CFB Zeitgeist Score
45
Mid-pack in the position cohort. Carried by passes defended at the 94th percentile.
Brian Nelson II
Below the discourse floor — the honest stats-only state.
29 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
2026 Outlook
Returning to NC State for 2026
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Cornerback · NC State
Returning around him
- 95% of 2024 offensive production back (Strong continuity)
- 2 NC State players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: -2 net (20 in / 22 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
NC State · Last season: 8-5 · Talent rank #45 · 2026 recruiting class #34
CB · NC STATE · ACC
Brian Nelson II
- 2
- #7
- 6-0 | 191 lb
- Pearland, TX
Heisman Heat
#12422
<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 DB AWARD
Jim Thorpe
—
CONSENSUS
All-American
—
Player Standing · 17 rungs
Tier 2 · StarterR05 · Part-time starter
Part-time starter. Splitting first-team reps.
Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career Arc
HS
Recruit
—
CFB
College
2 teams
NFL
NFL Draft
—
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 |
|---|---|---|
| No recruiting profile is on file for this player. | ||
Transfer Arc
Portal movement changes role, context, and perception. This keeps that path in one place.
| Season | Move | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | North Texas -> NC State | 3-star | 0.8800 | Immediate |
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.
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 Brian Nelson II
Fan sentiment · Awaiting signal
The Room reads fan conversation around a player — who’s talking, what they believe, and how that shifts. It publishes once weekly volume rebuilds; for most players that’s in-season, when game-week chatter spikes.
Cohort divergence map
Cohort divergence reads how different fanbases talk about this player. Returns once weekly mentions clear the publish floor.
Rival Radar
How rival fanbases talk about Brian Nelson II
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 defensive totals stand
Through 11g
29Tackles
1Tackles for loss
0Sacks
Per game
3Tackles
0.1Tackles for loss
0Sacks
Projected (13g)
34Tackles
1.2Tackles for loss
0Sacks
To hit 80-tackle season (currently 29): needs 25.5/game over remaining 2.
To hit 100-tackle season (currently 29): needs 35.5/game over remaining 2.
To hit 6-sack season (currently 0): needs 3/game over remaining 2.
To hit 10-sack season (currently 0): needs 5/game over remaining 2.
Why this is a rare defensive case
The fast read on the thing that makes this player more than a generic stat line.
Brian Nelson II is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on NC State's defense, with 0.0 sacks, 1.0 tackles for loss, and -- interceptions through the current loaded season. For a defender, the question is never just production; it is whether elite disruption and team context can become nationally undeniable.
2025 Season · Final
Traditional stats first. Advanced context underneath.
Last season
DEF 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?
Coverage splash against FBS defenders.
2025 Season · Final
2025 season snapshot | final
Tackling & Disruption
TOT
29 71st
SOLO
21 79th
TFL
1.0 59th
SACK
0.0 65th
Coverage & Takeaways
PD
6 93rd
Game Log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 11 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 24-17vs East Carolina | 4 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 35-31vs Virginia | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 5 tackles |
| Wk 3 | W 34-24@ Wake Forest | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 5 | L 21-23vs Virginia Tech | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 6 | W 56-10vs Campbell | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 34-53@ Pittsburgh | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 48-36vs Georgia Tech | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | L 7-41@ Miami | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 13 | W 21-11vs Florida State | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | W 42-19vs North Carolina | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Bowl | W 31-7vs Memphis | 5 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Total | 29 | 21 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 6 |
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
2023North Texas5-7HC: Eric Morris · Balanced, fast tempo
2025NC State8-5HC: Dave Doeren · Balanced
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | NC State | 29 | 21 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 6 | -- | -- |
| 2023 | North Texas | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3 | -- | -- |
| Career | 2 loaded seasons | 35 | 25 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 9 | -- | -- |
Advanced layer Usage, value, and context
Advanced metrics second
Advanced Metrics
Usage, value, and opponent-adjusted context.
TFL, sacks, and QB hurries are grouped together because defensive Heisman cases are usually built on visible havoc, not on tackle counts alone.
Pass breakups, interceptions, and forced fumbles matter because national awards voters respond to plays that change possessions and highlight reels.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Defense | Total tackles | 29 | #1415/4942 | 71st pct | Volumevs FBS DEF |
| Defense | TFL | 1.0 | #2051/4972 | 59th pct | Disruptionvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Sacks | 0.0 | #1762/4972 | 65th pct | Disruptionvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Pass breakups | 6 | #144/2184 | 93rd pct | Coveragevs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Solo tackles | 21 | #959/4584 | 79th pct | Volumevs FBS DEF |
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
The Thorpe award tracker integrates per-week probability once a dedicated scraper for this award lands. Confirmed past winners and finalists for this player will surface here.
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 11 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home8g | 2.6 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| Road3g | 2.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 |
Win vs Loss
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wins8g | 2.6 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
| Losses3g | 2.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 3.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.7 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
Pocket and defense-quality (clean vs. pressure) splits are coming soon.
Savant · Box-rate percentiles
Where this profile ranks vs the CB cohort
45Mid-pack
Elite: passes defended (93rd). Concern: qb hurries (22nd).
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.
Advanced Savant · CB · 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.
Advanced opponent-adjusted metrics are coming soon for this player. Selected cohort: P4.
Peer Comparator · Fingerprint match
Three closest profiles by box-rate percentile
Brian Nelson IINC StateTahj Ra-ElPurdue· 74% simTyler MartinMassachusetts· 73% simDalton JohnsonArizona· 71% sim
Passes defended
Solo tackles
Tackles
Tackles for loss
Sacks
QB hurries
Closest peers by overall box-score percentile profile at the same position.
Player DNA
The Cover Corner
Steady in coverage; doesn't get beat deep and rarely gives up the big play.
CB
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Brandon Nicholson’s 2025 season.
Brandon Nicholson
91%match
#2
KK Meier
85%
#3
Quinyon Mitchell
NFL Rd 1 · Pk 22
83%
#4
Kalon Barnes
NFL Rd 7
82%
#5
KK Meier
80%
Matches Brandon on
Class year
Height
Weight
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Montana Warren's junior season at Arizona State (2025).
Montana Warren
90%match
#2
Josiah Charles
78%
#3
Vicari Swain
75%
#4
Nazir Ward
75%
#5
Chris Peal
74%
Matches Montana on
Class year
Height
PD rate
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Dave Doeren
Pass share
49.7%
411 pass / 416 run
Plays / game
63.6
13 games
OL sack rate (allowed)
6.5%
307 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Coaching Lineage · 2023–2025
1 coach2023
Dave Doeren
NC State
2025
Dave Doeren
NC State
Played his entire career under Dave Doeren.
Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster
Off-field context — switch tabs to drill into recruit profile, transfer arc, or roster timeline.
HometownPearland, TX
Height6'0"
Weight191 lb
Class2
PositionCB
Jersey7
No fields populated yet.
No fields populated yet.
Current teamNC State
ConferenceACC
Joined2025
Career arc3 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 | North Texas | CB2 | #12422 | #12182 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W16 snapshot | American Athletic |
| 2023 | North Texas | CB2 | #14991 | #15074 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W19 snapshot | American Athletic |
Roster Timeline
Team, conference, and class by season.
| Season | Team | Conference | Pos | Class | Bio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | NC State | ACC | CB | 2 | No. 7 | 6-0 | 191 lb | Pearland, TX |
| 2024 | North Texas | American Athletic | CB | 2 | No. 7 | 6-0 | 191 lb | Pearland, TX |
| 2023 | North Texas | American Athletic | CB | 2 | No. 7 | 6-0 | 191 lb | Pearland, TX |