MANHATTAN, Kan. – Following his two-interception performance in Kansas State’s 41-28 Homecoming victory over TCU, senior linebacker Des Purnell has been named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week, the conference office announced on Monday.
It is the first-ever conference weekly award for Purnell and the first for a Wildcat defender since Kobe Savage earned the nod after the Texas Tech contest in 2023.
A native of Topeka, Kansas, Purnell came away with eight tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, a sack and two pass breakups in addition to his two picks. On back-to-back plays in the third quarter, Purnell recorded an eight-yard sack before picking off a pass and returning it 25 yards for a touchdown. It was K-State’s first pick-6 since current San Francisco 49er Marques Sigle returned an interception 43 yards for a score last year at West Virginia.
Purnell had another interception in the fourth quarter, one he returned 21 yards that led to a K-State field goal to make it a three-score game.
Purnell is one of three linebackers in the country this season to record multiple interceptions in a game, while he is one of only two Big 12 linebackers since 2022 to accomplish the feat. He was the first K-State linebacker with two picks in a game since Elijah Lee against TCU in 2015.