted on 3rd and 3, returned 35 yards for the score. Fourth quarter, made it 44-6.
Week 5 · 2026
W 24-17
at Illinois
2 tackles for loss · 6 tackles · 5 solo tackles
A close one, won by 7 on the road.
Ratings of the games shown run from +4 to +25 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
12%5 pass breakupsInterceptions
1interceptionsTackle volume
41tackles this seasonTFL rate
7%3 TFL41 tackles · 3 for loss · 5 pass breakups · 1 interception.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 4.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.6 |
| Road3g | 7.0 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.7 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 5.1 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 5.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Barry Odom
Pass share
50.8%
265 pass / 257 run
Plays / game
65.2
8 games
Team sack rate
6.1%
297 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2026
41 tackles in 8 games, about as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #79 at the position.
The No. 1,525 recruit in the country is starting in the secondary in the Big Ten.
2026 is in progress.
The role got bigger.
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
3 coachesPlayed for 3 head coaches at 3 schools: Mike Elko, Kyle Whittingham and Barry Odom.
Next stop · Transfer
Transferred to Purdue
