Naeten Mitchell
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line. The three seasons span two programs and two head coaches: Tony Sanchez and Deion Sanders. The first career honor came in 2025: All-Conference USA. A game that shows it: 11 tackles against Northwestern — Week 3, 2026.
60 tackles · 0 sacks
Play style
Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
60 tackles. 0 passes defended. 1 interception. 3 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Colorado | 60 | 38 | 3.0 | 0.0 | -- | 1 |
| 2025 | New Mexico State | 92 | 58 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 7 | 3 |
| 2024 | New Mexico State | 9 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| Career | 161 | 102 | 4.5 | 0.0 | 7 | 4 |
Last game (Wk 9): 7 tackles.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 14-13@ Georgia Tech | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 52-21vs Weber State | 6 | 6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 7-41@ Northwestern | 11 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 11 tackles |
| Wk 4 | L 13-23@ Baylor | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 7-29vs No. 12 Texas Tech | 5 | 5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 24-27vs No. 11 Utah | 10 | 7 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 24-57@ Oklahoma State | 9 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 27-24vs Kansas State | 7 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 60 | 38 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 |
Oct. 31 · W 27-24 vs Kansas State, play by play
7 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
His game this year: disruption in the backfield — 2 tackles for loss, in the 8 games with play by play.
How Colorado’s defense played that day
Kansas State’s 12 drives: 8 stopped · 4 scored. While the game was within a score they held 8 of 12.
9 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 10 for him; the box score credits 9.
10 tackles, including 1 more for loss, 1 interception. His interception on 3rd and 3 ended Utah’s drive (int).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Intercepted on 3rd and 3. Third quarter, up 14-13. Ended Utah’s drive (int).
0 tackles.
Not drawn: there is no box score for this game yet.
6 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
11 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
6 tackles, including 1 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 5 of his 6, sacks included.
6 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 7 for him; the box score credits 6.
Ratings of the games shown run from -1 to +18 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
0%0 pass breakupsInterceptions
1interceptionsTackle volume
60tackles this seasonTFL rate
5%3 TFL60 tackles · 3 for loss · 1 interception.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 7.0 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road4g | 8.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 7.3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 8.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Deion Sanders
Pass share
48.2%
264 pass / 284 run
Plays / game
68.5
8 games
Team sack rate
6.4%
298 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2025
Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.
2026 is in progress.
Recruited without a star rating, and honored since.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-CONFERENCE USA · 2ND TEAM
All-Conference USA 2nd team (2025)
Weekly recognition
1 weekly honor (2025)
Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
3 coachesPlayed for 3 head coaches at 2 schools: Jerry Kill, Tony Sanchez and Deion Sanders.
Next stop · Transfer
Transferred to Colorado
Big 12 Conference
