#17

Tae Daley

Senior safety for Virginia Tech. 2021: 1 interception, 3 pass breakups, 73 tackles.

S · Virginia Tech · Sr. · #17

6′1″ · 196 lb · Warner Robins, GA

CFB Index 59 · #178 of 509 safetiesMedium confidenceVirginia Tech 2021 alumnus

Recruiting

3★

S recruit

No. 856 nationally · Signed with Vanderbilt

Statement game16 tacklesat South Carolina (FBS) · L 7-24

Top 0.1% tackles game since 2021.

His career numbers, season by season

The story

4 safety for Virginia Tech. 2021: 1 interception, 3 pass breakups, 73 tackles.

Signed as a 3-star recruit to Vanderbilt in 2017.
Transferred from Vanderbilt to Virginia Tech in 2021.

His career, year by year

How it ended

Four seasons at Virginia Tech, 181 tackles — his college career is complete.

His career

He was on the field for 4 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.

20175 games

Signed with Vanderbilt3-star out of Northside

202111 games

The role got bigger.

Entered the portal

Career arc

Recruit

★★★

#856 national

CFB

College

2 teams

2017–2021

NFL

NFL Draft

—

Not drafted

Coaching lineage · 2017–2021

2 coaches

2017–2019

Justin Fuente

Virginia Tech

2021

J.C. Price

Virginia Tech

era →

Coaching transition mid-career: Justin Fuente → J.C. Price. Worth noting in scheme + development context.

2021 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2017Vanderbilt5-7HC: Derek Mason · Balanced, slow tempo

2018Vanderbilt6-7HC: Derek Mason · Balanced

2019Vanderbilt3-9HC: Derek Mason · Balanced, slow tempo

2021Virginia Tech6-7HC: J.C. Price · Run-heavy

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

59Quality starter #178 of 509?

Medium confidence7 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: solo tackles (95th percentile). Strength: tackles (91st percentile). Concern: sacks (24th percentile).

Box-score production (7)

Solo tackles#144 / 2743 · 95th pct

Tackles#235 / 2743 · 91st pct

Passes defended#481 / 2743 · 78th pct

QB hurries#530 / 2743 · 75th pct

Tackles for loss#794 / 2743 · 69th pct

4.0

Interceptions#320 / 824 · 31st pct

Sacks#1435 / 2743 · 24th pct

0.0

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

2021 season · 11 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Home7g	5.9	0.4	0.0	0.1
Road4g	6.8	0.2	0.0	0.5

First half vs Second half

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Weeks 1-76g	4.0	0.3	0.0	0.2
Weeks 8+5g	8.8	0.4	0.0	0.4

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

James Franklin

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2021

Impact starter

Tackle volume for the position among the most productive regulars.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

59 · #178 of 509 safeties

Three-star recruit. Now #178 at the position.

Career stats

Season	Team
2021	Virginia Tech	73	47	4.0	0.0	3	1	--
2019	Vanderbilt	57	35	0.0	0.0	2	3	--
2018	Vanderbilt	45	35	5.5	1.5	1	--	--
2017	Vanderbilt	6	4	0.5	0.0	--	--	--
Career		181	121	10.0	1.5	6	4	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 13 · 2021

W 29–24

at Virginia

9 TOT · 6 SOLO · 2 PD

A wire-to-wire battle — won by 5 on the road.

With B. Burmeister — 141 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · QBR 93.0 · 115 rush yds (12 car) · T. Robinson — 3 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · QBR 78.2 · -2 rush yds (1 car)

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2021 season · 11 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	TKL	SOLO	TFL	INT	PD	Note
Wk 1	W 17-10vs North Carolina	2	2	0.0	—	0
Wk 2	W 35-14vs Middle Tennessee	2	1	0.0	—	1
Wk 3	L 21-27@ West Virginia	4	3	0.0	—	0
Wk 4	W 21-10vs Richmond	6	4	1.0	—	0
Wk 6	L 29-32vs Notre Dame	3	2	0.0	—	0
Wk 7	L 7-28vs Pittsburgh	7	5	1.0	—	0
Wk 8	L 36-41vs Syracuse	11	5	1.0	—	0	Season-high 11 tackles
Wk 9	W 26-17@ Georgia Tech	4	1	0.0	—	0
Wk 10	L 3-17@ Boston College	10	8	1.0	—	0
Wk 11	W 48-17vs Duke	10	5	0.0	—	0
Wk 13	W 29-24@ Virginia	9	6	0.0	1	2
Total		68	42	4.0	1	3

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology