CFB Zeitgeist Score
81
All-Conference in the position cohort. Carried by rec yards at the 87th percentile.
Lake McRee
Below the discourse floor — the honest stats-only state.
450 REC YDS · 30 REC · 4 REC TD
2026 Outlook
Returning to USC for 2026
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Tight end · USC
Returning around him
- 37% of 2024 offensive production back (Moderate turnover)
- 3 USC players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: -13 net (9 in / 22 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
USC · Last season: 9-4 (AP #16) · Talent rank #17 · 2026 recruiting class #14
TE · USC · BIG TEN
Lake McRee
- 4
- #87
- 6-4 | 250 lb
- Austin, TX
Heisman Heat
#917
<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 TE AWARD
Mackey
—
CONSENSUS
All-American
—
Player Standing · 17 rungs
Tier 2 · StarterR07 · Impact starter
Impact starter. Producing measurable value above replacement.
Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career arc · Season-by-season Standing
5 seasons on the ladder
2021
USC · TE
—
2022
USC · TE
—
2023
USC · TE
—
2024
USC · TE
—
★
2025
USC · TE
R09 · All-Conference HM / 2nd team
Recognized
Development Trajectory · receiving yards
2021–2025+395%
Up 395% from first season to most-recent.
Career Arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
USC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 3-star | 0.8826 | No. 480 recruit | HighSchool | USC |
Transfer Arc
Portal movement changes role, context, and perception. This keeps that path in one place.
| 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 16Heisman Futures
Not yet listed on major futures markets.
Achievements
- Program Benchmark 5.5% Program Benchmark Season leader for the program at the player's position across the headline volume metric (passing yards / rushing yards / receiving yards). Held by 5.5% of the 2025 pool. Team leader in receiving yards (450).
Selector Grid · 2025
AP—
FWAA—
AFCA—
WCFF—
SN—
SI—
NIL · Recruiting · NFL Draft
Market value, pedigree & pro outcome
Recruit stars
★★★☆☆
to USC
Composite
0.8826
#480 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 Lake McRee
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 Lake McRee
No rival-bucket mentions in the current season.
2025 Signature · 2025 season
Yards per reception
15.0
yds
All FBS WRs, min 20 receptions
National rank #104 of 531
Percentile vs All FBS WRs, min 20 receptions 81st
Why it matters
#104 of 531 All FBS WRs at 15.0 yards per reception (30 catches).
Vs cohort
This player 15.0 (81th)
HIGH · n=30 cohort 531
- Also strong
- Receiving TDs#161 / 531
- Receiving yards (total)#255 / 531
Signature Moment
Week 1 vs Missouri State — 72 ypr
Result W 73-13
The week the volume broke through — put up 72 yds vs Missouri State.
Season Pace · Projection
Where the receiving totals stand
Through 12g
450Rec yards
30Receptions
4Rec TDs
Per game
37.5Rec yards
2Receptions
0Rec TDs
Projected (13g)
487.5Rec yards
32Receptions
4Rec TDs
To hit 700-yard receiver (currently 450): needs 250/game over remaining 1.
To hit 1,000-yard receiver (currently 450): needs 550/game over remaining 1.
To hit 60-catch season (currently 30): needs 30/game over remaining 1.
To hit 80-catch season (currently 30): needs 50/game over remaining 1.
To hit 8 receiving TDs (currently 4): needs 4/game over remaining 1.
To hit 10 receiving TDs (currently 4): needs 6/game over remaining 1.
Why the honors trail matters
The fast read on the thing that makes this player more than a generic stat line.
The useful clue on this card is not just the Heisman rank, but the broader honors spine. Lake McRee already has 1 loaded recognition item, which helps distinguish a player who is merely productive from one who is already earning selector-level validation.
2025 Season · Final
Traditional stats first. Advanced context underneath.
Last season
TE 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?
Target magnet | Big-play receiver against FBS receiving peers.
2025 Season · Final
2025 season snapshot | final
Receiving
REC
30 89th
YDS
450 95th
YPR
15.0 90th
TD
4 95th
Game Log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 12 games
| Wk | Opp | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 73-13vs Missouri State | 2 | 72 | 36.0 | 1 | 64 | Season-high 72 yds |
| Wk 2 | W 59-20vs Georgia Southern | 2 | 34 | 17.0 | 0 | 22 | |
| Wk 3 | W 33-17@ Purdue | 3 | 67 | 22.3 | 0 | 29 | |
| Wk 4 | W 45-31vs Michigan State | 2 | 16 | 8.0 | 0 | 10 | |
| Wk 5 | L 32-34@ Illinois | 3 | 59 | 19.7 | 0 | 24 | |
| Wk 7 | W 31-13vs Michigan | 2 | 41 | 20.5 | 0 | 21 | |
| Wk 8 | L 24-34@ Notre Dame | 2 | 18 | 9.0 | 1 | 10 | |
| Wk 10 | W 21-17@ Nebraska | 2 | 11 | 5.5 | 0 | 6 | |
| Wk 11 | W 38-17vs Northwestern | 3 | 52 | 17.3 | 0 | 42 | |
| Wk 12 | W 26-21vs Iowa | 3 | 19 | 6.3 | 0 | 8 | |
| Wk 13 | L 27-42@ Oregon | 3 | 31 | 10.3 | 1 | 13 | |
| Wk 14 | W 29-10vs UCLA | 3 | 30 | 10.0 | 1 | 14 | |
| Total | 30 | 450 | 15.2 | 4 | 64 |
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
2021USC4-8HC: Donte Williams · Balanced, fast tempo
2022USC11-3HC: Lincoln Riley · Balanced
2023USC8-5HC: Lincoln Riley · Pass-leaning, slow tempo
2024USC7-6HC: Lincoln Riley · Pass-leaning
2025USC9-4HC: Lincoln Riley · Balanced
Advanced layer Usage, value, and context
Advanced metrics second
Advanced Metrics
Usage, value, and opponent-adjusted context.
The tight end's share of the passing offense, which helps distinguish a featured receiving tight end from a secondary option.
A blended usage view that shows how often the offense flows through the tight end compared with other same-level peers.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Receiving | Receptions | 30 | #53/475 | 89th pct | Volumevs FBS TE |
| Receiving | Receiving yards | 450 | #23/475 | 95th pct | Volumevs FBS TE |
| Receiving | Receiving TD | 4 | #27/475 | 95th pct | Scoringvs FBS TE |
| Receiving | Yards / catch | 15.0 | #48/475 | 90th pct | Efficiencyvs FBS TE |
| Usage | Pass share | 11.9% | #53/468 | 89th pct | Air-game usagevs FBS TE |
| Receiving | Receiving LONG | 64 | #15/475 | 97th pct | Metricvs FBS TE |
| Usage | 2nd-down usage | 8.6% | #24/468 | 95th pct | Middle-down loadvs FBS TE |
| Usage | Passing-down usage | 6.9% | #76/468 | 84th pct | Known-passing sharevs FBS TE |
| Usage | Role share | 5.9% | #53/468 | 89th pct | Share of team offensevs FBS TE |
| Usage | Standard-down usage | 5.5% | #52/468 | 89th pct | Base-situation sharevs FBS TE |
| Usage | 1st-down usage | 4.5% | #103/468 | 78th pct | Early-down loadvs FBS TE |
| Usage | 3rd-down usage | 3.7% | #203/468 | 57th pct | Money-down loadvs FBS TE |
| Usage | Rush share | 0.0% | #58/468 | 88th pct | Ground-game usagevs FBS TE |
| Ball Security | Fumbles lost | 1 | #34/55 | 40th pct | Turnoversvs FBS TE |
Player Standing
Universal 17-step ladder. Tier pills below; accolade streams nested.
ALL-CONF HM
On-team2-deepStartingRecognizedEliteApex
ALL-CONF HM · Rung 9 of 16
Why he’s here
All-Conference honorable mention / 2nd team — the recognition has started.
What moves him up
A best-at-position run lifts to 1st team.
What moves him down
A back-end conference finish drops out of the honor list.
Accolade streams
Status—Awaiting tracker
The Mackey 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 · 12 games
Home vs Road
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 2.4 | 37.7 | 16.4 | 0.3 |
| Road5g | 2.6 | 37.2 | 13.4 | 0.4 |
Win vs Loss
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wins9g | 2.4 | 38.0 | 15.9 | 0.2 |
| Losses3g | 2.7 | 36.0 | 13.0 | 0.7 |
First half vs Second half
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 2.3 | 48.2 | 20.6 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 2.7 | 26.8 | 9.7 | 0.5 |
Pocket and defense-quality (clean vs. pressure) splits are coming soon.
Savant · Box-rate percentiles
Where this profile ranks vs the TE cohort
81All-Conference
Elite: yards / catch (94th). Strength: long catch (92nd). Concern: fumbles lost (27th).
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.
Advanced Savant · TE · 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
Lake McReeUSCJoe RoyerCincinnati· 96% simMatthew HibnerSMU· 96% simJamari JohnsonOregon· 93% sim
Yards / catch
Long catch
Rec yards
Rec TDs
Receptions
Fumbles lost
Closest peers by overall box-score percentile profile at the same position.
Player DNA
The Move TE
Lined up out wide as often as inline. Creates mismatches downfield.
TE
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Rivaldo Fairweather’s 2022 season.
Rivaldo Fairweather
80%match
#2
Mason Fairchild
All-Big 12
75%
#3
Kemore Gamble
74%
#4
Mason Fairchild
74%
#5
Cade Stover
All-Big TenNFL Rd 4
72%
Matches Rivaldo on
Yards / reception
Class year
TD rate
Differs from Rivaldo on
Recruiting rating (higher)
EPA / play (adj) (lower)
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a graduate, his production profile tracks closest to Michael Trigg's graduate season at Baylor (2025).
Michael Trigg
76%match
All-Big 12
#2
Nate Boerkircher
NFL Rd 2 · Pk 24
73%
#3
Jake Roberts
68%
#4
Rivaldo Fairweather
68%
#5
Malachi Fields
All-ACCNFL Rd 3 · Pk 10
66%
Matches Michael on
Total EPA (college ability)
EPA / play (adj)
Weight
Differs from Michael on
Recruiting rating (lower)
Reception volume (lower)
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Lincoln Riley
Pass share
50.4%
420 pass / 414 run
Plays / game
64.2
13 games
OL sack rate (allowed)
3.8%
313 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Coaching Lineage · 2021–2025
2 coaches2021
Donte Williams
USC
2022era →
Lincoln Riley
USC
2023
Lincoln Riley
USC
2024
Lincoln Riley
USC
2025
Lincoln Riley
USC
Coaching transition mid-career: Donte Williams → Lincoln Riley. 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.
HometownAustin, TX
Height6'4"
Weight250 lb
Class4
PositionTE
Jersey87
No fields populated yet.
No fields populated yet.
Current teamUSC
ConferenceBig Ten
Joined2025
Career arc5 season(s)
Trophy Case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
🎖
ALL-CONFERENCE
All-Conf mention (2025)
All-Big Ten
Trophy Case · Detail
Every honor on the ledger, broken out by stream and selector.
1 all-conference honor
Conference-level recognition helps anchor whether a player is merely statistically loud or actually viewed as elite within his competitive lane.
Honors Timeline
Season-end distinction and week-by-week recognition on one timeline.
| Season | Honor | Scope | Team / Selector | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | All-Big Ten | all_conference | USC | Big Ten | TE |
Heisman By Year
Modeled rank and official finish by season.
| Season | Team | Role | Latest Model | Forecast | Win | Finalist | Official Finish | Points | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | USC | TE4 | #917 | #943 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W16 snapshot | Big Ten |
| 2023 | USC | TE4 | #1294 | #1263 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W19 snapshot | Pac-12 |
| 2022 | USC | TE4 | #792 | #605 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W20 snapshot | Pac-12 |
| 2021 | USC | TE4 | #1971 | #2152 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W20 snapshot | Pac-12 |
Roster Timeline
Team, conference, and class by season.
| Season | Team | Conference | Pos | Class | Bio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | USC | Big Ten | TE | 4 | No. 87 | 6-4 | 250 lb | Austin, TX |
| 2024 | USC | Big Ten | TE | 4 | No. 87 | 6-4 | 250 lb | Austin, TX |
| 2023 | USC | Pac-12 | TE | 4 | No. 87 | 6-4 | 250 lb | Austin, TX |
| 2022 | USC | Pac-12 | TE | 4 | No. 87 | 6-4 | 250 lb | Austin, TX |
| 2021 | USC | Pac-12 | TE | 4 | No. 87 | 6-4 | 250 lb | Austin, TX |