Senior tight end for Illinois. 2025: 13 catches, 114 receiving yards, 2 TD.
6′4″ · 265 lb · Fort Collins, CO
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
The numbers
receiving yards · 2025
13 catches · 2 TD · 8.8 per catch
Swing playSwung Illinois from 43% to 66% to win.Illinois at Washington · 42-25
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 tight end for Illinois. 2025: 13 catches, 114 receiving yards, 2 TD.
How he plays
Shows up in the passing game from any alignment.
Rec TDs: 43rd percentile.
The full scouting readTanner Arkin
Shows up in the passing game from any alignment. Tanner Arkin has played for three head coaches across five seasons and two programs. His first career honor landed in 2022: All-Mountain West. The receipt on tape: 33 rec yds, 2 receptions against Northwestern, Week 14, 2025.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
His career
Nobody recruited him. He earned the honors anyway.
The role got bigger.
The snaps went the other way.
Career arc
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST
All-Mountain West mention (2022)
Coaching lineage · 2021–2025
1 coachPlayed his entire career under Bret Bielema.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this profile ranks vs the TE cohort
Box-score percentiles
Concern: rec yards (8th percentile).
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.
Situational · Share of own targets (PBP, 2025)
Third-down role
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 1.8 | 19.0 | 10.7 | 0.2 |
| Road3g | 1.3 | 6.3 | 4.8 | 0.3 |
First half vs Second half
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-75g | 1.4 | 11.8 | 8.1 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+3g | 2.0 | 18.3 | 9.2 | 0.3 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Bret Bielema
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Player standing · 2025
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Recognition
Production · CFB Index Score
Three-star recruit. Now #147 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-Big Ten
Based on 2025: #25 of 26 Big Ten TEs
15% estimated, 95% confidence interval 13–17%. Base rate measured from players who finished at a comparable rank in their conference and came back the next season. It is an estimate from a small sample, not a forecast of this player.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Illinois | 13 | 114 | 8.8 | 2 | -- |
| 2024 | Illinois | 16 | 111 | 6.9 | 3 | -- |
| 2023 | Illinois | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | -- |
| 2022 | Colorado State | 14 | 116 | 8.3 | 0 | -- |
| 2021 | Colorado State | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 0 | -- |
| Career | 45 | 351 | 7.8 | 6 | -- |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 5 · 2025
W 34–32
vs USC
1 rec · 12 yds
Edged out USC at home in a shootout.
With L. Altmyer — 328 yds · 2 TD · 0 INT · QBR 97.5 · 28 rush yds (5 car) · 1 TD · H. Beatty — 3 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · QBR 100.0
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 8 games
| Wk | Opp | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 52-3vs Western Illinois | 2 | 14 | 7.0 | 1 | 11 | |
| Wk 4 | L 10-63@ Indiana | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Wk 5 | W 34-32vs USC | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 0 | 12 | |
| Wk 6 | W 43-27@ Purdue | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 0 | 7 | |
| Wk 9 | L 25-42@ Washington | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | 1 | 5 | |
| Wk 10 | W 35-13vs Rutgers | 2 | 13 | 6.5 | 0 | 11 | |
| Wk 14 | W 20-13vs Northwestern | 2 | 33 | 16.5 | 0 | 28 | Season-high 33 yds |
| Bowl | W 30-28vs Tennessee | 2 | 23 | 11.5 | 0 | 15 | |
| Total | 13 | 114 | 8.5 | 2 | 28 |
Play style
No single go-to route — the receiving numbers show up inline and split out alike.
CFB Index positional classification
2026 Outlook
Illinois
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Tight end · Illinois
Returning around him
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Illinois · Last season: 9-4 (AP #23) · Talent rank #51 · 2026 recruiting class #24
Player DNA
No single go-to route — the receiving numbers show up inline and split out alike.
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Tanner Arkin’s 2024 season.
Matches Tanner on
Differs from Tanner on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a graduate, his production profile tracks closest to Jere Getzinger Jr.'s graduate season at Eastern Michigan (2024).
Matches Jere on
Differs from Jere on
Player DNA