Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 0-45@ Penn State | 7 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 7 tackles |
| Wk 2 | W 28-26vs Middle Tennessee | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 11 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 |
#17
Daytione Smith
Senior safety on Marshall's 2026 roster.
6′0″ · 190 lb · Highland Springs, VA
CFB Index 67 · #128 of 544 safetiesMedium confidenceReturning to Marshall 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.
Recruiting
3★
RB recruit
No. 1819 nationally · Signed with Marshall
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 safety on Marshall's 2026 roster.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to Marshall in 2019.
Daytione Smith
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Daytione Smith has been at Marshall through two head coaches in six seasons. The receipt on tape: 7 tackles against Penn State, Week 1, 2026.
11 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- positional archetype classification
- head-coach lineage
- game log
His career
He was on the field for 6 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.
2019
- Signed with Marshall3-star out of Jenkins
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
Marshall
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2021–2026
2 coaches2021–2024
Marshall
2025–2026era →
Tony Gibson
Marshall
Coaching transition mid-career: Charles Huff → Tony Gibson. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2021Marshall7-6HC: Charles Huff · Balanced, fast tempo
2022Marshall9-4HC: Charles Huff · Run-heavy
2023Marshall6-7HC: Charles Huff · Balanced
2024Marshall10-3HC: Charles Huff · Run-leaning
2025Marshall5-7HC: Tony Gibson · Run-leaning
2026Marshall1-1HC: Tony Gibson · Run-leaning, slow tempo
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Medium confidenceBreakout
Concern: tackles for loss (20th 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 2 games: 5.5 TKL/g, 0.0 TFL/g, 0.0 SACK/g, 0.5 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Tony Gibson
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2025
Part-time starter
Tackle volume for the position in part-time-starter range.
Recognition
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Production · CFB Index Score
67 · #128 of 544 safeties
Three-star recruit. Now #128 at the position.
2026 outlook
In the mix for All-Sun Belt
Based on 2025: #10 of 42 Sun Belt Ss
How the All-Sun Belt estimate is computed
35% estimated, 95% confidence interval 31–38%. Base rate measured from players who finished at a comparable rank in their conference and came back the next season. It is an estimate from a small sample, not a forecast of this player.
Career stats
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 28–26
4 TOT · 1 SOLO
A wire-to-wire battle — won by 2 at home.
With C. Heimbach — 48 AVG · 1 IN 20 · 54 LONG · C. Del Rio-Wilson — 92 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · QBR 44.2 · 43 rush yds (10 car) · 1 TD
Game log
How he plays
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
CFB Index positional classification
2026 Outlook
Marshall
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Safety · Marshall
Returning around him
- Transfer portal: +6 net (28 in / 22 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Marshall · Last season: 5-7 · Talent rank #97 · 2026 recruiting class #123
DNA match
Player DNA
Hybrid Nickel
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
S
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Tariq Drake’s 2022 season.
86%match
All-MAC
Matches Tariq on
Tackle volume
Height
Weight
Differs from Tariq on
Class year (higher)
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a graduate, his production profile tracks closest to Joseph Charleston's graduate season at Missouri (2024).
87%match
Matches Joseph on
Class year
TFL rate
PD rate
Player DNA
Players who play like Daytione Smith
Background
R-SENIOR SEASON (2025): Played in all 12 games in the 2025 season, starting 10 of them. Finished the season with 50 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss, with 3 INTs, four pass breakups and a fumble recovery. R-JUNIOR SEASON (2024): Played in seven games with one start. Finished the season wit...
The secondary · Marshall
- #1Boogie Trotter73 tackles · 2025
- Cameron Smith66 tackles · 2025
- #17Daytione Smith50 tackles · 2025
- #11Joshua Pierre-Louis33 tackles · 2025
- #3Marvae Myers-Glover30 tackles · 2025
25 more on the roster · Marshall team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology