cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Jaylen Mbakwe /Alabama

Jaylen Mbakwe

WR · Alabama · So · #3

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

55 REC YDS · 3 REC · 0 REC TD

2026 TRANSFERTransferred Alabama → Georgia Tech for 2026

Where He Ended Up · Transfer

Transferred to Georgia Tech

2025Alabama
2026Georgia Tech

WR · ALABAMA · SEC

Jaylen Mbakwe

  • 2
  • #3
  • 5-11 | 190 lb
  • Clay, AL

CFB Zeitgeist Score

24

Below cohort in the position cohort. Carried by yards / catch at the 95th percentile.

Heisman Heat

#1956

<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 WR AWARD

Biletnikoff

CONSENSUS

All-American

Player Standing · 17 rungs

Tier 2 · Starter

R05 · Part-time starter

Part-time starter. Splitting first-team reps.

Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Career Arc

HS
Recruit
★★★★★
#12 national
CFB
College
Alabama
2024–2025
NFL
NFL Draft
Not drafted (yet)

Identity & Role

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

PositionWR
Class2
Jersey3
Measurements5-11 | 190 lb
HometownClay, AL
Primary teamAlabama

Recruiting Pedigree

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

Top pedigree 5-star No. 12 recruit
Composite rating 0.9943 HighSchool
Signed with Alabama 2024
Origin Clay-Chalkville Pinson, AL, USA
Class Profile Context
2024 5-star | 0.9943 No. 12 recruit | HighSchool | Alabama

Transfer Arc

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

Portal moves 1 Programs changed on file
Latest destination Georgia Tech 2026
Transfer stars 4-star CFBD transfer rating context
Eligibility Immediate Jan 5, 2026
Season Move Context
2026 Alabama -> Georgia Tech 4-star | 0.9000 | 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#1956Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#1587Where 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 Alabama

Composite

0.9943

#12 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 Jaylen Mbakwe

Fan sentiment ·

Belief Meter

50

Mixed Sentiment

Sample 2 mentions
Confidence BELOW-FLOOR

Top Take

Trajectory

Cohort divergence mapbearishbullishheatedcalmOwn fans: 2 mentions · belief +0 · "Alabama Crimson Tide faces a portal frenzy with key departures and intriguing tr"Own fansNational: 4 mentions · belief +50 · "Via @nickkelly.bsky.social, Jaylen Mbakwe is entering the transfer portal, absol"National
  • Own fans · n=2
  • National · n=4

Rival Radar

How rival fanbases talk about Jaylen Mbakwe

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 receiving totals stand

projecting to 13-game
Through 2g
55Rec yards
3Receptions
0Rec TDs
Per game
27.5Rec yards
2Receptions
0Rec TDs
Projected (13g)
357.5Rec yards
20Receptions
0Rec TDs

To hit 700-yard receiver (currently 55): needs 58.6/game over remaining 11.

To hit 1,000-yard receiver (currently 55): needs 85.9/game over remaining 11.

To hit 60-catch season (currently 3): needs 5.2/game over remaining 11.

To hit 80-catch season (currently 3): needs 7/game over remaining 11.

To hit 8 receiving TDs (currently 0): needs 0.7/game over remaining 11.

To hit 10 receiving TDs (currently 0): needs 0.9/game over remaining 11.

What made this player interesting

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

Jaylen Mbakwe's story is about how role and output meet each other. For Alabama, 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.

Current place #1956 0.0% win | 0.0% finalist
Role load 2.7% Overall usage share
Profile quirk Blue-chip pedigree No. 12 recruit

2025 Season · Final

Traditional stats first. Advanced context underneath.

Last season

WR season snapshot

2025 season snapshot | final

2025 season snapshot | finalData: CFBD player stats + local Heisman modelPeer context: same position + same level
Receptions 3 0 rec TD | #811/1110 (27th pct)
Receiving yards 55 18.3 per catch | #763/1107 (31st pct)
Scrimmage yards 59 Total offensive yardage | #763/1107 (31st pct)
Player identity What kind of player is this?

30-second read

What kind of player is this?

Big-play receiver against FBS receiving peers.

Big-play receiver

2025 Season · Final

2025 season snapshot | final

Receiving

REC
3 27th
YDS
55 31st
YPR
18.3 91st
TD
0 45th

Rushing

CAR
1 35th
YDS
4 30th
YPC
4.0 47th
TD
0 81st

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 2 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppRECYDSAVGTDLONGNote
Wk 2W 73-0vs UL Monroe11616.0016
Wk 13W 56-0vs Eastern Illinois23919.5026Season-high 39 yds
Total35517.8026
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

2024Alabama9-4HC: Kalen DeBoer · Run-leaning
2025Alabama11-4HC: Kalen DeBoer · Balanced
SeasonTeam
2025Alabama35518.30--
2024Alabama----------
Career2 loaded seasons35518.30--
SeasonTeam
2025Alabama14------
2024Alabama----1546--
Career2 loaded seasons141546--
Advanced layer Usage, value, and context

Advanced metrics second

Advanced Metrics

Usage, value, and opponent-adjusted context.

Usage Value Context
Pass share

The player's share of a team's passing-game involvement. It is the fastest way to see whether the receiver is a true focal point or more of a complementary piece.

Role share

A blended workload view that accounts for catches, designed touches, and any return-game involvement that shapes the overall profile.

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.

Usage 2.7% 4.8% pass-game share | #874/1137 (23rd pct)
Return yards 0 0 return TD
Touchdowns 0 Across offense and returns | #615/1111 (45th pct)
Open full stat explorer
0 metrics visible Showing all metrics
Group Metric Value Rank Pct Why it matters
Receiving Receptions 3 #811/1110 27th pct Volumevs FBS WR
Receiving Receiving yards 55 #763/1107 31st pct Volumevs FBS WR
Receiving Receiving TD 0 #615/1111 45th pct Scoringvs FBS WR
Receiving Yards / catch 18.3 #104/1106 91st pct Efficiencyvs FBS WR
Usage Pass share 4.8% #874/1137 23rd pct Air-game usagevs FBS WR
Rushing Rushing LONG 4 #279/346 20th pct Metricvs FBS WR
Rushing Rushing yards 4 #277/397 30th pct Volumevs FBS WR
Rushing Yards / carry 4.0 #211/393 47th pct Efficiencyvs FBS WR
Rushing Carries 1 #264/407 35th pct Volumevs FBS WR
Rushing Rush TD 0 #81/411 81st pct Scoringvs FBS WR
Receiving Receiving LONG 26 #650/1105 41st pct Metricvs FBS WR
Usage Passing-down usage 7.1% #449/1137 61st pct Known-passing sharevs FBS WR
Usage 3rd-down usage 4.3% #703/1137 38th pct Money-down loadvs FBS WR
Usage 1st-down usage 2.7% #782/1137 31st pct Early-down loadvs FBS WR
Usage Role share 2.7% #834/1137 27th pct Share of team offensevs FBS WR
Usage 2nd-down usage 2.1% #908/1137 20th pct Middle-down loadvs FBS WR
Usage Standard-down usage 1.7% #964/1137 15th pct Base-situation sharevs FBS WR
Usage Rush share 1.2% #165/1137 86th pct Ground-game usagevs FBS WR

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

Heisman model tracks the top FBS contenders weekly; this player hasn't entered the watch list yet.

Splits · Per-game

2025 season · 2 games

Home/Road · Win/Loss · Season halves

Home vs Road

REC/gYDS/gYPRTD/g
Home2g1.527.517.80.0

Win vs Loss

REC/gYDS/gYPRTD/g
Wins2g1.527.517.80.0

First half vs Second half

REC/gYDS/gYPRTD/g
Weeks 1-71g1.016.016.00.0
Weeks 8+1g2.039.019.50.0

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

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort

24Below cohort
7 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: yards / catch (95th). Concern: receptions (0th).

Yards / catch#26 / 558 · 95th pct
18.3rece
Rush TDs#67 / 287 · 39th pct
0rush
Rush yards#204 / 287 · 28th pct
4rush
Long catch#499 / 558 · 10th pct
26rece
Rec TDs#482 / 558 · 7th pct
0rece
Rec yards#558 / 558 · 0th pct
55rece
Receptions#559 / 558 · 0th pct
3rece

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

Advanced Savant · WR · 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 · 7 metrics
Jaylen MbakweAlabamaMichael Jackson IIIPurdue· 45% simHarrison Wallace IIIOle Miss· 41% simJacquon GibsonMassachusetts· 41% sim
Yards / catch
95
Mbakwe
9
III
78
III
15
Gibson
Rush TDs
39
Mbakwe
39
III
39
III
39
Gibson
Rush yards
28
Mbakwe
6
III
20
III
76
Gibson
Long catch
10
Mbakwe
16
III
65
III
56
Gibson
Rec TDs
7
Mbakwe
24
III
68
III
7
Gibson
Rec yards
0
Mbakwe
70
III
94
III
74
Gibson
Receptions
0
Mbakwe
92
III
90
III
92
Gibson

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

DNA Match awaiting data — similarity scores compute once season stats clear the volume gate for this position cohort.

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Kalen DeBoer

Pass share

53.4%

523 pass / 456 run

Plays / game

65.3

15 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

6.8%

384 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Balanced.

Coaching Lineage · 2024–2025

1 coach
2024
Kalen DeBoer
Alabama
2025
Kalen DeBoer
Alabama

Played his entire career under Kalen DeBoer.

Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster

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

HometownClay, AL
Height5'11"
Weight190 lb
Class2
PositionWR
Jersey3

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 Alabama WR2 #1956 #1587 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | SEC

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2025 Alabama SEC WR 2 No. 3 | 5-11 | 190 lb | Clay, AL
2024 Alabama SEC WR 2 No. 3 | 5-11 | 190 lb | Clay, AL