Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 1 game
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 0-51@ Oklahoma | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 4 tackles |
| Total | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
#17
Darnell Williams
Sophomore safety on UTEP's 2026 roster.
5′11″ · 180 lb · Texarkana, TX
Returning to UTEP for 2026
Recruiting
3★
ATH recruit
No. 1242 nationally · Signed with UTEP
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
2 safety on UTEP's 2026 roster.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to UTEP in 2025.
Darnell Williams
He has spent two seasons in the UTEP secondary. The receipt on tape: 4 tackles against Oklahoma, Week 1, 2026.
4 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- seasons on the roster
- game log
His career
2025
- Signed with UTEP3-star out of Texas High
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
UTEP
NFL
NFL Draft
—
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2 seasons under Scotty Walden — 3-11 over that span.
2025UTEP2-10HC: Scotty Walden · Balanced
2026UTEP1-1HC: Scotty Walden · Run-heavy, slow tempo
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: tackles (0th percentile).
Box-score production (6)
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits & context
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 1 game: 4.0 TKL/g, 0.0 TFL/g, 0.0 SACK/g, 0.0 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Scotty Walden
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Backup
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career stats
Game log
How he plays
2026 Outlook
UTEP
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Safety · UTEP
Returning around him
- Transfer portal: +1 net (21 in / 20 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
UTEP · Last season: 2-10 · Talent rank #102 · 2026 recruiting class #92
The secondary · UTEP
- #2Xavier Smith60 tackles · 2025
- Justin Content58 tackles · 2025
- #7Kode Lowe34 tackles · 2025
- #5TJ Tillman12 tackles · 2025
- #17Darnell Williams5 tackles · 2025
16 more on the roster · UTEP team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology