cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Cole Brevard /Texas

Cole Brevard

DL · Texas · Sr · #99

Below the discourse floor — the honest stats-only state.

18 TACKLES · 0 SACKS

2026 RETURNINGReturning to Texas for 2026

2026 Outlook

Returning to Texas for 2026

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Defensive line · Texas

Returning around him

  • 28% of 2024 offensive production back (Heavy turnover)
  • 6 Texas players drafted to NFL
  • Transfer portal: -6 net (22 in / 28 out)

2026 Award watch

No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)

Texas · Last season: 10-3 (AP #14) · Talent rank #4 · 2026 recruiting class #1

DL · TEXAS · SEC

Cole Brevard

  • 4
  • #99
  • 6-3 | 346 lb
  • Carmel, IN

CFB Zeitgeist Score

40

Mid-pack in the position cohort. Carried by passes defended at the 67th percentile.

Heisman Heat

#12271

<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 DEFENSE AWARD

Nagurski

CONSENSUS

All-American

Player Standing · 17 rungs

Tier 2 · Starter

R06 · Starter

Starter. A locked-in starting role.

Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Career Arc

HS
Recruit
★★★★
#206 national
CFB
College
2 teams
2022–2025
NFL
NFL Draft
Not drafted (yet)

Identity & Role

The durable bio layer: position, size, hometown, and roster role.

PositionDL
Class4
Jersey99
Measurements6-3 | 346 lb
HometownCarmel, IN
Primary teamTexas

Recruiting Pedigree

How big the prospect was before college, and whether the later career arc beat that expectation.

Top pedigree 4-star No. 206 recruit
Composite rating 0.9206 HighSchool
Signed with Penn State 2020
Origin Carmel Carmel, IN, USA
Class Profile Context
2020 4-star | 0.9206 No. 206 recruit | HighSchool | Penn State

Transfer Arc

Portal movement changes role, context, and perception. This keeps that path in one place.

Portal moves 2 Programs changed on file
Latest destination Texas 2025
Transfer stars 3-star CFBD transfer rating context
Eligibility Immediate Dec 14, 2024
Season Move Context
2025 Purdue -> Texas 3-star | 0.8800 | Immediate
2022 Penn State -> Purdue 4-star | 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 16
Current nowcast#12271Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#13016Where the full season sim points
Win probability0.0%Chance to actually win the trophy
Finalist probability0.0%Chance to make the finalist tier
Ballot probability0.0%Chance to appear anywhere on a ballot
Best official finish--Best completed Heisman placement on file

Heisman 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 Penn State

Composite

0.9206

#206 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

PENDING

The 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 Cole Brevard

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 Cole Brevard

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.

A 3-act season arc returns once this player has six or more games on the ledger.

Season Pace · Projection

Where the defensive totals stand

projecting to 13-game
Through 9g
18Tackles
1Tackles for loss
0Sacks
Per game
2Tackles
0.1Tackles for loss
0Sacks
Projected (13g)
26Tackles
1.4Tackles for loss
0Sacks

To hit 80-tackle season (currently 18): needs 15.5/game over remaining 4.

To hit 100-tackle season (currently 18): needs 20.5/game over remaining 4.

To hit 6-sack season (currently 0): needs 1.5/game over remaining 4.

To hit 10-sack season (currently 0): needs 2.5/game over remaining 4.

Why this is a rare defensive case

The fast read on the thing that makes this player more than a generic stat line.

Cole Brevard is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on Texas'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.

Current place #12271 0.0% win | 0.0% finalist
Role load -- Role share still loading
Profile quirk Blue-chip pedigree No. 206 recruit

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
Total tackles 18 9 solo | #2161/4942 (56th pct)
TFL 1.0 Backfield disruption | #2051/4972 (59th pct)
Sacks 0.0 Pass-rush finish | #1762/4972 (65th pct)
Player identity What kind of player is this?

30-second read

What kind of player is this?

Defensive contributor against FBS defenders.

Balanced profile

2025 Season · Final

2025 season snapshot | final

Tackling & Disruption

TOT
18 56th
SOLO
9 54th
TFL
1.0 59th
SACK
0.0 65th
QBH
2 66th

Coverage & Takeaways

PD
2 64th

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 9 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppTKLSOLOTFLSACKINTPDNote
Wk 1L 7-14@ Ohio State200.00.00
Wk 2W 38-7vs San José State000.00.00
Wk 3W 27-10vs UTEP200.50.00
Wk 4W 55-0vs Sam Houston210.00.00
Wk 6L 21-29@ Florida210.00.01
Wk 8W 16-13@ Kentucky310.50.00Season-high 3 tackles
Wk 12L 10-35@ Georgia330.00.00
Wk 13W 52-37vs Arkansas100.00.01
Wk 14W 27-17vs Texas A&M330.00.00
Total1891.00.02
Season-by-season tables Career rows + per-season box score

Traditional history

Traditional Stats

Season rows up top, career context at the bottom.

Season rows Career row

Season context · Team result + system

2022Purdue8-6HC: Jeff Brohm · Pass-leaning
2023Purdue4-8HC: Ryan Walters · Run-leaning
2024Purdue1-11HC: Ryan Walters · Balanced, slow tempo
2025Texas10-3HC: Steve Sarkisian · Balanced
SeasonTeam
2025Texas1891.00.02----
2024Purdue19115.51.5------
2023Purdue962.51.0------
2022Purdue950.00.0------
Career4 loaded seasons55319.02.52----
Advanced layer Usage, value, and context

Advanced metrics second

Advanced Metrics

Usage, value, and opponent-adjusted context.

Usage Value Context
Disruption stats

TFL, sacks, and QB hurries are grouped together because defensive Heisman cases are usually built on visible havoc, not on tackle counts alone.

Coverage splash

Pass breakups, interceptions, and forced fumbles matter because national awards voters respond to plays that change possessions and highlight reels.

Peer percentile

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.

Traditional first

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.

INT -- -- pick-six TD
Pass breakups 2 Coverage disruption | #792/2184 (64th pct)
QB pressures 2 Quarterback hurries | #647/1878 (66th pct)
Open full stat explorer
0 metrics visible Showing all metrics
Group Metric Value Rank Pct Why it matters
Defense Total tackles 18 #2161/4942 56th 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 2 #792/2184 64th pct Coveragevs FBS DEF
Defense QB hurries 2 #647/1878 66th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Solo tackles 9 #2127/4584 54th 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

StatusAwaiting tracker

The Lombardi 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 · 9 games

Home/Road · Win/Loss · Season halves

Home vs Road

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Home5g1.60.10.00.2
Road4g2.50.10.00.2

Win vs Loss

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Wins6g1.80.20.00.2
Losses3g2.30.00.00.3

First half vs Second half

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Weeks 1-75g1.60.10.00.2
Weeks 8+4g2.50.10.00.2

Pocket and defense-quality (clean vs. pressure) splits are coming soon.

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the DL cohort

40Mid-pack
6 metrics · season cumulative

Concern: sacks (23rd).

QB hurries#634 / 2975 · 72nd pct
2defe
Passes defended#777 / 2975 · 67th pct
2defe
Tackles for loss#1936 / 2975 · 28th pct
1.0defe
Tackles#2161 / 2975 · 26th pct
18defe
Solo tackles#2127 / 2975 · 26th pct
9defe
Sacks#1575 / 2975 · 24th pct
0.0defe

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.

Advanced Savant · DL · 2024

Percentile Card

Advanced opponent-adjusted percentile bars are coming soon for this player.

P4G5All FBS
EPA / dropback
awaiting
CPOE
awaiting
Success rate
awaiting
Explosive rate (20+)
awaiting
aDOT
awaiting
Deep-ball accuracy
awaiting
Pressure-to-sack
awaiting
3rd-down EPA
awaiting
Red-zone TD rate
awaiting
Play-action EPA
awaiting
Scramble EPA
awaiting
Turnover-worthy play rate
awaiting

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

3 peers · 6 metrics
Cole BrevardTexasBlake FletcherAir Force· 59% simTyler MartinMassachusetts· 54% simBryce LlewellynEastern Michigan· 53% sim
QB hurries
72
Brevard
92
Fletcher
22
Martin
72
Llewellyn
Passes defended
67
Brevard
67
Fletcher
67
Martin
86
Llewellyn
Tackles for loss
28
Brevard
28
Fletcher
63
Martin
80
Llewellyn
Tackles
26
Brevard
99
Fletcher
98
Martin
99
Llewellyn
Solo tackles
26
Brevard
91
Fletcher
87
Martin
95
Llewellyn
Sacks
24
Brevard
24
Fletcher
24
Martin
24
Llewellyn

Closest peers by overall box-score percentile profile at the same position.

Player DNA

The Nose Anchor

Two-gap space-eater who occupies blockers and frees the linebackers.

IDL

His 2025 production profile sits closest to Mazi Smith’s 2021 season.

Mazi Smith

88%match

Michigan · 2021

#2

Blake Boenisch

Rice · 2022

87%
#3

Blake Boenisch

Rice · 2023

86%
#4

Christian Clayton

UTSA · 2021

84%
#5

Gary Smith III

UCLA · 2025

82%

Matches Mazi on

TFL rate
Sack rate
Height

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Christian Clayton's senior season at UTSA (2023).

Christian Clayton

88%match

UTSA · 2023

#2

Taki Taimani

Oregon · 2023

83%
#3

Travis Shaw

Texas · 2025

79%
#4

Sterling Smithson

Missouri State · 2025

78%
#5

Ricky Correia

California · 2024

76%

Matches Christian on

Class year
Height
Sack rate

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Steve Sarkisian

Pass share

50.2%

419 pass / 415 run

Plays / game

64.2

13 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

7.6%

288 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Balanced.

Coaching Lineage · 2022–2025

1 coach
2022
Steve Sarkisian
Texas
2023
Steve Sarkisian
Texas
2024
Steve Sarkisian
Texas
2025
Steve Sarkisian
Texas

Played his entire career under Steve Sarkisian.

Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster

Off-field context — switch tabs to drill into recruit profile, transfer arc, or roster timeline.

HometownCarmel, IN
Height6'3"
Weight346 lb
Class4
PositionDL
Jersey99

Trophy Case · Detail

Every honor on the ledger, broken out by stream and selector.

Honors

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 Purdue DL4 #12271 #13016 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | Big Ten
2023 Purdue DL4 #10932 #11226 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W19 snapshot | Big Ten
2022 Purdue DL4 #10777 #10602 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | Big Ten
2021 Penn State DL4 #8633 #8167 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | Big Ten

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2025 Texas SEC DL 4 No. 99 | 6-3 | 346 lb | Carmel, IN
2024 Purdue Big Ten DL 4 No. 99 | 6-3 | 346 lb | Carmel, IN
2023 Purdue Big Ten DL 4 No. 99 | 6-3 | 346 lb | Carmel, IN
2022 Purdue Big Ten DL 4 No. 99 | 6-3 | 346 lb | Carmel, IN
2021 Penn State Big Ten DL 4 No. 99 | 6-3 | 346 lb | Carmel, IN