Linebacker, Kansas State, 2021–25
Desmond Purnell
- Number
- No. 32
- Height
- 6′0″
- Weight
- 232 lb
- Class (2025)
- Senior
- Hometown
- Topeka, KS
Desmond Purnell played linebacker at Kansas State (2021–25).
At a glance
Career highs
11tackles, career highat Arizona, 20252interceptions, career highvs. TCU, 2025Team titles: Big 12 champions, 2022
Defense
| Season | Team | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD | Hur |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Kansas State | 17 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 2023 | Kansas State | 51 | 34 | 4.5 | 0.5 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 2024 | Kansas State | 46 | 33 | 9.5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 2025 | Kansas State | 72 | 51 | 8.5 | 3.5 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Career | 186 | 124 | 23.5 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 18 | |
Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls. A dash: the source has no number for that season (often an FCS season), and career totals count only the numbers on file.
On the roster
| Season | Team | No. | Pos | Class | Ht | Wt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Kansas State | 32 | LB | RS | ||
| 2022 | Kansas State | 32 | LB | Fr. | ||
| 2023 | Kansas State | 32 | LB | So. | ||
| 2024 | Kansas State | 32 | LB | Jr. | ||
| 2025 | Kansas State | 32 | LB | Sr. | 6′0″ | 232 |
As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.
Game by game
2025 Kansas State 12 games, 72 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 2 INT
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 23 | vs. Iowa State | L 21–24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Aug 30 | vs. North Dakota | W 38–35 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 6 | vs. Army | L 21–24 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 12 | at Arizona | L 17–23 | 11 | 5 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 27 | vs. UCF | W 34–20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 4 | at Baylor | L 34–35 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 11 | vs. TCU | W 41–28 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Oct 25 | at Kansas | W 42–17 | 9 | 5 | 1.5 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 1 | vs. Texas Tech | L 20–43 | 4 | 3 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 15 | at Oklahoma State | W 14–6 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 22 | at Utah | L 47–51 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 29 | vs. Colorado | W 24–14 | 9 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
2024 Kansas State 13 games, 46 tackles, 4 sacks
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 31 | vs. UT Martin | W 41–6 | 7 | 6 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 7 | at Tulane | W 34–27 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 13 | vs.Arizona | W 31–7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 21 | at BYU | L 9–38 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 28 | vs.Oklahoma State | W 42–20 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 12 | atColorado | W 31–28 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 19 | at West Virginia | W 45–18 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 26 | vs.Kansas | W 29–27 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 2 | at Houston | L 19–24 | 4 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 16 | vs. Arizona State | L 14–24 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 23 | vs. Cincinnati | W 41–15 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 30 | atIowa State | L 21–29 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dec 26 ✦ | vs. Rutgers | W 44–41 | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
2023 Kansas State 13 games, 51 tackles, 0.5 sacks, 1 INT
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2 | vs. Southeast Missouri State | W 45–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 9 | vs. Troy | W 42–13 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 16 | at Missouri | L 27–30 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 23 | vs.UCF | W 44–31 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 6 | atOklahoma State | L 21–29 | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 14 | atTexas Tech | W 38–21 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 21 | vs.TCU | W 41–3 | 5 | 3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1 | 0 |
| Oct 28 | vs.Houston | W 41–0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 4 | at Texas | L 30–33 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 11 | vs.Baylor | W 59–25 | 5 | 4 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 18 | atKansas | W 31–27 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 25 | vs.Iowa State | L 35–42 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec 28 ✦ | vs. NC State | W 28–19 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2022 Kansas State 8 games, 17 tackles
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 3 | vs. South Dakota | W 34–0 | 3 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 17 | vs.Tulane | L 10–17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 24 | at Oklahoma | W 41–34 | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 1 | vs.Texas Tech | W 37–28 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 8 | atIowa State | W 10–9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Oct 29 | vs.Oklahoma State | W 48–0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 5 | vs.Texas | L 27–34 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 19 | atWest Virginia | W 48–31 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.
Before the draft
| Drill | Pro day 2026 |
|---|---|
| Height | 5′11″ |
| Weight | 228 lb |
| Arm length | 31″ |
| Hand size | 9⅜″ |
| Wingspan | 74″ |
Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
Is this you, or do you know of something wrong or missing here? Suggest a correction. We check each one against a source before changing the page.