cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Maverick Baranowski /Minnesota

Maverick Baranowski

LB · Minnesota · Jr · #6

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

102 TACKLES · 3 SACKS

2026 RETURNINGReturning to Minnesota for 2026

2026 Outlook

Returning to Minnesota for 2026

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Linebacker · Minnesota

Returning around him

  • 44% of 2024 offensive production back (Moderate turnover)
  • 1 Minnesota player drafted to NFL
  • Transfer portal: -1 net (19 in / 20 out)

2026 Award watch

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

Minnesota · Last season: 8-5 · Talent rank #41 · 2026 recruiting class #49

LB · MINNESOTA · BIG TEN

Maverick Baranowski

  • 3
  • #6
  • 6-2 | 230 lb
  • Ponce Inlet, FL

CFB Zeitgeist Score

84

All-Conference in the position cohort. Carried by sacks at the 89th percentile.

Heisman Heat

#7922

<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 LB AWARD

Butkus

CONSENSUS

All-American

Player Standing · 17 rungs

Tier 2 · Starter

R07 · Impact starter

Impact starter. Producing measurable value above replacement.

Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Career Arc

HS
Recruit
★★★
#1573 national
CFB
College
Minnesota
2023–2025
NFL
NFL Draft
Not drafted (yet)

Identity & Role

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

PositionLB
Class3
Jersey6
Measurements6-2 | 230 lb
HometownPonce Inlet, FL
Primary teamMinnesota

Recruiting Pedigree

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

Top pedigree 3-star No. 1573 recruit
Composite rating 0.8367 HighSchool
Signed with Minnesota 2022
Origin Spruce Creek Port Orange, FL, USA
Class Profile Context
2022 3-star | 0.8367 No. 1573 recruit | HighSchool | Minnesota

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#7922Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#8370Where 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 Minnesota

Composite

0.8367

#1573 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 Maverick Baranowski

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 Maverick Baranowski

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 13g
102Tackles
9Tackles for loss
3Sacks
Per game
8Tackles
0.7Tackles for loss
0.2Sacks
Final
102Tackles
9Tackles for loss
3Sacks

✓ Hit 80-tackle season · finished with 102.

✓ Hit 100-tackle season · finished with 102.

Why this is a rare defensive case

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

Maverick Baranowski is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on Minnesota's defense, with 3.0 sacks, 9.0 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 #7922 0.0% win | 0.0% finalist
Role load -- Role share still loading
Profile quirk Defensive rarity 3.0 sacks | 9.0 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 102 51 solo | #46/4942 (99th pct)
TFL 9.0 Backfield disruption | #142/4972 (97th pct)
Sacks 3.0 Pass-rush finish | #292/4972 (94th pct)
Player identity What kind of player is this?

30-second read

What kind of player is this?

High-disruption defender | High-volume tackler against FBS defenders.

High-disruption defenderHigh-volume tackler

2025 Season · Final

2025 season snapshot | final

Tackling & Disruption

TOT
102 99th
SOLO
51 99th
TFL
9.0 97th
SACK
3.0 94th
QBH
3 75th

Coverage & Takeaways

PD
1 43rd

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 13 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppTKLSOLOTFLSACKINTPDNote
Wk 1W 23-10vs Buffalo1021.50.00Season-high 17 tackles
Wk 2W 66-0vs Northwestern State100.00.00
Wk 3L 14-27@ California720.00.00
Wk 5W 31-28vs Rutgers631.01.00
Wk 6L 3-42@ Ohio State730.50.00
Wk 7W 27-20vs Purdue1050.00.00
Wk 8W 24-6vs Nebraska631.00.00
Wk 9L 3-41@ Iowa960.00.00
Wk 10W 23-20vs Michigan State741.51.00
Wk 12L 13-42@ Oregon730.00.00
Wk 13L 35-38@ Northwestern852.50.002.5 TFL
Wk 14W 17-7vs Wisconsin720.00.01
BowlW 20-17vs New Mexico17131.01.00
Total102519.03.01
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

2023Minnesota6-7HC: P.J. Fleck · Run-heavy, slow tempo
2024Minnesota8-5HC: P.J. Fleck · Balanced
2025Minnesota8-5HC: P.J. Fleck · Balanced, slow tempo
SeasonTeam
2025Minnesota102519.03.01----
2024Minnesota65215.01.02----
2023Minnesota48223.51.01----
Career3 loaded seasons2159417.55.04----
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 1 Coverage disruption | #1241/2184 (43rd pct)
QB pressures 3 Quarterback hurries | #462/1878 (75th pct)
Open full stat explorer
0 metrics visible Showing all metrics
Group Metric Value Rank Pct Why it matters
Defense Total tackles 102 #46/4942 99th pct Volumevs FBS DEF
Defense TFL 9.0 #142/4972 97th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Sacks 3.0 #292/4972 94th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Pass breakups 1 #1241/2184 43rd pct Coveragevs FBS DEF
Defense QB hurries 3 #462/1878 75th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Solo tackles 51 #61/4584 99th 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 Butkus 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 · 13 games

Home/Road · Win/Loss · Season halves

Home vs Road

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Home8g8.00.80.40.1
Road5g7.60.60.00.0

Win vs Loss

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Wins8g8.00.80.40.1
Losses5g7.60.60.00.0

First half vs Second half

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Weeks 1-77g8.30.60.30.0
Weeks 8+6g7.30.80.20.2

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

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the LB cohort

84All-Conference
6 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: tackles (98th). Strength: solo tackles (97th).

Tackles#46 / 2975 · 98th pct
102defe
Solo tackles#61 / 2975 · 98th pct
51defe
Tackles for loss#142 / 2975 · 95th pct
9.0defe
Sacks#291 / 2975 · 89th pct
3.0defe
QB hurries#457 / 2975 · 82nd pct
3defe
Passes defended#1191 / 2975 · 48th pct
1defe

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

Advanced Savant · LB · 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
Maverick BaranowskiMinnesotaAmare CampbellPenn State· 97% simGideon LampronBowling Green· 96% simOumar DiomandeUConn· 95% sim
Tackles
98
Baranowski
99
Campbell
100
Lampron
99
Diomande
Solo tackles
98
Baranowski
100
Campbell
100
Lampron
100
Diomande
Tackles for loss
95
Baranowski
96
Campbell
100
Lampron
93
Diomande
Sacks
89
Baranowski
89
Campbell
85
Lampron
96
Diomande
QB hurries
82
Baranowski
88
Campbell
88
Lampron
92
Diomande
Passes defended
48
Baranowski
48
Campbell
48
Lampron
48
Diomande

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

Player DNA

The Every-Down Linebacker

Leads the team in tackles and rarely leaves the field.

LB

His 2025 production profile sits closest to Jett Johnson’s 2022 season.

Jett Johnson

88%match

Mississippi State · 2022

#2

Abraham Beauplan

Marshall · 2021

All-Conference USA
88%
#3

Taye Brown

Arizona · 2025

All-Big 12
87%
#4

Daiyan Henley

Washington State · 2022

NFL Rd 3 · Pk 22
86%
#5

Josh Ross

Michigan · 2021

All-Big Ten
85%

Matches Jett on

Weight
TFL rate
Sack rate

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Taye Brown's junior season at Arizona (2025).

Taye Brown

86%match

Arizona · 2025

All-Big 12
#2

Easton Gibbs

Wyoming · 2022

85%
#3

Amare Campbell

Penn State · 2025

All-Big Ten
80%
#4

Ethan Wesloski

North Texas · 2025

79%
#5

Cade Uluave

California · 2025

All-ACC
79%

Matches Taye on

PD rate
Weight
TFL rate

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

P.J. Fleck

Pass share

51.7%

397 pass / 371 run

Plays / game

59.1

13 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

7.3%

302 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Balanced, slow tempo.

Coaching Lineage · 2023–2025

1 coach
2023
P.J. Fleck
Minnesota
2024
P.J. Fleck
Minnesota
2025
P.J. Fleck
Minnesota

Played his entire career under P.J. Fleck.

Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster

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

HometownPonce Inlet, FL
Height6'2"
Weight230 lb
Class3
PositionLB
Jersey6

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 Minnesota LB3 #7922 #8370 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | Big Ten
2023 Minnesota LB3 #11636 #12082 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W19 snapshot | Big Ten
2022 Minnesota LB3 #10807 #10540 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | Big Ten

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2025 Minnesota Big Ten LB 3 No. 6 | 6-2 | 230 lb | Ponce Inlet, FL
2024 Minnesota Big Ten LB 3 No. 6 | 6-2 | 230 lb | Ponce Inlet, FL
2023 Minnesota Big Ten LB 3 No. 6 | 6-2 | 230 lb | Ponce Inlet, FL
2022 Minnesota Big Ten LB 3 No. 6 | 6-2 | 230 lb | Ponce Inlet, FL