Four Schools In, Don Saunders Has Found His Footing at Purdue

Don Saunders didn't play football until his senior year of high school. Five college seasons and four programs later, he is a starting cornerback in the Big Ten.

Saunders, a 6-foot-4, 201-pound senior from San Diego, has 42 tackles, 24 of them solo, 3.0 tackles for loss, five passes defended and an interception returned for a touchdown through eight games for Purdue, according to Ourlads. ESPN credits him with six passes defended. Ourlads lists him first on the Boilermakers' depth chart at left cornerback.

A late start

Saunders, who goes by Donovan on some rosters, came to the sport late. He didn't begin playing football until his senior year at Cathedral Catholic High School in San Diego, the Deseret News reported, and he helped the school win a state championship in that lone season. He was also a sprinter and jumper, and Texas A&M's bio lists a 10.81 in the 100 meters.

Cal Poly, College Station and Salt Lake City

His college career started in the FCS at Cal Poly. He had two interceptions as a freshman in 2022, then moved into a starting role in 2023 and finished with 17 tackles, three interceptions and 11 pass breakups. His 14 passes defended tied for the Big Sky lead, per Texas A&M Athletics, and he was named second-team All-Big Sky.

That season put him on Power 4 radars. He committed to TCU out of the transfer portal, then flipped to Texas A&M, according to On3. The move didn't bring the playing time. Stuck behind a veteran cornerback room, Saunders played 33 snaps across two games in 2024, per the Deseret News, and redshirted.

He went back into the portal and landed at Utah for 2025. Kyle Whittingham liked what he saw early. "Right now I'd say Blake Cotton is doing some good things as is Don Saunders," the Utes coach said that spring, per the Deseret News. In the fall, Saunders played in eight games on defense and special teams, finishing with seven tackles and two pass breakups, including a season-high three tackles in the Las Vegas Bowl against Nebraska, according to Utah Athletics. Sports Illustrated's Purdue preseason preview noted that injuries have hindered his career.

Making it count at Purdue

Purdue added him in January, and he didn't need long to make an impression. On the second snap of the fourth quarter of the Sept. 4 opener against Indiana State, Saunders intercepted Brady Allen and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown, putting Purdue up 44-6 in a 44-19 win, according to the official box score. He added three tackles and half a tackle for loss, and PFF named him the cornerback on its Big Ten Week 1 Team of the Week.

The production has held up since. He made a season-high 11 tackles in the shootout loss at UCLA, had two tackles for loss in the win at Illinois and broke up two passes in each of the games against Notre Dame and Penn State, per Ourlads. In Saturday's 31-17 loss at Penn State, he finished with five tackles.

The last word

Saunders is a rare college corner whose résumé runs longer than his football experience. The ball skills showed up at Cal Poly, and 6-foot-4 cornerbacks who can find the football tend to get noticed. What he never had was a steady role. Purdue has given him one, and the rest of this season is his chance to show what a full year of it looks like.

Sources: Purdue Athletics, Utah Athletics, Texas A&M Athletics, Indiana State Athletics, ESPN, Ourlads, PFF, On3, the Deseret News, Sports Illustrated and Field Level Media. More college football coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: Chris Lyons/Purdue Athletics.