Football: IC Catholic Prep's Khali Saunders commits to Purdue

Khali Saunders saw a clear parallel when he visited Purdue.

The start of something special.

Saunders, a rising senior, has been a part of that at IC Catholic Prep. When Saunders and the rest of the Knights' 2019 class arrived in 2015, ICCP was coming off a 4-5 season.

In the three seasons since, the Knights have won 38 games and two state championships.

"We changed the culture," Saunders said, "and that's what I want to help do at Purdue. I'm going to buy in and push myself. I feel like it's a perfect place for me to come out, contribute and make a difference."

Saunders is ready to get started, after making his verbal commitment to Purdue on Thursday. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound outside linebacker, a three-star prospect and the ninth-ranked recruit in Illinois' Class of 2019 according to the website 247Sports.com, chose the Boilermakers among 13 offers including Iowa State, Syracuse and Northern Illinois.

Purdue offered Saunders in May, he made his official visit to West Lafayette June 15 and joined Jeff Brohm's highly-touted first recruiting class six days later.

"On my visit they hit on all the things I felt were important," Saunders said. "They were nice to my family, they took care of us while we were down there and coach, he is going to turn everything around. We have a lot of strong guys committed. If we all buy in we're going to do something special."

Brohm led Purdue to a 7-6 record and a win in the Foster Farms Bowl in his first year, the program's first winning season in six years. Since then Brohm has put together a recruiting class ranked among the top 25 nationally by multiple outlets.

"I feel like they have something special going there," Saunders said. "Coach has his son there, he's leading by example showing that family comes first. His brother is on the coaching staff, too. I can see how they operate and how close they are with the family."

Saunders can relate, coming from a large family. His twin brother, Khalil, is uncommitted but holds offers from Northern Illinois, among others.

As a junior Khali Saunders had 96 tackles, third on ICCP, with four for loss and two sacks. He also caught a team-high 35 passes and nine touchdowns for the Knights, who beat Pleasant Plains 35-0 to win the Class 3A championship for the second straight year.

Saunders is ICCP's first Big Ten recruit under head coach Bill Krefft, although Jordan Rowell was recruited by Iowa and Michigan State before choosing NIU.

"I couldn't be happier for Khali and his family," Krefft said. "He's worked since the day he got here. He's a multi-sport athlete and works hard in the classroom. His family in particular has supported him on the journey along the way, allowing him to do what he wanted and discover where he wanted to be."

Saunders has been recruited to play strong-side linebacker, but Purdue coaches tell him he could play all four linebacker positions.

That shouldn't be a problem for Saunders, known for his versatility at ICCP.

"Khali has always been able to do whatever we ask him to do," Krefft said. "Realistically in our program he could play defensive end, outside linebacker, inside linebacker, we could put him at strong safety. He can play wide, X, Z, we can have him with his hand down and block. To say what he can be in college, I don't know where he will be. It will be exciting to see because his growth rate has stayed consistent."

Saunders looks forward to growing on the field, and off.

"Some of those guys go to Africa for leadership stuff; I think it's great that they are helping you grow as men, to take what God has given you and help others," Saunders said. "I feel through sports I can make a change. Why not take what I am good at and help others to make a difference."