John Saunders Jr.: S · Ole Miss · #5.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
John Saunders Jr.
Erases the deep middle of the field. Played for two head coaches across five seasons and two programs. The first career honor came in 2022: All-MAC. One game to point at: 9 tackles against Oklahoma — Week 9, 2024.
Play style
Single-high range who erases the deep middle of the field.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
46 tackles. 5 passes defended. 3 interceptions. 1.5 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.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
Yahoo Sports Oct 25Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Ole Miss | 46 | 27 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 5 | 3 |
| 2023 | Ole Miss | 65 | 39 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 4 | 3 |
| 2022 | Miami (OH) | 49 | 32 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 10 | 2 |
| 2021 | Miami (OH) | 13 | 9 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 4 | 3 |
| 2020 | Miami (OH) | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- |
| Career | 175 | 109 | 4.5 | 0.0 | 24 | 11 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2024 season · 12 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 76-0vs Furman | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 52-3vs Middle Tennessee | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 40-6@ Wake Forest | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 4 | W 52-13vs Georgia Southern | 4 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 17-20vs Kentucky | 6 | 3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 26-29@ No. 13 LSU | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 26-14vs Oklahoma | 9 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 9 tackles |
| Wk 10 | W 63-31@ Arkansas | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 28-10vs No. 2 Georgia | 4 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 2 | |
| Wk 13 | L 17-24@ Florida | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | W 26-14vs Mississippi State | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
 Bowl | W 52-20vs Duke | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Total | 46 | 27 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 3 | 5 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
11%5 pass breakupsInterceptions
3interceptionsTackle volume
46tackles this seasonTFL rate
3%2 TFL46 tackles · 1.5 for loss · 5 pass breakups · 3 interceptions.
Splits · Per-game
2024 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 4.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
| Road4g | 3.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 3.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 4.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.6 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Lane Kiffin
Pass share
47.6%
433 pass / 477 run
Plays / game
70.0
13 games
Team sack rate
6.3%
474 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2024
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 #121 at the position.
How it ended
Five seasons, at Miami (OH) and Ole Miss, 175 tackles — the college career is complete.
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
The role got bigger.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-MAC
All-MAC mention (2022)
Coaching lineage · 2020–2024
2 coachesPlayed for 2 head coaches at 2 schools: Chuck Martin and Lane Kiffin.
