cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Gabe Peterson /New Mexico State

Gabe Peterson

DE · New Mexico State · Jr · #16

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

32 TACKLES · 0.5 SACKS

2026 RETURNINGReturning to New Mexico State for 2026

2026 Outlook

Returning to New Mexico State for 2026

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Defensive end · New Mexico State

Returning around him

  • 56% of 2024 offensive production back (Solid continuity)
  • Transfer portal: +1 net (25 in / 24 out)

2026 Award watch

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

New Mexico State · Last season: 4-8 · Talent rank #130 · 2026 recruiting class #126

DE · NEW MEXICO STATE · CONFERENCE USA

Gabe Peterson

  • 3
  • #16
  • 6-2 | 255 lb
  • Overland Park, KS

CFB Zeitgeist Score

45

Mid-pack in the position cohort. Carried by qb hurries at the 99th percentile.

Heisman Heat

#14876

<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
★★★
#2051 national
CFB
College
New Mexico State
2022–2025
NFL
NFL Draft
Not drafted (yet)

Identity & Role

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

PositionDE
Class3
Jersey16
Measurements6-2 | 255 lb
HometownOverland Park, KS
Primary teamNew Mexico State

Recruiting Pedigree

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

Top pedigree 3-star No. 2095 recruit
Composite rating 0.8017 HighSchool
Signed with New Mexico State 2022
Origin Blue Valley Northwest Overland Park, KS, USA
Class Profile Context
2022 3-star | 0.8017 No. 2095 recruit | HighSchool | New Mexico State
2021 3-star | 0.8181 No. 2051 recruit | HighSchool | New Mexico State

Transfer Arc

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

Portal moves 0 No portal entry on file
Latest destination -- --
Transfer stars -- CFBD transfer rating context
Eligibility -- Transfer date TBD
Season Move Context
No transfer portal moves on file for this player.

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#14876Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#15021Where 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 New Mexico State

Composite

0.8017

#2095 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 Gabe Peterson

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 Gabe Peterson

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 10g
32Tackles
0.5Tackles for loss
0.5Sacks
Per game
3Tackles
0.1Tackles for loss
0.1Sacks
Projected (13g)
42Tackles
0.7Tackles for loss
0.7Sacks

To hit 80-tackle season (currently 32): needs 16/game over remaining 3.

To hit 100-tackle season (currently 32): needs 22.7/game over remaining 3.

To hit 6-sack season (currently 0.5): needs 1.8/game over remaining 3.

To hit 10-sack season (currently 0.5): needs 3.2/game over remaining 3.

Why this is a rare defensive case

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

Gabe Peterson is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on New Mexico State's defense, with 0.5 sacks, 0.5 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 #14876 0.0% win | 0.0% finalist
Role load -- Role share still loading
Profile quirk Transfer path 0 portal moves

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 32 12 solo | #1250/4942 (75th pct)
TFL 0.5 Backfield disruption | #2658/4972 (47th pct)
Sacks 0.5 Pass-rush finish | #1501/4972 (70th pct)
Player identity What kind of player is this?

30-second read

What kind of player is this?

High-disruption defender against FBS defenders.

High-disruption defender

2025 Season · Final

2025 season snapshot | final

Tackling & Disruption

TOT
32 75th
SOLO
12 62nd
TFL
0.5 47th
SACK
0.5 70th
QBH
9 99th

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 10 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppTKLSOLOTFLSACKINTPDNote
Wk 1W 19-3vs Bryant210.00.00
Wk 2W 21-14vs Tulsa640.00.00Season-high 6 tackles
Wk 5L 20-38@ New Mexico410.00.00
Wk 6W 37-10vs Sam Houston110.00.00
Wk 8L 27-30@ Liberty310.00.00
Wk 9L 17-24vs Missouri State100.00.00
Wk 11L 21-24vs Kennesaw State610.00.00
Wk 12L 9-42@ Tennessee310.00.00
Wk 13W 34-31@ UTEP200.00.00
Wk 14L 24-31vs Middle Tennessee420.50.50
Total32120.50.50
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

2022New Mexico State7-6HC: Jerry Kill · Run-leaning, slow tempo
2023New Mexico State10-5HC: Jerry Kill · Run-leaning, slow tempo
2025New Mexico State4-8HC: Tony Sanchez · Pass-leaning
SeasonTeam
2025New Mexico State32120.50.5------
2023New Mexico State55309.03.5------
2022New Mexico State1263.02.0------
Career3 loaded seasons994812.56.0------
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 0 Coverage disruption
QB pressures 9 Quarterback hurries | #27/1878 (99th pct)
Open full stat explorer
0 metrics visible Showing all metrics
Group Metric Value Rank Pct Why it matters
Defense Total tackles 32 #1250/4942 75th pct Volumevs FBS DEF
Defense TFL 0.5 #2658/4972 47th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Sacks 0.5 #1501/4972 70th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense QB hurries 9 #27/1878 99th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Solo tackles 12 #1735/4584 62nd 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 · 10 games

Home/Road · Win/Loss · Season halves

Home vs Road

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Home6g3.30.10.10.0
Road4g3.00.00.00.0

Win vs Loss

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Wins4g2.80.00.00.0
Losses6g3.50.10.10.0

First half vs Second half

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Weeks 1-74g3.20.00.00.0
Weeks 8+6g3.20.10.10.0

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

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the DE cohort

45Mid-pack
6 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: qb hurries (98th). Concern: passes defended (17th).

QB hurries#27 / 2975 · 99th pct
9defe
Tackles#1250 / 2975 · 57th pct
32defe
Sacks#1367 / 2975 · 51st pct
0.5defe
Solo tackles#1735 / 2975 · 40th pct
12defe
Tackles for loss#2332 / 2975 · 18th pct
0.5defe
Passes defended#1916 / 2975 · 18th pct
0defe

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

Advanced Savant · DE · 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
Gabe PetersonNew Mexico StateBlake FletcherAir Force· 64% simMarcAnthony ParkerNavy· 58% simMicah DaveyUTEP· 57% sim
QB hurries
99
Peterson
92
Fletcher
88
Parker
82
Davey
Tackles
57
Peterson
99
Fletcher
98
Parker
99
Davey
Sacks
51
Peterson
24
Fletcher
80
Parker
63
Davey
Solo tackles
40
Peterson
91
Fletcher
96
Parker
99
Davey
Tackles for loss
18
Peterson
28
Fletcher
87
Parker
91
Davey
Passes defended
18
Peterson
67
Fletcher
18
Parker
18
Davey

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

Player DNA

The Versatile End

Holds up against run and pass without a single dominant trait.

EDGE

His 2025 production profile sits closest to Zach Edwards’s 2023 season.

Zach Edwards

82%match

Troy · 2023

#2

Jamaal Johnson

UCF · 2025

81%
#3

Zayin West

Kent State · 2021

80%
#4

Jamil Muhammad

USC · 2024

77%
#5

Brian Allen

Iowa · 2025

NFL Rd 4
76%

Matches Zach on

Sack rate
Weight
Height

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Devon Jackson's senior season at Oregon (2025).

Devon Jackson

82%match

Oregon · 2025

#2

Easton Gibbs

Wyoming · 2023

82%
#3

Kyle Efford

Georgia Tech · 2025

82%
#4

Justin Flowe

Arizona · 2023

81%
#5

Jeremiah Alexander

Clemson · 2025

80%

Matches Devon on

Class year
Height
TFL rate

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Tony Sanchez

Pass share

57.4%

472 pass / 350 run

Plays / game

68.5

12 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

9.7%

359 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Pass-leaning.

Coaching Lineage · 2022–2025

2 coaches
2022
Jerry Kill
New Mexico State
2023
Jerry Kill
New Mexico State
2025
Tony Sanchez
New Mexico State
era →

Coaching transition mid-career: Jerry Kill → Tony Sanchez. Worth noting in scheme + development context.

Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster

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

HometownOverland Park, KS
Height6'2"
Weight255 lb
Class3
PositionDE
Jersey16

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 Utah State DE3 #14876 #15021 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | Mountain West
2023 New Mexico State DE3 #9263 #9894 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W19 snapshot | Conference USA
2022 New Mexico State DE3 #9178 #9526 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | FBS Independents

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2025 New Mexico State Conference USA DE 3 No. 16 | 6-2 | 255 lb | Overland Park, KS
2024 Utah State Mountain West DE 3 No. 16 | 6-2 | 255 lb | Overland Park, KS
2023 New Mexico State Conference USA DE 3 No. 16 | 6-2 | 255 lb | Overland Park, KS
2022 New Mexico State FBS Independents DE 3 No. 16 | 6-2 | 255 lb | Overland Park, KS