Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 1 game
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 4 | W 70-21vs Georgia State | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 1 tackles |
| Total | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
#35
Payne Daniel
Senior safety on Vanderbilt's 2026 roster.
5′11″ · 185 lb · Nashville, TN · Montgomery Bell Academy
Returning to Vanderbilt for 2026
The story
4 safety on Vanderbilt's 2025 roster.
The record fills in as he plays.
His career, year by yearPayne Daniel
The receipt: 1 tackles against Georgia State — Week 4, 2025.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- game log
Career arc
HS
Recruit
—
CFB
College
Vanderbilt
NFL
NFL Draft
—
2025 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2025Vanderbilt10-3HC: Clark Lea · Balanced, slow tempo
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 1 game: 1.0 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
Clark Lea
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2025
Backup
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Vanderbilt | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
Game log
How he plays
2026 Outlook
Vanderbilt
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Safety · Vanderbilt
Returning around him
- 1 Vanderbilt player drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: -2 net (18 in / 20 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Vanderbilt · Last season: 10-3 (AP #13) · Talent rank #42 · 2026 recruiting class #33
The secondary · Vanderbilt
- #8C.J. Heard71 tackles · 2025
- #7Ricardo Jones39 tackles · 2025
- #4Martel Hight35 tackles · 2025
- #1Dontae Carter33 tackles · 2025
- #35Payne Daniel1 tackle · 2025
18 more on the roster · Vanderbilt team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology