Purdue Football – 2026 Countdown to Kickoff: #3 – Xavier Townsend & Jett Goldsberry

*Note: Name links to official Purdue Bio.

Games Played / Games Started – 10 games played – 1 started

Stats – 18 receptions for 243 yards and 5 carries for 18 yards and a TD.

Townsend comes to Purdue from a pretty good Iowa State program. He played in 10 of their games last season and grabbed 18 catches. He also rushed the ball five times. So 23 touches over 10 games. Not exactly the go to guy, but in this modern world of college football sometimes you've gotta look a little deeper. Prior to Iowa State Townsend spent three seasons at UCF. He redshirted during his junior season so to get a true look at what he can do we have to go back to his sophomore season. He appeared in 11 games and started 10 with 33 receptions for 325 yards and 3 TDs plus 15 rushes for 163 yards. If Purdue can get that kind of production out of Townsend I think they'll be very happy.

High School : Heritage Hills High School

Stats – 40 tackles, eight TFL, three sacks, one interception, one FF

Recruiting Rankings – 3* recruit. Number 1 safety in the state of Indiana. Number 8 recruit in Indiana. Mr Football Runner-up.

This is how I know I'm getting old. I saw Jett Goldsberry and said to myself, "hmmm I wonder if that's Jon Goldsberry's younger brother. I'll google it because it has to be. (proceeds to Google) Oh no, it's his son!" Yeah that's right, Purdue continues to get the children of players I remember watching. Jon finished his time at Purdue in 2004, my freshman year. Exceuse me while I go turn into dust. As for Jett, he's every bit the athlete that his father was. You can see his speed and strength in the highlights above, there's plenty more on Hudl if you're interested and have some time. Goldsberry will likely struggle to get on the field as a DB this season, but that's no slight on him. In his first year with the program he will need to learn the schemes, get adjusted to college life, and hop in the weight room as all true freshman do. With the new NCAA rules and the elimination of redshirting it wouldn't suprise me to see him out on the field toward the end of the game against Indiana State or on special teams throughout the year. He's a solid athlete and Purdue will need to take advantage of every athlete on the roster.

Good luck to both young men this season!