Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 62-13vs UL Monroe | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 2 tackles |
| Wk 2 | W 38-13@ Minnesota | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
#28
Tanner Duke Johnson
Senior safety on Mississippi State's 2026 roster.
6′0″ · 185 lb · Kyle, TX
Returning to Mississippi State for 2026
The story
4 safety on Mississippi State's 2026 roster.
- Signed with Mississippi State in 2022.
Recruiting
--
S recruit
Signed with Mississippi State
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonTanner Duke Johnson
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Third year in the Mississippi State secondary, same address the whole way. The receipt on tape: 2 tackles against UL Monroe, Week 1, 2026.
3 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- positional archetype classification
- seasons on the roster
- game log
His career
2022
- Signed with Mississippi Stateout of Lehman
Career arc
HS
Recruit
—
CFB
College
Mississippi State
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
1 coach2024–2026
Mississippi State
Played his entire career under Jeff Lebby.
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
3 seasons under Jeff Lebby, all run-leaning offenses — 9-18 over that span.
2024Mississippi State2-10HC: Jeff Lebby · Run-leaning
2025Mississippi State5-8HC: Jeff Lebby · Run-leaning
2026Mississippi State2-0HC: Jeff Lebby · Run-leaning
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 2 games: 1.5 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
Jeff Lebby
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2024
Rotational
Tackle volume for the position in rotation-piece range.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Mississippi State | 3 | -- | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Mississippi State | 13 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2024 | Mississippi State | 16 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 32 | 6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 38–13
at Minnesota
1 TOT
Dominant 25-point win on the road against Minnesota.
With K. Taylor — 227 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · QBR 88.8 · 86 rush yds (13 car) · A. Evans III — 6 rush yds (1 car)
Game log
How he plays
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
CFB Index positional classification
2026 Outlook
Mississippi State
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Safety · Mississippi State
Returning around him
- 2 Mississippi State players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: -12 net (28 in / 40 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Mississippi State · Last season: 5-8 · Talent rank #20 · 2026 recruiting class #23
DNA match
Player DNA
Hybrid Nickel
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
S
His 2024 production profile sits closest to Michael Ballentine’s 2021 season.
83%match
Matches Michael on
PD rate
Tackle volume
TFL rate
Differs from Michael on
Class year (higher)
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a freshman, his production profile tracks closest to Zane Woodham's freshman season at Tulsa (2025).
Matches Zane on
Class year
Height
Tackle volume
Player DNA
Players who play like Tanner Duke Johnson
The secondary · Mississippi State
- #2Isaac Smith64 tackles · 2025
- #15Marcus Williams61 tackles · 2025
- #1Kelley Jones34 tackles · 2025
- #24Quentin Taylor Jr.27 tackles · 2025
- #28Tanner Duke Johnson13 tackles · 2025
19 more on the roster · Mississippi State team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology