cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Trebor Pena /Penn State

Trebor Pena

WR · Penn State · Sr · #8

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

552 REC YDS · 49 REC · 2 REC TD

2026 RETURNINGReturning to Penn State for 2026

2026 Outlook

Returning to Penn State for 2026

Updated May 27

2026 Depth chart

Returning starter

Wide receiver · Penn State · editorial

Returning around him

  • 56% of 2024 offensive production back (Solid continuity)
  • 8 Penn State players drafted to NFL
  • Transfer portal: -11 net (37 in / 48 out)

2026 Award watch

  • Biletnikoff

Penn State · Last season: 7-6 (AP #7) · Talent rank #10 · 2026 recruiting class #15

WR · PENN STATE · BIG TEN

Trebor Pena

  • 4
  • #8
  • 5-10 | 186 lb
  • Ocean Township, NJ

CFB Zeitgeist Score

61

Solid starter in the position cohort. Carried by rec yards at the 68th percentile.

Heisman Heat

#167

<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

R07 · Impact starter

Impact starter. Producing measurable value above replacement.

Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Career arc · Season-by-season Standing

5 seasons on the ladder

Peak: R09 All-Conference HM / 2nd team · 2024

2021

Syracuse · WR

2022

Syracuse · WR

2023

Syracuse · WR

2024

Syracuse · WR

R09 · All-Conference HM / 2nd team

Recognized

2025

Penn State · WR

Development Trajectory · receiving yards

2021–2025
69.02021
2032022
9412024
5522025

+700%

Up 700% from first season to most-recent.

Career Arc

HS
Recruit
★★★
#1434 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
Jersey8
Measurements5-10 | 186 lb
HometownOcean Township, NJ
Primary teamPenn State

Recruiting Pedigree

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

Top pedigree 3-star No. 1434 recruit
Composite rating 0.8426 HighSchool
Signed with Syracuse 2020
Origin Ocean Township Oakhurst, NJ, USA
Class Profile Context
2020 3-star | 0.8426 No. 1434 recruit | HighSchool | Syracuse

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 Penn State 2025
Transfer stars 4-star CFBD transfer rating context
Eligibility Immediate Apr 26, 2025
Season Move Context
2025 Syracuse -> Penn State 4-star | 0.9100 | 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#167Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#227Where 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.

Achievements

  • Program Benchmark 5.5% Program Benchmark Season leader for the program at the player's position across the headline volume metric (passing yards / rushing yards / receiving yards). Held by 5.5% of the 2025 pool. Team leader in receiving yards (552).

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 Syracuse

Composite

0.8426

#1434 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 Trebor Pena

Fan sentiment ·

Belief Meter

75

Grounded Optimism

Sample 6 mentions
Confidence LOW

Top Take

Trajectory

Cohort divergence mapbearishbullishheatedcalmOwn fans: 6 mentions · belief +50 · "The Big Ten had a massive Week 1 headliner with Ohio State knocking off Texas, b"Own fansRivals: 1 mentions · belief +100 · "By Stewart Mandel Aug. 19, 2025Updated 7:19 am CDT 17 The Big Ten is the toast "Rivals
  • Own fans · n=6
  • Rivals · n=1

Rival Radar

How rival fanbases talk about Trebor Pena

Only 1 rival mention(s) — below the 4-mention floor for a defensible read.

2025 Signature · 2025 season

Receiving yards (total)

552

yds

All FBS WRs, min 20 receptions

National rank #171 of 531
Percentile vs All FBS WRs, min 20 receptions 68th

Why it matters

#171 of 531 All FBS WRs in receiving yards — 552 yards on 49 receptions.

Vs cohort

This player 552 (68th)

HIGH · n=49 cohort 531

  • Also strong
  • Yards per reception#331 / 531
  • Receiving TDs#302 / 531

Signature Moment

Week 1 at Clemson — 100 receiving_yards_total

Result W 22-10

The week the volume broke through — put up 100 yds at Clemson.

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

final
Through 13g
552Rec yards
49Receptions
2Rec TDs
Per game
42.5Rec yards
4Receptions
0Rec TDs
Final
552Rec yards
49Receptions
2Rec TDs

Why the honors trail matters

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

The useful clue on this card is not just the Heisman rank, but the broader honors spine. Trebor Pena already has 1 loaded recognition item, which helps distinguish a player who is merely productive from one who is already earning selector-level validation.

Current place #167 0.0% win | 0.0% finalist
Role load 9.6% Overall usage share
Profile quirk Transfer path 1 portal move

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 49 2 rec TD | #123/1110 (89th pct)
Receiving yards 552 11.3 per catch | #177/1107 (84th pct)
Scrimmage yards 621 Total offensive yardage | #177/1107 (84th pct)
Player identity What kind of player is this?

30-second read

What kind of player is this?

Target magnet against FBS receiving peers.

Target magnet

2025 Season · Final

2025 season snapshot | final

Receiving

REC
49 89th
YDS
552 84th
YPR
11.3 45th
TD
2 75th

Rushing

CAR
11 90th
YDS
69 89th
YPC
6.3 70th
TD
0 81st

Returns

KR YDS
16 20th
KR AVG
16.0 31st
PR YDS
71 64th
PR AVG
8.9 59th

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 13 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppRECYDSAVGTDLONGNote
Wk 1W 46-11vs Nevada77410.6018Season-high 100 yds
Wk 2W 34-0vs Florida International23216.0030
Wk 3W 52-6vs Villanova46015.0123
Wk 5L 24-30vs Oregon2168.0012
Wk 6L 37-42@ UCLA3155.0012
Wk 7L 21-22vs Northwestern252.504
Wk 8L 24-25@ Iowa3196.3013
Wk 10L 14-38@ Ohio State3113.706
Wk 11L 24-27vs Indiana69916.5043
Wk 12W 28-10@ Michigan State4389.5025
Wk 13W 37-10vs Nebraska44711.8029
Wk 14W 40-36@ Rutgers4369.0023
BowlW 22-10@ Clemson510020.0173
Total4955210.3273
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

2021Syracuse5-7HC: Dino Babers · Run-heavy
2022Syracuse7-6HC: Dino Babers · Run-leaning, slow tempo
2023Syracuse6-7HC: Nunzio Campanile · Run-heavy
2024Syracuse10-3HC: Fran Brown · Pass-leaning, fast tempo
2025Penn State7-6HC: James Franklin · Run-leaning
SeasonTeam
2025Penn State4955211.32--
2024Syracuse8494111.29--
2023Syracuse----------
2022Syracuse222039.20--
2021Syracuse26934.51--
Career5 loaded seasons1571,76511.212--
SeasonTeam
2025Penn State11691671--
2024Syracuse1272--120--
2023Syracuse------9--
2022Syracuse28331182--
2021Syracuse117421131--
Career5 loaded seasons26166768513--
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 9.6% 19.7% pass-game share | #96/1137 (92nd pct)
Return yards 87 0 return TD | #192/238 (20th pct)
Touchdowns 2 Across offense and returns | #281/1111 (75th pct)
Open full stat explorer
0 metrics visible Showing all metrics
Group Metric Value Rank Pct Why it matters
Receiving Receptions 49 #123/1110 89th pct Volumevs FBS WR
Receiving Receiving yards 552 #177/1107 84th pct Volumevs FBS WR
Receiving Receiving TD 2 #281/1111 75th pct Scoringvs FBS WR
Receiving Yards / catch 11.3 #609/1106 45th pct Efficiencyvs FBS WR
Returns Kick return yards 16 #192/238 20th pct Volumevs FBS WR
Returns Punt return yards 71 #81/224 64th pct Volumevs FBS WR
Usage Pass share 19.7% #96/1137 92nd pct Air-game usagevs FBS WR
Rushing Rushing yards 69 #43/397 89th pct Volumevs FBS WR
Rushing Rushing LONG 16 #93/346 73rd pct Metricvs FBS WR
Rushing Carries 11 #43/407 90th pct Volumevs FBS WR
Rushing Yards / carry 6.3 #118/393 70th pct Efficiencyvs FBS WR
Rushing Rush TD 0 #81/411 81st pct Scoringvs FBS WR
Receiving Receiving LONG 73 #75/1105 93rd pct Metricvs FBS WR
Returns Kick return avg 16.0 #164/236 31st pct Efficiencyvs FBS WR
Returns Punt return avg 8.9 #91/222 59th pct Efficiencyvs FBS WR
Returns Punt returns 8 #91/237 62nd pct Volumevs FBS WR
Returns Kick returns 1 #169/243 31st pct Volumevs FBS WR
Usage 3rd-down usage 10.5% #198/1137 83rd pct Money-down loadvs FBS WR
Usage Standard-down usage 9.9% #69/1137 94th pct Base-situation sharevs FBS WR
Usage 1st-down usage 9.6% #105/1137 91st pct Early-down loadvs FBS WR
Usage Role share 9.6% #114/1137 90th pct Share of team offensevs FBS WR
Usage 2nd-down usage 9.0% #164/1137 86th pct Middle-down loadvs FBS WR
Usage Passing-down usage 8.8% #326/1137 71st pct Known-passing sharevs FBS WR
Usage Rush share 2.7% #67/1137 94th pct Ground-game usagevs FBS WR
Ball Security Fumbles lost 0 #1/302 100th pct Turnoversvs 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 · 13 games

Home/Road · Win/Loss · Season halves

Home vs Road

REC/gYDS/gYPRTD/g
Home7g3.947.611.50.1
Road6g3.736.58.90.2

Win vs Loss

REC/gYDS/gYPRTD/g
Wins7g4.355.313.10.3
Losses6g3.227.57.00.0

First half vs Second half

REC/gYDS/gYPRTD/g
Weeks 1-77g3.643.111.00.3
Weeks 8+6g4.041.79.50.0

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

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort

61Solid starter
8 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: long catch (87th). Strength: rush yards (86th).

Long catch#69 / 558 · 87th pct
73rece
Rush yards#38 / 287 · 87th pct
69rush
Fumbles lost#1 / 218 · 81st pct
0fumb
Receptions#123 / 558 · 78th pct
49rece
Rec yards#177 / 558 · 68th pct
552rece
Rec TDs#276 / 558 · 42nd pct
2rece
Rush TDs#67 / 287 · 39th pct
0rush
Yards / catch#381 / 558 · 32nd pct
11.3rece

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 · 8 metrics
Trebor PenaPenn StateDevin VoisinSouth Alabama· 85% simDemarcus LaceyMarshall· 84% simKevin Coleman Jr.Missouri· 84% sim
Long catch
87
Pena
78
Voisin
81
Lacey
56
Jr.
Rush yards
87
Pena
97
Lacey
89
Jr.
Fumbles lost
81
Pena
81
Voisin
81
Lacey
Receptions
78
Pena
95
Voisin
93
Lacey
94
Jr.
Rec yards
68
Pena
87
Voisin
87
Lacey
84
Jr.
Rec TDs
42
Pena
68
Voisin
78
Lacey
24
Jr.
Rush TDs
39
Pena
39
Lacey
39
Jr.
Yards / catch
32
Pena
35
Voisin
37
Lacey
28
Jr.

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

Player DNA

The Slot Technician

Runs precise routes in tight quarters. Volume player who keeps chains moving.

WR

His 2025 production profile sits closest to Cam Ross’s 2023 season.

Cam Ross

86%match

UConn · 2023

#2

Cam Ross

Virginia · 2025

84%
#3

Dominic Lovett

Georgia · 2023

NFL Rd 7
82%
#4

Jacob Bernard

Louisiana · 2023

82%
#5

Jake Bailey

SMU · 2023

82%

Matches Cam on

Weight
Yards / reception
Total EPA (college ability)

Through 3 college seasons, his career arc tracks closest to Max Tomczak’s path through Youngstown State.

Max Tomczak

98%match

Youngstown State · 2025

#2

Antwan Davis

Ball State · 2020

94%
#3

Osirus Mitchell

Mississippi State · 2020

94%
#4

Jordan Brown

Nevada · 2025

All-AACNFL Rd 7
93%
#5

Neno Lemay

Nicholls · 2023

93%

Matches Max on

Yards per reception

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

James Franklin

Pass share

42.0%

339 pass / 469 run

Plays / game

62.2

13 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

7.4%

230 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Run-leaning.

Coaching Lineage · 2021–2025

1 coach
2021
James Franklin
Penn State
2022
James Franklin
Penn State
2023
James Franklin
Penn State
2024
James Franklin
Penn State
2025
James Franklin
Penn State

Played his entire career under James Franklin.

Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster

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

HometownOcean Township, NJ
Height5'10"
Weight186 lb
Class4
PositionWR
Jersey8

Trophy Case · Confirmed honors

What the selectors said

1 entries
🎖

ALL-CONFERENCE

All-Conf mention (2024)

All-ACC

Trophy Case · Detail

Every honor on the ledger, broken out by stream and selector.

All-Conference

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
2024 All-ACC all_conference Syracuse | ACC WR

Heisman By Year

Modeled rank and official finish by season.

Season Team Role Latest Model Forecast Win Finalist Official Finish Points Context
2024 Syracuse WR4 #167 #227 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | ACC
2023 Syracuse WR4 #3749 #3725 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W19 snapshot | ACC
2022 Syracuse WR4 #1760 #1925 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | ACC
2021 Syracuse WR4 #1813 #2002 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | ACC

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2025 Penn State Big Ten WR 4 No. 8 | 5-10 | 186 lb | Ocean Township, NJ
2024 Syracuse ACC WR 4 No. 8 | 5-10 | 186 lb | Ocean Township, NJ
2023 Syracuse ACC WR 4 No. 8 | 5-10 | 186 lb | Ocean Township, NJ
2022 Syracuse ACC WR 4 No. 8 | 5-10 | 186 lb | Ocean Township, NJ
2021 Syracuse ACC WR 4 No. 8 | 5-10 | 186 lb | Ocean Township, NJ