Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 1 game
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 2 | L 19-29@ Hawai'i | 2 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 2 tackles |
| Total | 2 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
#3
Tayden Barnes
Junior safety on New Mexico State's 2026 roster.
5′9″ · 185 lb · Amarillo, TX
CFB Index 18 · #511 of 544 safetiesMedium confidenceTransferred Cincinnati → New Mexico State 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
--
CB recruit
Signed with New Mexico State
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
3 safety on New Mexico State's 2026 roster.
- Signed with New Mexico State in 2023.
- Transferred from Cincinnati to New Mexico State in 2026.
Tayden Barnes
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Tayden Barnes has played for two head coaches across three seasons and two programs. His first career honor landed in 2024: All-Conference USA. The receipt: 2 tackles, 0.5 TFL against Hawai'i — Week 2, 2026.
2 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- positional archetype classification
- head-coach lineage
- recognition record
- game log
His career
He was winning awards before he was old enough to be a story.
2023
- Signed with New Mexico Stateout of Amarillo Tascosa
202412 games
- All-Conference USA
20259 games
- Entered the portal
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
All-Conference USA mention (2024)
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
1 coach2024–2026
New Mexico State
Played his entire career under Tony Sanchez.
Where He Ended Up · Transfer
Transferred to New Mexico State
2025Cincinnati
2026New Mexico State
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2024New Mexico State3-9HC: Tony Sanchez · Run-heavy
2025Cincinnati7-6HC: Scott Satterfield · Balanced, slow tempo
2026New Mexico State1-2HC: Tony Sanchez · Balanced
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Medium confidenceFading
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: 2.0 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
Tony Sanchez
Pass share
52.3%
101 pass / 92 run
Plays / game
64.3
3 games
Team sack rate
3.7%
107 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Awards
Player standing · 2025
Rotational
Tackle volume for the position in rotation-piece range.
Recognition
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Production · CFB Index Score
18 · #511 of 544 safeties
Unranked recruit. Now #511 at the position.
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | New Mexico State | 2 | -- | 0.5 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Cincinnati | 24 | 13 | 1.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2024 | New Mexico State | 57 | 38 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 6 | 1 | -- |
| Career | 83 | 51 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 6 | 1 | -- |
Game log
How he plays
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
CFB Index positional classification
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 Elijah Palmer’s 2023 season.
Matches Elijah on
Height
TFL rate
Differs from Elijah on
Class year (higher)
Weight (higher)
Tackle volume (lower)
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Ben Egenolf's sophomore season at Ball State (2022).
Matches Ben on
Class year
Weight
TFL rate
The secondary · New Mexico State
- #5Nicolas Sessions61 tackles · 2025
- #9Bernock Iya53 tackles · 2025
- #1Josiah Charles28 tackles · 2025
- #3Tayden Barnes24 tackles · 2025
- Lorenzo Smith18 tackles · 2025
15 more on the roster · New Mexico State team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology