Senior safety on Mississippi State's 2026 roster.
6′0″ · 220 lb · Fulton, MS · Itawamba Agricultural HS
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
No. 148 nationally · Signed with Mississippi State
Statement game20 tackles · 0.5 TFLat Tennessee (FBS) · L 14-33
Top 0.1% tackles game since 2021.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Senior safety on Mississippi State's 2026 roster.
Isaac Smith
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line. Four seasons at Mississippi State, two different head coaches: Greg Knox and Jeff Lebby. 2024 brought the first one: All-SEC. The receipt: 5 tackles against Minnesota — Week 2, 2026.
14 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
His career
He arrived as a blue-chip recruit and played like one.
Career arc
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-SEC · 2ND TEAM
All-SEC 2nd team (2024)
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Greg Knox → Jeff Lebby. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Mississippi State | 14 | 8 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Mississippi State | 64 | 14 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 3 | 1 | -- |
| 2024 | Mississippi State | 127 | 46 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 3 | -- | -- |
| 2023 | Mississippi State | 15 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 220 | 74 | 3.5 | 1.0 | 7 | 1 | -- |
Game by game
Point color shows the opponent's defensive strength that week (red = weaker defense, blue = stronger) — dashed line is this player's own season average.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 62-13vs UL Monroe | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 5 tackles |
| Wk 2 | W 38-13@ Minnesota | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 3 | W 41-34@ South Carolina | 4 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 14 | 8 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 3 · 2026
W 41–34
1 tackles for loss · 4 tackles · 3 solo tackles
Edged out South Carolina on the road in a shootout.
With K. Taylor — 251 yds · 4 TD · 1 INT · QBR 87.9 · 33 rush yds (8 car) · F. Bothwell — 115 rush yds (21 car)
Since week 2: +4 tackles, +1 tackle for loss.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Production sits in the middle of the position cohort across the board.
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 · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home1g | 5.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road2g | 4.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 4.7 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jeff Lebby
Pass share
44.6%
91 pass / 113 run
Plays / game
68.0
3 games
Team sack rate
4.8%
105 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2025
Tackle volume for the position at a full-time starter's level.
Recognition
Production · CFB Index Score
Former four-star. Now #102 at the position.
2026 outlook
In the mix to repeat All-SEC
Based on 2025: #7 of 28 SEC Ss
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.
Play style
Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.
CFB Index positional classification
Player DNA
Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Jaiden Woodbey’s 2022 season.
Matches Jaiden on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Christian Pierce's junior season at USC (2025).
Matches Christian on
Player DNA
Career Honors 2025 SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll 2025 All-SEC Second Team, WR (PFSN) 2025 PFSN All-American (3rd Team, S) 2025 Chuck Bednarik Award Watch List 2025 SEC Coaches Preseason All-SEC (3rd Team, DB) 2025 SEC Media Days Preseason All-SEC (3rd Team, DB) 2025 Athlon Sports Preseason…
20 more on the roster · Mississippi State team page