Plucked from the portal: S Tawfiq Byard

With spring football rapidly approaching, AggieYell.com begins its series on each player who transferred to Texas A&M since the end of the 2025 season. The list continues with safety Tawfiq Byard.

Former school: Colorado

Height/Weight: 6-foot-1, 195 pounds

Class: Junior

2025 stats: 74 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, .5 sack, 1 INT

Bio: Byard only spent one season at Colorado, but it was a busy one. The Buffaloes were statistically pretty good against the pass, but a lot of that had to do with nobody having to throw. Colorado was next to last in the nation in rush defense, giving up a whopping 222.5 yards per game. As a result, Byard had a lot of tackling opportunities and operated in the box frequently. He proved up to the task in all areas, grading out well against both the run and the pass. When he went into the portal, the Aggies snapped him up quickly. He was intended to replace Bryce Anderson as part of a three-man rotation at safety — and he still is, as Anderson is moving back to nickel this upcoming season. The Aggies have two established starters in Dalton Brooks and Marcus Ratcliffe, but Myles Davis didn’t show out well given a chance last year and Tom Tom Johnson is coming off of a major knee injury. Getting an experienced safety was important, and the Aggies got one of the best available. Both Byard and Brooks have proven to be dangerous close to the line of scrimmage, so Byard gives Mike Elko and Lyle Hemphill a chance to be even more aggressive with their scheming in 2026.

Projected role: In a three man rotation with Brooks and Ratcliffe