cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Marcus Burke /UCF

Marcus Burke

WR · UCF · Sr · #3

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

181 REC YDS · 13 REC · 0 REC TD

2026 RETURNINGReturning to UCF for 2026

2026 Outlook

Returning to UCF for 2026

Updated May 27

2026 Depth chart

Returning starter

Wide receiver · UCF

Returning around him

  • 31% of 2024 offensive production back (Moderate turnover)
  • 1 UCF player drafted to NFL
  • Transfer portal: -4 net (31 in / 35 out)

2026 Award watch

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

UCF · Last season: 5-7 · Talent rank #43 · 2026 recruiting class #79

WR · UCF · BIG 12

Marcus Burke

  • 4
  • #3
  • 6-3 | 197 lb
  • Jacksonville, FL

CFB Zeitgeist Score

21

Below cohort in the position cohort. Carried by yards / catch at the 62nd percentile.

Heisman Heat

#995

<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

Development Trajectory · receiving yards

2021–2025
73.02021
30.02022
98.02023
69.02024
1812025

+148%

Up 148% from first season to most-recent.

Career Arc

HS
Recruit
★★★★
#185 national
CFB
College
2 teams
2021–2025
NFL
NFL Draft
Not drafted (yet)

Identity & Role

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

PositionWR
Class4
Jersey3
Measurements6-3 | 197 lb
HometownJacksonville, FL
Primary teamUCF

Recruiting Pedigree

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

Top pedigree 4-star No. 185 recruit
Composite rating 0.9245 HighSchool
Signed with Florida 2021
Origin Trinity Christian Academy Jacksonville, FL, USA
Class Profile Context
2021 4-star | 0.9245 No. 185 recruit | HighSchool | Florida

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 UCF 2025
Transfer stars 3-star CFBD transfer rating context
Eligibility Immediate Jan 16, 2025
Season Move Context
2025 Florida -> UCF 3-star | 0.8700 | 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#995Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#1275Where 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 Florida

Composite

0.9245

#185 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 Marcus Burke

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 Marcus Burke

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 6g
181Rec yards
13Receptions
0Rec TDs
Per game
30.2Rec yards
2Receptions
0Rec TDs
Projected (13g)
392.2Rec yards
28Receptions
0Rec TDs

To hit 700-yard receiver (currently 181): needs 74.1/game over remaining 7.

To hit 1,000-yard receiver (currently 181): needs 117/game over remaining 7.

To hit 60-catch season (currently 13): needs 6.7/game over remaining 7.

To hit 80-catch season (currently 13): needs 9.6/game over remaining 7.

To hit 8 receiving TDs (currently 0): needs 1.1/game over remaining 7.

To hit 10 receiving TDs (currently 0): needs 1.4/game over remaining 7.

What made this player interesting

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

Marcus Burke's story is about how role and output meet each other. For UCF, 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 #995 0.0% win | 0.0% finalist
Role load 5.0% Overall usage share
Profile quirk Blue-chip pedigree No. 185 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 13 0 rec TD | #510/1110 (54th pct)
Receiving yards 181 13.9 per catch | #496/1107 (55th pct)
Scrimmage yards 176 Total offensive yardage | #496/1107 (55th pct)
Player identity What kind of player is this?

30-second read

What kind of player is this?

Receiving weapon against FBS receiving peers.

Balanced profile

2025 Season · Final

2025 season snapshot | final

Receiving

REC
13 54th
YDS
181 55th
YPR
13.9 67th
TD
0 45th

Rushing

CAR
1 35th
YDS
-5 8th
YPC
-5.0 6th
TD
0 81st

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 6 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppRECYDSAVGTDLONGNote
Wk 1W 17-10vs Jacksonville State34314.3027Season-high 43 yds
Wk 4W 34-9vs North Carolina23517.5020
Wk 5L 20-34@ Kansas State24020.0030
Wk 7L 11-20@ Cincinnati33311.0021
Wk 8W 45-13vs West Virginia11717.0017
Wk 12L 9-48@ Texas Tech2136.507
Total1318114.4030
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

2021Florida6-6HC: Dan Mullen · Run-leaning, fast tempo
2022Florida6-7HC: Billy Napier · Run-leaning
2023Florida5-7HC: Billy Napier · Balanced
2024Florida8-5HC: Billy Napier · Run-leaning
2025UCF5-7HC: Scott Frost · Balanced
SeasonTeam
2025UCF1318113.90--
2024Florida8698.62--
2023Florida69816.30--
2022Florida4307.50--
2021Florida27336.50--
Career5 loaded seasons3345113.72--
SeasonTeam
2025UCF1-5------
2024Florida15------
2023Florida----------
2022Florida----------
2021Florida----------
Career5 loaded seasons20------
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 5.0% 9.0% pass-game share | #533/1137 (53rd 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 13 #510/1110 54th pct Volumevs FBS WR
Receiving Receiving yards 181 #496/1107 55th pct Volumevs FBS WR
Receiving Receiving TD 0 #615/1111 45th pct Scoringvs FBS WR
Receiving Yards / catch 13.9 #368/1106 67th pct Efficiencyvs FBS WR
Usage Pass share 9.0% #533/1137 53rd pct Air-game usagevs FBS WR
Rushing Carries 1 #264/407 35th pct Volumevs FBS WR
Rushing Rush TD 0 #81/411 81st pct Scoringvs FBS WR
Rushing Rushing yards -5 #367/397 8th pct Volumevs FBS WR
Rushing Yards / carry -5.0 #371/393 6th pct Efficiencyvs FBS WR
Receiving Receiving LONG 30 #597/1105 46th pct Metricvs FBS WR
Usage 3rd-down usage 6.9% #464/1137 59th pct Money-down loadvs FBS WR
Usage Passing-down usage 6.7% #491/1137 57th pct Known-passing sharevs FBS WR
Usage 2nd-down usage 5.8% #420/1137 63rd pct Middle-down loadvs FBS WR
Usage Role share 5.0% #482/1137 58th pct Share of team offensevs FBS WR
Usage Standard-down usage 4.2% #494/1137 57th pct Base-situation sharevs FBS WR
Usage 1st-down usage 4.0% #560/1137 51st pct Early-down loadvs FBS WR
Usage Rush share 0.5% #284/1137 75th 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 · 6 games

Home/Road · Win/Loss · Season halves

Home vs Road

REC/gYDS/gYPRTD/g
Home3g2.031.716.30.0
Road3g2.328.712.50.0

Win vs Loss

REC/gYDS/gYPRTD/g
Wins3g2.031.716.30.0
Losses3g2.328.712.50.0

First half vs Second half

REC/gYDS/gYPRTD/g
Weeks 1-74g2.537.815.70.0
Weeks 8+2g1.515.011.80.0

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

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort

21Below cohort
7 metrics · season cumulative

Concern: rush yards (6th).

Yards / catch#209 / 558 · 62nd pct
13.9rece
Rush TDs#67 / 287 · 39th pct
0rush
Long catch#473 / 558 · 15th pct
30rece
Rec yards#489 / 558 · 12th pct
181rece
Rec TDs#482 / 558 · 7th pct
0rece
Receptions#510 / 558 · 7th pct
13rece
Rush yards#267 / 287 · 6th pct
-5rush

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
Marcus BurkeUCFMichael Jackson IIIPurdue· 56% simChauncy CobbArkansas State· 50% simLewis BondBoston College· 47% sim
Yards / catch
62
Burke
9
III
25
Cobb
32
Bond
Rush TDs
39
Burke
39
III
39
Cobb
39
Bond
Long catch
15
Burke
16
III
58
Cobb
63
Bond
Rec yards
12
Burke
70
III
87
Cobb
97
Bond
Rec TDs
7
Burke
24
III
24
Cobb
24
Bond
Receptions
7
Burke
92
III
98
Cobb
99
Bond
Rush yards
6
Burke
6
III
12
Cobb
25
Bond

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

Player DNA

The Possession Receiver

Reliable target who converts on critical downs. Not flashy; consistently productive.

WR

His 2025 production profile sits closest to Mark Walker’s 2020 season.

Mark Walker

78%match

Navy · 2020

#2

Landon Parker

Troy · 2024

80%
#3

Lawrence Arnold

Kansas · 2024

79%
#4

Damonte Coxie

Memphis · 2020

73%
#5

Broc Thompson

Marshall · 2020

73%

Matches Mark on

Reception volume
Yards / reception
Weight

Differs from Mark on

Class year (higher)

Through 2 college seasons, his career arc tracks closest to DJ Black’s path through UCF.

DJ Black

95%match

UCF · 2025

#2

Elijah Steward

Lafayette · 2025

95%
#3

Derick Eugene

Long Island University · 2021

95%
#4

Makai Polk

Mississippi State · 2021

95%
#5

Andrew McElroy

Northern Illinois · 2024

93%

Matches DJ on

Height
Yards per reception
Weight

As a graduate, his production profile tracks closest to Loic Fouonji's graduate season at Vanderbilt (2024).

Loic Fouonji

78%match

Vanderbilt · 2024

#2

Lawrence Arnold

Kansas · 2024

67%
#3

Malick Meiga

Coastal Carolina · 2025

62%
#4

Dominick Mazotti

Massachusetts · 2024

59%
#5

Romello Brinson

SMU · 2025

59%

Matches Loic on

Yards / reception
Height
Recruiting rating

Differs from Loic on

Weight (lower)
EPA / play (adj) (lower)

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Scott Frost

Pass share

51.7%

403 pass / 377 run

Plays / game

65.0

12 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

6.5%

324 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Balanced.

Coaching Lineage · 2021–2025

2 coaches
2021
Gus Malzahn
UCF
2022
Gus Malzahn
UCF
2023
Gus Malzahn
UCF
2024
Gus Malzahn
UCF
2025
Scott Frost
UCF
era →

Coaching transition mid-career: Gus Malzahn → Scott Frost. 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.

HometownJacksonville, FL
Height6'3"
Weight197 lb
Class4
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 Florida WR4 #995 #1275 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | SEC
2023 Florida WR4 #1988 #2253 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W19 snapshot | SEC
2022 Florida WR4 #2918 #3005 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | SEC
2021 Florida WR4 #1255 #1139 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | SEC

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2025 UCF Big 12 WR 4 No. 3 | 6-3 | 197 lb | Jacksonville, FL
2024 Florida SEC WR 4 No. 3 | 6-3 | 197 lb | Jacksonville, FL
2023 Florida SEC WR 4 No. 3 | 6-3 | 197 lb | Jacksonville, FL
2022 Florida SEC WR 4 No. 3 | 6-3 | 197 lb | Jacksonville, FL
2021 Florida SEC WR 4 No. 3 | 6-3 | 197 lb | Jacksonville, FL