Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 14-13@ Georgia Tech | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 6 tackles |
| Wk 2 | W 52-21vs Weber State | 6 | 6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 12 | 10 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
#4
Naeten Mitchell
Senior defensive back on Colorado's 2026 roster.
5′10″ · 175 lb · Temple, TX · Temple
CFB Index 88 · #12 of 544 safetiesLow confidenceTransferred New Mexico State → Colorado 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
--
S recruit
Signed with New Mexico State
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 defensive back on Colorado's 2026 roster.
- Signed with New Mexico State in 2023.
- Transferred from New Mexico State to Colorado in 2026.
Naeten Mitchell
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away. Across three seasons and two programs, two head coaches: Tony Sanchez and Deion Sanders. In 2025 the league put his name on paper for the first time: All-Conference USA. The receipt: 6 tackles, 1 TFL against Weber State — Week 2, 2026.
12 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- positional archetype classification
- head-coach lineage
- recognition record
- game log
His career
Nobody recruited him. He earned the honors anyway.
2023
- Signed with New Mexico Stateout of Temple
202512 games
- All-Conference USAsecond
2026
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
Career arc
HS
Recruit
—
CFB
College
2 teams
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
🎖
ALL-CONFERENCE USA · 2ND TEAM
All-Conference USA 2nd team (2025)
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
1 coach2024–2026
Colorado
Played his entire career under Deion Sanders.
Where He Ended Up · Transfer
Transferred to Colorado
2025New Mexico State
2026Colorado
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2024New Mexico State3-9HC: Tony Sanchez · Run-heavy
2025New Mexico State4-8HC: Tony Sanchez · Pass-leaning
2026Colorado2-0HC: Deion Sanders · Run-leaning
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Medium confidenceBreakout
Elite: solo tackles (87th 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: 6.0 TKL/g, 0.5 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
Deion Sanders
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
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Colorado | 12 | 10 | 1.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2025 | New Mexico State | 92 | 58 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 7 | 3 | -- |
| 2024 | New Mexico State | 9 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 113 | 74 | 2.5 | 0.0 | 7 | 3 | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 52–21
vs Weber State
6 TOT · 6 SOLO · 1 TFL
Dominant 31-point win at home against Weber State.
With J. Lewis — 366 yds · 4 TD · 0 INT · QBR 85.2 · -23 rush yds (4 car) · 1 TD · D. Greaves — 51 AVG · 2 IN 20 · 57 LONG
Game log
How he plays
Play style
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away.
CFB Index positional classification
DNA match
Player DNA
Rover
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away.
S
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Jacob Fields’s 2025 season.
71%match
All-Conference USA
Matches Jacob on
Tackle volume
PD rate
TFL rate
Differs from Jacob on
Weight (lower)
Class year (lower)
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Ian Foster's sophomore season at Southern Miss (2025).
70%match
All-Sun Belt
Matches Ian on
PD rate
TFL rate
Weight
Differs from Ian on
Tackle volume (higher)
Background
AS A TRANSFER Rated as a three-star transfer prospect by 247 Sports. Listed as the No. 1349 player in the transfer portal and the No. 136 safety as of January 16, 2026. Enters Colorado as an undergraduate transfer with two years to play two. AT NEW MEXICO STATE (2023-2025) Played in 23 games acro...
The secondary · Colorado
- #4Naeten Mitchell92 tackles · 2025
- #7Randon Fontenette51 tackles · 2025
- #8Emory Floyd49 tackles · 2025
- #30Justin Eaglin35 tackles · 2025
- #6Boo Carter26 tackles · 2025
15 more on the roster · Colorado team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology