cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Mario Landino /Indiana

Mario Landino

DL · Indiana · So · #97

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

32 TACKLES · 5 SACKS

2026 RETURNINGReturning to Indiana for 2026

2026 Outlook

Returning to Indiana for 2026

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Defensive line · Indiana

Returning around him

  • 25% of 2024 offensive production back (Heavy turnover)
  • 8 Indiana players drafted to NFL
  • Transfer portal: +1 net (17 in / 16 out)

2026 Award watch

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

Indiana · Last season: 16-0 (AP #1) · Talent rank #72 · 2026 recruiting class #47

DL · INDIANA · BIG TEN

Mario Landino

  • 2
  • #97
  • 6-4 | 275 lb
  • Macungie, PA

CFB Zeitgeist Score

74

Solid starter in the position cohort. Carried by sacks at the 96th percentile.

Heisman Heat

#4573

<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 1 · 2-deep

R04 · Rotational

Rotational. Earning real snaps in the rotation.

Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Career Arc

HS
Recruit
★★★
#2398 national
CFB
College
Indiana
2024–2025
NFL
NFL Draft
Not drafted (yet)

Identity & Role

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

PositionDL
Class2
Jersey97
Measurements6-4 | 275 lb
HometownMacungie, PA
Primary teamIndiana

Recruiting Pedigree

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

Top pedigree 3-star No. 2398 recruit
Composite rating 0.8137 HighSchool
Signed with Indiana 2024
Origin Emmaus Emmaus, PA, USA
Class Profile Context
2024 3-star | 0.8137 No. 2398 recruit | HighSchool | Indiana

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#4573Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#4513Where 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

NIL Valuation · On3

$873K

On3 ranking · Jun 2026

Whisper Rate

$500K

per-deal market estimate

Recruit stars

★★★☆☆

to Indiana

Composite

0.8137

#2398 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 Mario Landino

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 Mario Landino

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

final
Through 14g
32Tackles
6.5Tackles for loss
5Sacks
Per game
2Tackles
0.5Tackles for loss
0.4Sacks
Final
32Tackles
6.5Tackles for loss
5Sacks

Why this is a rare defensive case

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

Mario Landino is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on Indiana's defense, with 5.0 sacks, 6.5 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 #4573 0.0% win | 0.0% finalist
Role load -- Role share still loading
Profile quirk Defensive rarity 5.0 sacks | 6.5 TFL

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 14 solo | #1250/4942 (75th pct)
TFL 6.5 Backfield disruption | #340/4972 (93rd pct)
Sacks 5.0 Pass-rush finish | #102/4972 (98th pct)
Player identity What kind of player is this?

30-second read

What kind of player is this?

High-disruption defender | Coverage splash against FBS defenders.

High-disruption defenderCoverage splash

2025 Season · Final

2025 season snapshot | final

Tackling & Disruption

TOT
32 75th
SOLO
14 67th
TFL
6.5 93rd
SACK
5.0 98th
QBH
2 66th

Coverage & Takeaways

PD
4 84th

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 14 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppTKLSOLOTFLSACKINTPDNote
Wk 2W 56-9vs Kennesaw State200.00.00
Wk 3W 73-0vs Indiana State321.51.00
Wk 4W 63-10vs Illinois412.02.01Season-high 4 tackles
Wk 5W 20-15@ Iowa310.50.01
Wk 7W 30-20@ Oregon411.01.00
Wk 9W 56-6vs UCLA100.00.01
Wk 10W 55-10@ Maryland110.00.00
Wk 11W 27-24@ Penn State100.50.00
Wk 12W 31-7vs Wisconsin300.00.00
Wk 14W 56-3@ Purdue110.00.00
Wk 15W 13-10@ Ohio State111.01.00
BowlW 38-3vs Alabama110.00.01
BowlW 56-22vs Oregon320.00.00
BowlW 27-21vs Miami430.00.00
Total32146.55.04
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

2024Indiana11-2HC: Curt Cignetti · Run-leaning
2025Indiana16-0HC: Curt Cignetti · Run-heavy
SeasonTeam
2025Indiana32146.55.04----
2024Indiana962.00.5------
Career2 loaded seasons41208.55.54----
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 4 Coverage disruption | #340/2184 (84th 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 32 #1250/4942 75th pct Volumevs FBS DEF
Defense TFL 6.5 #340/4972 93rd pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Sacks 5.0 #102/4972 98th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Pass breakups 4 #340/2184 84th pct Coveragevs FBS DEF
Defense QB hurries 2 #647/1878 66th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Solo tackles 14 #1520/4584 67th pct Volumevs FBS DEF
Defense Fumbles recovered 2 #13/736 98th pct Takeawaysvs FBS DEF
Ball Security Fumbles lost 0 #1/773 100th pct Turnoversvs 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 · 14 games

Home/Road · Win/Loss · Season halves

Home vs Road

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Home8g2.60.40.40.4
Road6g1.80.50.30.2

Win vs Loss

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Wins14g2.30.50.40.3

First half vs Second half

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Weeks 1-78g3.00.60.50.4
Weeks 8+6g1.30.20.20.2

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

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the DL cohort

74Solid starter
7 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: sacks (96th). Strength: tackles for loss (87th).

Sacks#102 / 2975 · 96th pct
5.0defe
Tackles for loss#340 / 2975 · 87th pct
6.5defe
Passes defended#340 / 2975 · 86th pct
4defe
QB hurries#634 / 2975 · 72nd pct
2defe
Tackles#1250 / 2975 · 57th pct
32defe
Forced fumbles#36 / 687 · 47th pct
0fumb
Solo tackles#1520 / 2975 · 47th pct
14defe

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 · 7 metrics
Mario LandinoIndianaRasheem BilesPittsburgh· 76% simColton PharesApp State· 75% simMatt RoseStanford· 75% sim
Sacks
96
Landino
95
Biles
80
Phares
89
Rose
Tackles for loss
87
Landino
100
Biles
96
Phares
93
Rose
Passes defended
86
Landino
86
Biles
78
Phares
78
Rose
QB hurries
72
Landino
88
Biles
72
Phares
82
Rose
Tackles
57
Landino
98
Biles
98
Phares
99
Rose
Forced fumbles
47
Landino
47
Biles
47
Phares
47
Rose
Solo tackles
47
Landino
91
Biles
95
Phares
97
Rose

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

Player DNA

The 3-Tech Penetrator

Disruptive interior rusher who lives in the backfield.

IDL

His 2025 production profile sits closest to Travon Walker’s 2021 season.

Travon Walker

83%match

Georgia · 2021

All-SECNFL Rd 1 · Pk 1
#2

Trace Scott

Delaware · 2025

83%
#3

Caden Wiest

Missouri State · 2025

82%
#4

Pat Farrell

Illinois · 2025

81%
#5

Caleb Okechukwu

Syracuse · 2022

80%

Matches Travon on

Sack rate
TFL rate
Weight

Differs from Travon on

Class year (higher)
Height (lower)

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Pat Farrell's sophomore season at Illinois (2025).

Pat Farrell

84%match

Illinois · 2025

#2

DeMarvin Leal

Texas A&M · 2021

Consensus All-AmericanNFL Rd 3 · Pk 20
83%
#3

Travon Walker

Georgia · 2021

All-SECNFL Rd 1 · Pk 1
81%
#4

Noah Seiden

Tulane · 2021

80%
#5

Eddrick Houston

Ohio State · 2025

78%

Matches Pat on

Class year
Weight
TFL rate

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Curt Cignetti

Pass share

38.7%

404 pass / 641 run

Plays / game

65.3

16 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

7.3%

275 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Run-heavy.

Coaching Lineage · 2024–2025

1 coach
2024
Curt Cignetti
Indiana
2025
Curt Cignetti
Indiana

Played his entire career under Curt Cignetti.

Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster

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

HometownMacungie, PA
Height6'4"
Weight275 lb
Class2
PositionDL
Jersey97

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 Indiana DL2 #4573 #4513 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | Big Ten

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2025 Indiana Big Ten DL 2 No. 97 | 6-4 | 275 lb | Macungie, PA
2024 Indiana Big Ten DL 2 No. 97 | 6-4 | 275 lb | Macungie, PA