Alcorn State · W 49-3 · FCS
No catches.
Auburn · L 8-43
No catches.
UL Monroe · W 35-21
1 catch, 14 yards
The other 5 games average 39 yards. This one was 25 below.
Saunders has catches in 6 of Southern Miss’s 8 games: none against Alcorn State and Auburn.
Dashed line: 100 yards.
Kaden Saunders
The four seasons span two programs and two head coaches: James Franklin and Blake Anderson. One game to point at: 138 receiving yards and 7 receptions against Troy — Week 6, 2026.
211 receiving yards · 16 catches · 0 receiving TD
Play style
Moves the chains on third down.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
SuperTalk Mississippi Media Oct 23Against UL Monroe on Oct. 31: 1 catch for 14 yards. In the 6 games drawn here: 16 catches for 211 yards. Southern Miss has thrown to him 27 times in 221 passes.
Each game is split into its four quarters, so the columns line up from game to game; inside a quarter, plays keep their order. Third and fourth downs are marked under the line, bold when he moved the chains.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Southern Miss | 16 | 211 | 13.2 | 0 | 38 |
| 2024 | Penn State | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2023 | Penn State | 6 | 56 | 9.3 | 1 | 17 |
| 2022 | Penn State | 2 | 21 | 10.5 | 0 | 13 |
| Career | 24 | 288 | 12.0 | 1 | 38 |
| Season | Team | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Southern Miss | 82 |
| 2024 | Penn State | 25 |
| 2023 | Penn State | 88 |
| 2022 | Penn State | -- |
| Career | 195 |
Last game (Wk 9): 14 receiving yards, 1 catch.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 6 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 3 | L 20-48vs UConn | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 0 | 8 | |
| Wk 4 | L 21-24@ Tulane | 2 | 17 | 8.5 | 0 | 14 | |
| Wk 6 | L 34-55@ Troy | 7 | 138 | 19.7 | 0 | 38 | Season-high 138 yds |
| Wk 7 | L 13-23vs Arkansas State | 2 | 21 | 10.5 | 0 | 18 | |
| Wk 8 | W 35-31vs Louisiana | 3 | 13 | 4.3 | 0 | 8 | |
| Wk 9 | W 35-21@ UL Monroe | 1 | 14 | 14.0 | 0 | 14 | |
| Total | 16 | 211 | 13.2 | 0 | 38 |
Week 6 · 2026
L 34-55
at Troy
7 rec · 138 yds
With L. Lyddy — 316 yds · 2 TD · 1 INT · QBR 59.8 · 13 rush yds (9 car) · M. Sanders II — 8 rec · 102 yds · 2 TD · 75 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT
The plays that mattered most
418th in receiving yards, among all 2,086 FBS players with a receiving row this season, any position
Ratings of the games shown run from -24 to +1 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Receiver profile · Targets, catch rate, and throw depth
How often he's targeted, and how well it works
Targets
2710% of team targetsCatch rate
63%17 of 27 targetsBehind LOS · Negative air yds
Short · 0–9 air yds
Middle · 10–19 air yds
Deep · 20+ air yds
63% catch rate on 27 targets · 10% of the team's targets · 43% catch rate on 7 deep targets (20+ air yds).
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 6 games
Home vs Road
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 2.0 | 14.0 | 7.6 | 0.0 |
| Road3g | 3.3 | 56.3 | 14.1 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-74g | 3.0 | 46.0 | 11.7 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 2.0 | 13.5 | 9.2 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Blake Anderson
Pass share
54.1%
369 pass / 313 run
Plays / game
85.2
8 games
Team sack rate
4.4%
316 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced, fast tempo.
Player standing · 2026
Fewer catches a game than most FBS receivers who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Former four-star. Now #372 at the position.
2026 is in progress.
Coaching lineage · 2022–2026
3 coachesPlayed for 3 head coaches at 2 schools: James Franklin, Terry Smith and Blake Anderson.
Next stop · Transfer
Transferred to Southern Miss
