Computed from every play, garbage time excluded. FBS rank among players with enough volume
| Defense | Value | FBS rank |
|---|---|---|
| Havoc plays | 1 | 1749th / 2573 |
| Tackles for loss | 1 | 1083rd / 1911 |
| Run stops | 7 | 957th / 3263 |
| Sacks | 0 | — |
| Pass breakups | 0 | — |
| Interceptions | 0 | — |
| Forced fumbles | 0 | — |
| Tackles | 28 | — |
Where Denson's plays went: throw and catch spots, air yards and yards after the catch, read from the play-by-play
The play-by-play names the defender on breakups, interceptions and tackles, but not the man in coverage on every throw, so true times-targeted isn't in the text. Coverage plays is the closest stand-in; exact targets come from hand charting.
3 seasons at 2 schools since 2014 · box-score totals, snap share estimated from play-by-play
| Season | Team | G | Snaps | Tkl | TFL | Sacks | INT | PD | Havoc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 so far | Purdue#71 · 3-4 | 7 | 80% | 38 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2025 | Michigan State#83 · 4-8 | 2 | 1% | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | Michigan State#90 · 5-7 | 5 | 27% | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Past seasons are summed from ESPN box scores; success rates and snap shares come from the play-by-play. Justin Denson's team rank is that season's final TDC rank. A dash means the stat wasn't recorded.
Justin Denson's box score, game by game, from ESPN, with a 0–10 game score for each (hover it for how it works). Click a result for the full game
| Defense | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk | Opponent | Result | Game score | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Hur | PD | INT | TD |
| 1 | W 44–19 | 5.0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · | |
| 2 | L 36–38 | 6.6 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · | |
| 3 | @ | L 38–52 | 6.7 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 4 | L 10–49 | 6.3 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · | |
| 5 | @ | W 24–17 | 4.7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · |
| 6 | W 41–13 | 5.4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · | |
| 7 | L 26–38 | 6.4 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · | |
| 2026 · 7 games | 5.9 | 38 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | · | · | ||
FBS rank among qualifying players
| Defense | 2026 | FBS rank |
|---|---|---|
| Tackles | 38 | 233rd / 5408 |
| Solo | 17 | — |
| Tackles for loss | 2 | 760th / 2450 |
| Sacks | 0 | — |
| QB hurries | 0 | — |
| Passes defended | 0 | — |
| Defensive TD | 0 | — |
Estimated snaps from a model trained on real NFL snap counts. Ranges in brackets are where the real number lands 80% of the time: wide for a single game, tighter over the season. How it works
| Game | Start | Opp. plays | Est. snaps | Plays made | Snap share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 · Indiana State | — | 46 | ~16 (0–26) | 1 | 35% |
| Wk 2 · Wake Forest | ✓ DB | 68 | ~67 (27–68) | 7 | 99% |
| Wk 3 · UCLA | — | 80 | ~75 (30–79) | 5 | 94% |
| Wk 4 · Notre Dame | — | 58 | ~57 (23–58) | 8 | 98% |
| Wk 5 · Illinois | — | 65 | ~23 (0–38) | 2 | 35% |
| Wk 6 · Minnesota | — | 52 | ~47 (19–50) | 3 | 90% |
| Wk 7 · Washington | — | 61 | ~61 (25–61) | 8 | 100% |
| Season | 1 GS | 430 | 346 (262–385) | 34 | 80% |
24 DBs on the Purdue roster, ordered by tkl
| # | Player | Pos | Class | Tkl | TFL | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | Justin Denson | DB | SO | 38 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 13 | John Slaughter | DB | SR | 37 | 0.5 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 7 | Don Saunders | DB | SR | 36 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | Jaden Mangham | DB | SR | 27 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 |
| 1 | Smiley Bradford | DB | JR | 17 | 0.5 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 4 | Hudauri Hines | DB | JR | 17 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 29 | Dee Newsome | DB | JR | 8 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 |
| 6 | Mister Clark | DB | JR | 5 | 2 | 1 | — | 1 |
| 39 | Isaiah Needam | DB | SO | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 3 | Jett Goldsberry | DB | FR | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 10 | Ta'Vari Hampton | DB | SO | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| Ryan Turner | DB | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | ||
| Traveon Wright | DB | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | ||
| 32 | D'mon Marable | DB | JR | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 14 | Emoni Smith | DB | FR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 15 | Vi'Naz Cobb | DB | SO | — | — | — | — | — |
| 22 | Maxwell Barbee | DB | FR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 24 | Raderrion Daniels | DB | FR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 26 | Dax Noles | DB | SO | — | — | — | — | — |
| 28 | Dana Greenhow | DB | FR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35 | DJ Greene | DB | FR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 36 | Kaleb Richmond | DB | JR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 38 | Zyntreacs Otey | DB | FR | — | — | — | — | — |
| 47 | Braden Brown | DB | FR | — | — | — | — | — |
Stats, EPA and usage come from CollegeFootballData.com and refresh daily. FBS ranks only count players with enough volume for the stat to mean something. Qualifying for EPA takes —+ plays per team game. Purdue depth chart →