CFB Zeitgeist Score
35
Mid-pack in the position cohort. Carried by yards / carry at the 62nd percentile.
Braylen Russell
Below the discourse floor — the honest stats-only state.
286 RUSH YDS · 5 RUSH TD · 55 CARRIES
2026 Outlook
Returning to Arkansas for 2026
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Running back · Arkansas
Returning around him
- 36% of 2024 offensive production back (Moderate turnover)
- 4 Arkansas players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: -2 net (41 in / 43 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Arkansas · Last season: 2-10 · Talent rank #23 · 2026 recruiting class #32
RB · ARKANSAS · SEC
Braylen Russell
- 2
- 6-1 | 238 lb
- Benton, AR
Heisman Heat
#355
<1% win probability
Fan Belief
Awaiting
Player-specific FI not yet ingested. Falls back to team mood below.
Respect Gap
Awaiting
Coming online with player-level FI.
Reality Gap
Awaiting
Coming online with player-level FI.
ACCOLADE PROBABILITY
Heisman
<1%
TOP RB AWARD
Doak Walker
—
CONSENSUS
All-American
—
Player Standing · 17 rungs
Tier 2 · StarterR06 · Starter
Starter. A locked-in starting role.
Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Development Trajectory · rushing yards
2024–2025-19%
Down 19% — context-dependent (injury / role change?).
Career Arc
HS
Recruit
★★★★
CFB
College
Arkansas
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Heisman futures · live sportsbook odds
#14 in market ▲ from #30 · 6 books
Identity & Role
The durable bio layer: position, size, hometown, and roster role.
Recruiting Pedigree
How big the prospect was before college, and whether the later career arc beat that expectation.
| Class | Profile | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4-star | 0.9004 | No. 354 recruit | HighSchool | Arkansas |
Transfer Arc
Portal movement changes role, context, and perception. This keeps that path in one place.
| Season | Move | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Arkansas -> -- | 4-star | Withdrawn |
Heisman Lens · 2024 Season · Final
Where the player landed at the end of the listed season — final nowcast rank, win/finalist/ballot probabilities, and the cleanest official Heisman placement on file.
HIGH CONFIDENCE· through week 16Heisman Futures
Not yet listed on major futures markets.
No achievements unlocked yet this season.
Selector Grid · 2025
AP—
FWAA—
AFCA—
WCFF—
SN—
SI—
Selector recognition fills in once the major honors lists (AP, FWAA, AFCA, Walter Camp, Sporting News, SI) are scraped and ingested.
NIL · Recruiting · NFL Draft
Market value, pedigree & pro outcome
Recruit stars
★★★★☆
to Arkansas
Composite
0.9004
#354 national
Today’s Hot-Take
The Hot-Take engine fires when this player’s percentile profile crosses a defensible threshold (top 10% in a cohort, 100+ snap sample). When it’s quiet, the model is honoring its “must be defensible” rule.
Anti-Take
PENDINGThe contrarian read fires when the rules-engine detects a stat that complicates the Hot-Take. Quiet here means the model hasn’t found a defensible counter yet — not that one doesn’t exist.
The Room on Braylen Russell
Fan sentiment ·
Belief Meter
50
Mixed Sentiment
Top Take
“”
Trajectory
Per-cohort trajectory lands when historical bucket data is aggregated.
Cohort divergence map
- Own fans · n=5
Rival Radar
How rival fanbases talk about Braylen Russell
No rival-bucket mentions in the current season.
Signature Story
Awaiting candidate metric
He hasn't written his page yet — we'll start filling it in when there are enough snaps to rank against his peers.
Signature Moment
No signature moment on the ledger yet.
Returns once this player puts together a multi-game body of work — single-game flashes alone don't clear the bar.
Season Pace · Projection
Where the rushing totals stand
Through 9g
286Rush yards
55Carries
5Rush TDs
Per game
31.8Rush yards
6Carries
1Rush TDs
Projected (13g)
413.1Rush yards
79Carries
7Rush TDs
To hit 750-yard season (currently 286): needs 116/game over remaining 4.
To hit 1,000-yard season (currently 286): needs 178.5/game over remaining 4.
To hit 1,500-yard season (currently 286): needs 303.5/game over remaining 4.
To hit 10 rushing TDs (currently 5): needs 1.2/game over remaining 4.
To hit 15 rushing TDs (currently 5): needs 2.5/game over remaining 4.
To hit 20 rushing TDs (currently 5): needs 3.8/game over remaining 4.
What made this player interesting
The fast read on the thing that makes this player more than a generic stat line.
Braylen Russell's story is about how role and output meet each other. For Arkansas, the card already shows enough current-season production to explain why he is on the serious-player board, and the next layer is determining whether the profile is just very good or actually distinctive.
2025 Season · Final
Traditional stats first. Advanced context underneath.
Last season
RB season snapshot
2025 season snapshot | final
2025 season snapshot | finalData: CFBD player stats + local Heisman modelPeer context: same position + same level
Player identity What kind of player is this?
30-second read
What kind of player is this?
Backfield contributor against FBS RB peers.
2025 Season · Final
2025 season snapshot | final
Rushing
CAR
55 60th
YDS
286 64th
YPC
5.2 67th
TD
5 85th
Receiving
REC
4 38th
YDS
27 35th
YPR
6.8 48th
TD
0 70th
Game Log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 9 games
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 52-7vs Alabama A&M | 11 | 41 | 3.7 | 0 | 7 | |
| Wk 2 | W 56-14vs Arkansas State | 5 | 25 | 5.0 | 1 | 7 | |
| Wk 3 | L 35-41@ Ole Miss | 9 | 37 | 4.1 | 1 | 8 | |
| Wk 4 | L 31-32@ Memphis | 4 | 47 | 11.8 | 1 | 23 | Season-high 47 yds |
| Wk 5 | L 13-56vs Notre Dame | 3 | 15 | 5.0 | 0 | 7 | |
| Wk 7 | L 31-34@ Tennessee | 8 | 47 | 5.9 | 0 | 22 | |
| Wk 8 | L 42-45vs Texas A&M | 4 | 36 | 9.0 | 0 | 21 | |
| Wk 9 | L 24-33vs Auburn | 3 | 7 | 2.3 | 1 | 5 | |
| Wk 10 | L 35-38vs Mississippi State | 8 | 31 | 3.9 | 1 | 7 | |
| Total | 55 | 286 | 5.6 | 5 | 23 |
Season-by-season tables Career rows + per-season box score
Traditional history
Traditional Stats
Season rows up top, career context at the bottom.
Season context · Team result + system
2024Arkansas7-6HC: Sam Pittman · Run-leaning
2025Arkansas2-10HC: Sam Pittman · Balanced
Advanced layer Usage, value, and context
Advanced metrics second
Advanced Metrics
Usage, value, and opponent-adjusted context.
Opponent-adjusted rushing value. It helps separate empty volume from carries that actually move the scoreboard.
How much of the team's offense flows through this back once rushing work and receiving work are combined.
Every percentile is compared against players at the same position and level, so an FBS quarterback is judged against FBS quarterbacks, not the whole sport.
The top tables stick to the stats fans already know from broadcasts and box scores. Advanced context is pushed underneath instead of replacing the basics.
Open full stat explorer
| Group | Metric | Value | Rank | Pct | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rushing | Rushing yards | 286 | #269/735 | 64th pct | Volumevs FBS RB |
| Rushing | Rush TD | 5 | #115/739 | 85th pct | Scoringvs FBS RB |
| Rushing | Yards / carry | 5.2 | #240/735 | 67th pct | Efficiencyvs FBS RB |
| Receiving | Receptions | 4 | #343/552 | 38th pct | Volumevs FBS RB |
| Receiving | Receiving yards | 27 | #356/548 | 35th pct | Volumevs FBS RB |
| Value | Rushing WEPA | +0.20 | #58/362 | 84th pct | Opponent-adjusted rushing value | 46 weighted playsvs FBS RB |
| Usage | Role share | 10.0% | #319/738 | 57th pct | Share of team offensevs FBS RB |
| Rushing | Carries | 55 | #297/739 | 60th pct | Volumevs FBS RB |
| Rushing | Rushing LONG | 23 | #358/733 | 51st pct | Metricvs FBS RB |
| Receiving | Receiving LONG | 14 | #323/540 | 40th pct | Metricvs FBS RB |
| Receiving | Yards / catch | 6.8 | #287/548 | 48th pct | Efficiencyvs FBS RB |
| Receiving | Receiving TD | 0 | #169/552 | 70th pct | Scoringvs FBS RB |
| Usage | Rush share | 18.1% | #288/738 | 61st pct | Ground-game usagevs FBS RB |
| Usage | Standard-down usage | 11.9% | #297/738 | 60th pct | Base-situation sharevs FBS RB |
| Usage | 1st-down usage | 10.7% | #332/738 | 55th pct | Early-down loadvs FBS RB |
| Usage | 2nd-down usage | 10.2% | #334/738 | 55th pct | Middle-down loadvs FBS RB |
| Usage | 3rd-down usage | 8.2% | #277/738 | 63rd pct | Money-down loadvs FBS RB |
| Usage | Passing-down usage | 5.5% | #429/738 | 42nd pct | Known-passing sharevs FBS RB |
| Usage | Pass share | 1.8% | #419/738 | 43rd pct | Air-game usagevs FBS RB |
| Ball Security | Fumbles lost | 1 | #78/256 | 70th pct | Turnoversvs FBS RB |
Player Standing
Universal 17-step ladder. Tier pills below; accolade streams nested.
AWAITING CLASSIFICATION
On-team2-deepStartingRecognizedEliteApex
AWAITING CLASSIFICATION · Rung None of 16
Why he’s here
Standing classification populates when honors, Heisman, and roster signals all align.
What moves him up
What moves him down
Accolade streams
Status—Awaiting tracker
Heisman model tracks the top FBS contenders weekly; this player hasn't entered the watch list yet.
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 9 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 25.8 | 4.8 | 0.5 |
| Road3g | 43.7 | 7.3 | 0.7 |
Win vs Loss
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wins2g | 33.0 | 4.3 | 0.5 |
| Losses7g | 31.4 | 6.0 | 0.6 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 35.3 | 5.9 | 0.5 |
| Weeks 8+3g | 24.7 | 5.1 | 0.7 |
Pocket and defense-quality (clean vs. pressure) splits are coming soon.
Savant · Box-rate percentiles
Where this profile ranks vs the RB cohort
35Mid-pack
Concern: receptions (12th).
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.
Advanced Savant · RB · 2024
Percentile Card
Advanced opponent-adjusted percentile bars are coming soon for this player.
P4G5All FBS
Advanced Savant
Opponent-adjusted advanced metrics with a cohort filter.
wepa_rushing0.2High (p75–p90) (n=178)
Peer Comparator · Fingerprint match
Three closest profiles by box-rate percentile
Braylen RussellArkansasTae MeadowsTroy· 62% simChavon WrightNorthern Illinois· 61% simJordan BrunsonMiami (OH)· 61% sim
Yards / carry
Rush TDs
Fumbles lost
Rush yards
Long run
Rec yards
Carries
Receptions
Closest peers by overall box-score percentile profile at the same position.
Player DNA
The Power Back
Short-yardage and goal-line specialist. Carries the load, owns the red zone.
RB
His 2025 production profile sits closest to La'Darius Jefferson’s 2022 season.
La'Darius Jefferson
76%match
#2
Antwain Littleton II
70%
#3
Thad Franklin
68%
#4
Marco Lee
63%
#5
Jaren Mangham
65%
Matches La'Darius on
Total rush EPA (college ability)
Yards / carry
Receiving share
Differs from La'Darius on
Class year (lower)
EPA / carry (adj) (higher)
Through 2 college seasons, his career arc tracks closest to Calvin Turner’s path through Hawai'i.
Calvin Turner
96%match
All-Mountain West
#2
Asim Rose
93%
#3
Jadan Baugh
88%
#4
Peny Boone
All-MAC
88%
#5
Travis Etienne
Consensus All-AmericanNFL Rd 1 · Pk 25
87%
Matches Calvin on
Yards per carry
As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Antwain Littleton II's sophomore season at Maryland (2022).
Antwain Littleton II
73%match
#2
Thad Franklin
71%
#3
Jahmyl Jeter
68%
#4
Andrew Van Buren
65%
#5
Kemper Hodges
58%
Matches Antwain on
Total rush EPA (college ability)
Weight
Yards / carry
Differs from Antwain on
Class year (lower)
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Sam Pittman
Pass share
48.8%
381 pass / 400 run
Plays / game
65.1
12 games
OL sack rate (allowed)
8.3%
324 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Coaching Lineage · 2024–2025
1 coach2024
Sam Pittman
Arkansas
2025
Sam Pittman
Arkansas
Played his entire career under Sam Pittman.
Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster
Off-field context — switch tabs to drill into recruit profile, transfer arc, or roster timeline.
HometownBenton, AR
Height6'1"
Weight238 lb
Class2
PositionRB
No fields populated yet.
No fields populated yet.
Current teamArkansas
ConferenceSEC
Joined2025
Career arc2 season(s)
Trophy Case · Detail
Every honor on the ledger, broken out by stream and selector.
No formal honors on the ledger yet
All-America, all-conference, player-of-the-week, watch-list, and postseason awards land here when they're earned. The absence is the signal: most players never collect formal honors, and that's its own kind of context.
Honors Timeline
Season-end distinction and week-by-week recognition on one timeline.
| Season | Honor | Scope | Team / Selector | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No formal honors on the ledger yet. All-America, all-conference, weekly awards, watch lists, and postseason trophies land here when they’re earned. | ||||
Heisman By Year
Modeled rank and official finish by season.
| Season | Team | Role | Latest Model | Forecast | Win | Finalist | Official Finish | Points | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Arkansas | RB2 | #355 | #437 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W16 snapshot | SEC |
Roster Timeline
Team, conference, and class by season.