Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 44-19vs Indiana State | 7 | 47 | 6.7 | 0 | 18 | |
| Wk 2 | L 36-38vs Wake Forest | 6 | 58 | 9.7 | 0 | 18 | |
| Wk 3 | L 38-52@ UCLA | 6 | 162 | 27.0 | 2 | 75 | Season-high 162 yds |
| Total | 19 | 267 | 14.5 | 2 | 75 |
#3
Xavier Townsend
Senior wide receiver for Purdue. 2026: 3 games with a box-score line.
5′11″ · 195 lb · Tampa, FL
CFB Index 30 · #410 of 485 WRsHigh confidenceTransferred Iowa State → Purdue for 2026
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
How he plays
Wins underneath on volume and route precision.
Catch rate: 97th percentile.
The full scouting readThe numbers
267
receiving yards · 2026 · through week 3
3 games into 2026 so far -- Backed by 6 rec · 162 yds · 2 TD -- top 1% receiving yards game.
Swing playSwung Purdue from 28% to 56% to win.Purdue at UCLA · 52-38
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Senior wide receiver for Purdue. 2026: 3 games with a box-score line.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to UCF in 2022.
- Transferred from Iowa State to Purdue in 2026.
Xavier Townsend
Wins underneath on volume and route precision. Three head coaches in five seasons, at three different programs. One game to point at: 162 rec yds, 6 receptions against UCLA — Week 3, 2026.
267 REC YDS · 19 REC · 2 REC TD
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- positional archetype classification
- head-coach lineage
- game log
His career
6 programs, one constant: he played.
The week the volume broke through — stacked 1 td vs Kent State.Kent State · W 56-62023
202213 games
- Signed with UCF3-star out of Berkeley Prep
20258 games
- Entered the portal
20263 games
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
3 teams
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2022–2026
3 coachesPlayed under 3 different head coaches: Jeff Brohm, Ryan Walters, and Barry Odom. Multi-era developmental context.
Where He Ended Up · Transfer
Transferred to Purdue
2025Iowa State
2026Purdue
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Purdue | 19 | 267 | 14.1 | 2 | -- |
| 2025 | Iowa State | 18 | 243 | 13.5 | 0 | -- |
| 2024 | UCF | 10 | 69 | 6.9 | 1 | -- |
| 2023 | UCF | 33 | 325 | 9.8 | 3 | -- |
| 2022 | UCF | 23 | 127 | 5.5 | 0 | -- |
| Career | 103 | 1,031 | 10.0 | 6 | -- |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Purdue | -- | -- | -- | 33 | -- |
| 2025 | Iowa State | 5 | 18 | 15 | 5 | -- |
| 2024 | UCF | 12 | 88 | 162 | 121 | -- |
| 2023 | UCF | 15 | 163 | 177 | 142 | -- |
| 2022 | UCF | 5 | 27 | 47 | 177 | -- |
| Career | 37 | 296 | 401 | 478 | -- |
Game log
Game by game
Xavier Townsend's 2026 production
Point color shows the opponent's defensive strength that week (red = weaker defense, blue = stronger) — dashed line is this player's own season average.
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 44–19
Signature plays
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
- Week 3 · UCLA · 1&10 · Q1 · EPA +6.08(11:46) Shotgun #15 R.Browne pass complete short middle to #3 X.Townsend caught at PUR30, for 75 yards to the UCLA00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 11:45, 1ST DOWN #92 J.Echeverria Lozano kick attempt good (H: #42 D.Drennan, LS: #46 L.Raab)
- Week 3 · UCLA · 1&10 · Q2 · EPA +2.62(02:16) No Huddle-Shotgun #15 R.Browne pass complete short left to #3 X.Townsend caught at UCLA23, for 20 yards to the UCLA00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 02:12, 1ST DOWN #92 J.Echeverria Lozano kick attempt good (H: #42 D.Drennan, LS: #46 L.Raab)
- Week 3 · UCLA · 1&10 · Q3 · EPA +2.53(15:00) Shotgun #15 R.Browne pass complete short middle to #3 X.Townsend caught at PUR30, for 29 yards to the UCLA46 (#10 S.Omosigho), 1ST DOWN
- Week 3 · UCLA · 3&8 · Q3 · EPA +2.38(13:40) No Huddle-Shotgun #15 R.Browne pass complete short right to #3 X.Townsend caught at UCLA42, for 14 yards to the UCLA30 (#18 O.Gilbert), out of bounds, 1ST DOWN
- Week 2 · Wake Forest · 3&4 · Q2 · EPA +2.24(02:24) No Huddle-Shotgun #15 R.Browne pass complete short right to #3 X.Townsend caught at PUR46, for 10 yards to the WFU48 (#13 A.Williams), 1ST DOWN
- Week 3 · UCLA · 4&2 · Q2 · EPA +1.80(02:55) No Huddle-Shotgun #15 R.Browne pass complete short right to #3 X.Townsend caught at UCLA38, for 13 yards to the UCLA20 (#1 S.Jackson), out of bounds, 1ST DOWN
- Week 1 · Indiana State · 1&10 · Q2 · EPA +1.68(01:48) Shotgun #15 R.Browne pass complete short left to #3 X.Townsend caught at PUR45, for 18 yards to the PUR48 (#9 A.Walk, Jr.), 1ST DOWN
- Week 2 · Wake Forest · 1&10 · Q1 · EPA +1.61(14:59) Shotgun #15 R.Browne pass complete short left to #3 X.Townsend caught at PUR42, for 18 yards to the PUR43 (#8 B.Johnson), 1ST DOWN
- Week 2 · Wake Forest · 1&10 · Q1 · EPA +1.28(14:33) No Huddle-Shotgun #15 R.Browne pass complete short right to #3 X.Townsend caught at PUR40, for 9 yards to the WFU48 (#8 B.Johnson), out of bounds
- Week 1 · Indiana State · 1&10 · Q1 · EPA +1.25(07:07) Shotgun #15 R.Browne pass complete short right to #3 X.Townsend caught at PUR25, for 9 yards to the PUR34 (#42 B.Sampson), out of bounds
2026 snapshot
Since week 2: +162 receiving yards, +6 catches, +2 receiving TD.
Season context · Team result + system
2022UCF9-5HC: Gus Malzahn · Run-leaning, fast tempo
2023UCF6-7HC: Gus Malzahn · Run-leaning
2024UCF4-8HC: Gus Malzahn · Run-heavy
2025Iowa State8-4HC: Matt Campbell · Run-leaning
2026Purdue1-2HC: Barry Odom · Balanced
Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort
Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles
High confidence
Elite: catch rate (97th percentile). Strength: epa / target (96th percentile).
Real play-by-play efficiency
Box-score rates (5)
Season trend
Last seasonThis season
EPA / target
81st → 96th percentile
Explosive rate
39th → 60th percentile
Catch rate
74th → 97th percentile
TD rate
18th → 50th percentile
Yards / catch
72nd → 55th percentile
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).
Receiving profile
Receiver profile · Targets, catch rate, and throw depth
How often he's targeted, and how well it works
19 of 19 receptions matched to play-by-play
22 of 22 targets charted for true throw depth
Targets
2221% of team targetsCatch rate
86%19 of 22 targetsBehind LOS · Negative air yds
14% of targets (3)
100%catch rate
Air -3.7 · YAC 17.7 avg
Short · 0–9 air yds
77% of targets (17)
82%catch rate
Air 4.2 · YAC 10.0 avg
Middle · 10–19 air yds
9% of targets (2)
100%catch rate
Air 16.0 · YAC 2.0 avg
86% catch rate on 22 targets · 21% of the team's targets.
Splits & context
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home2g | 6.5 | 52.5 | 8.2 | 0.0 |
| Road1g | 6.0 | 162 | 27.0 | 2.0 |
First half vs Second half
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 6.3 | 89.0 | 14.5 | 0.7 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Barry Odom
Pass share
50.2%
107 pass / 106 run
Plays / game
71.0
3 games
Team sack rate
6.6%
122 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Backup
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
How he plays
Play style
Runs precise routes in tight quarters. Volume player who keeps chains moving.
CFB Index positional classification
DNA match
Player DNA
Slot Technician
Runs precise routes in tight quarters. Volume player who keeps chains moving.
WR
His 2026 production profile sits closest to Antwan Goodley’s 2014 season.
Matches Antwan on
Height
TD rate
Yards / reception
Through 5 college seasons, his career arc tracks closest to Derick Eugene’s path through Long Island University.
Derick Eugene
96%match
#2
Jeter Purdy
96%
#3
Elijah Steward
96%
#4
Gavin Nelson
94%
#5
Mason Kuehner
93%
Matches Derick on
Yards per reception
As a graduate, his production profile tracks closest to Cam Sullivan-Brown's graduate season at Massachusetts (2022).
81%match
Matches Cam on
Yards / reception
Recruiting rating
Height
Player DNA
Players who play like Xavier Townsend
The receiver room · Purdue
- #19Asaad Waseem726 receiving yards · 2025
- #3Xavier Townsend243 receiving yards · 2025
- #12Corey Smith237 receiving yards · 2025
- Jaylan Hornsby103 receiving yards · 2025
- #10Jesse Watson80 receiving yards · 2025
11 more on the roster · Purdue team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology