CFB Zeitgeist Score
69
Solid starter in the position cohort. Carried by tackles for loss at the 94th percentile.
Taye Brown
Below the discourse floor — the honest stats-only state.
93 TACKLES · 1.5 SACKS
2026 Outlook
Returning to Arizona for 2026
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Linebacker · Arizona
Returning around him
- 56% of 2024 offensive production back (Solid continuity)
- 4 Arizona players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: +2 net (22 in / 20 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Arizona · Last season: 9-4 (AP #21) · Talent rank #67 · 2026 recruiting class #50
LB · ARIZONA · BIG 12
Taye Brown
- 3
- #6
- 6-2 | 231 lb
- Chandler, AZ
Heisman Heat
#9967
<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 · StarterR07 · Impact starter
Impact starter. Producing measurable value above replacement.
Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career arc · Season-by-season Standing
3 seasons on the ladder
2023
Arizona · LB
—
2024
Arizona · LB
—
★
2025
Arizona · LB
R09 · All-Conference HM / 2nd team
Recognized
Career Arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
Arizona
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Heisman futures · live sportsbook odds
#20 in market ▼ from #17 · 6 books
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 3-star | 0.8500 | No. 1396 recruit | HighSchool | Arizona |
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.
No achievements unlocked yet this season.
Selector Grid · 2025
AP—
FWAA—
AFCA—
WCFF—
SN—
SI—
NIL · Recruiting · NFL Draft
Market value, pedigree & pro outcome
Recruit stars
★★★☆☆
to Arizona
Composite
0.8500
#1396 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 Taye Brown
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 Taye Brown
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.
Season Pace · Projection
Where the defensive totals stand
Through 13g
93Tackles
8.5Tackles for loss
1.5Sacks
Per game
7Tackles
0.7Tackles for loss
0.1Sacks
Final
93Tackles
8.5Tackles for loss
1.5Sacks
✓ Hit 80-tackle season · finished with 93.
Why this is a rare defensive case
The fast read on the thing that makes this player more than a generic stat line.
Taye Brown is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on Arizona's defense, with 1.5 sacks, 8.5 tackles for loss, and 1 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.
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
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.
2025 Season · Final
2025 season snapshot | final
Tackling & Disruption
TOT
93 99th
SOLO
38 94th
TFL
8.5 97th
SACK
1.5 85th
QBH
3 75th
Coverage & Takeaways
PD
1 43rd
INT
1 65th
Game Log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 13 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 40-6vs Hawai'i | 6 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 48-3vs Weber State | 6 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 23-17vs Kansas State | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 14-39@ Iowa State | 3 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 41-13vs Oklahoma State | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 27-33vs BYU | 14 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 14 tackles |
| Wk 8 | L 28-31@ Houston | 10 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 52-17@ Colorado | 8 | 5 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 24-20vs Kansas | 9 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 30-24@ Cincinnati | 7 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 41-17vs Baylor | 10 | 3 | 2.0 | 1.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | W 23-7@ Arizona State | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Bowl | L 19-24@ SMU | 9 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 93 | 38 | 8.5 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 |
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
2023Arizona10-3HC: Jedd Fisch · Balanced
2024Arizona4-8HC: Brent Brennan · Pass-leaning
2025Arizona9-4HC: Brent Brennan · Balanced
Advanced layer Usage, value, and context
Advanced metrics second
Advanced Metrics
Usage, value, and opponent-adjusted context.
TFL, sacks, and QB hurries are grouped together because defensive Heisman cases are usually built on visible havoc, not on tackle counts alone.
Pass breakups, interceptions, and forced fumbles matter because national awards voters respond to plays that change possessions and highlight reels.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Defense | Total tackles | 93 | #72/4942 | 99th pct | Volumevs FBS DEF |
| Defense | TFL | 8.5 | #175/4972 | 97th pct | Disruptionvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Sacks | 1.5 | #724/4972 | 85th pct | Disruptionvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Interceptions | 1 | #308/869 | 65th pct | Takeawaysvs 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 | 38 | #271/4584 | 94th pct | Volumevs FBS DEF |
| Defense | INT return avg | 5.0 | #432/578 | 25th pct | Takeawaysvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | INT return yards | 5 | #459/578 | 21st pct | Takeawaysvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Fumbles recovered | 1 | #103/736 | 86th 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.
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 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 vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 7.4 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| Road6g | 6.8 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Win vs Loss
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wins9g | 6.3 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Losses4g | 9.0 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 6.4 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 8.0 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
Pocket and defense-quality (clean vs. pressure) splits are coming soon.
Savant · Box-rate percentiles
Where this profile ranks vs the LB cohort
69Solid starter
Elite: tackles (97th). Strength: tackles for loss (93rd).
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
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
Taye BrownArizonaQuinton UrwilerNorthern Illinois· 95% simDaniel WingateMaryland· 95% simMaverick BaranowskiMinnesota· 93% sim
Tackles
Tackles for loss
Solo tackles
QB hurries
Sacks
Passes defended
Forced fumbles
Interceptions
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 Maverick Baranowski’s 2025 season.
Maverick Baranowski
87%match
#2
Jeslord Boateng
86%
#3
Tyler Grubbs
All-AAC
86%
#4
Xavian Sorey Jr.
84%
#5
Ernest Hausmann
84%
Matches Maverick on
PD rate
TFL rate
Weight
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Maverick Baranowski's junior season at Minnesota (2025).
Maverick Baranowski
86%match
#2
Jayden Wilson
86%
#3
C.J. Allen
82%
#4
Cade Uluave
All-ACC
80%
#5
Bronson Olevao
79%
Matches Maverick on
PD rate
Weight
TFL rate
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Brent Brennan
Pass share
49.7%
447 pass / 452 run
Plays / game
69.2
13 games
OL sack rate (allowed)
7.9%
340 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Coaching Lineage · 2023–2025
2 coaches2023
Jedd Fisch
Arizona
2024era →
Brent Brennan
Arizona
2025
Brent Brennan
Arizona
Coaching transition mid-career: Jedd Fisch → Brent Brennan. 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.
HometownChandler, AZ
Height6'2"
Weight231 lb
Class3
PositionLB
Jersey6
No fields populated yet.
No fields populated yet.
Current teamArizona
ConferenceBig 12
Joined2025
Career arc3 season(s)
Trophy Case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
🎖
ALL-CONFERENCE
All-Conf mention (2025)
All-Big 12
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 12 | all_conference | Arizona | Big 12 | LB |
Heisman By Year
Modeled rank and official finish by season.
Roster Timeline
Team, conference, and class by season.