cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Treylin Payne /Texas State

Treylin Payne

LB · Texas State · Sr · #29

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

101 TACKLES · 2 SACKS

2026 RETURNINGReturning to Texas State for 2026

2026 Outlook

Returning to Texas State for 2026

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Linebacker · Texas State

Returning around him

  • 93% of 2024 offensive production back (Strong continuity)
  • Transfer portal: -4 net (17 in / 21 out)

2026 Award watch

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

Texas State · Last season: 7-6 · Talent rank #76 · 2026 recruiting class #101

LB · TEXAS STATE · SUN BELT

Treylin Payne

  • 4
  • #29
  • 6-0 | 215 lb
  • Converse, TX

CFB Zeitgeist Score

84

All-Conference in the position cohort. Carried by sacks at the 80th percentile.

Heisman Heat

#12076

<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
★★★
#957 national
CFB
College
2 teams
2022–2025
NFL
NFL Draft
Not drafted (yet)

Identity & Role

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

PositionLB
Class4
Jersey29
Measurements6-0 | 215 lb
HometownConverse, TX
Primary teamTexas State

Recruiting Pedigree

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

Top pedigree 3-star No. 957 recruit
Composite rating 0.8619 HighSchool
Signed with -- 2022
Origin Judson Converse, TX, USA
Class Profile Context
2022 3-star | 0.8619 No. 957 recruit | HighSchool

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 Texas State 2024
Transfer stars 3-star CFBD transfer rating context
Eligibility Immediate Apr 17, 2024
Season Move Context
2024 Houston -> Texas State 3-star | 0.8500 | 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#12076Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#12103Where 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 —

Composite

0.8619

#957 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 Treylin Payne

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 Treylin Payne

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

projecting to 13-game
Through 12g
101Tackles
6.5Tackles for loss
2Sacks
Per game
8Tackles
0.5Tackles for loss
0.2Sacks
Projected (13g)
109Tackles
7Tackles for loss
2.2Sacks

✓ Hit 80-tackle season · finished with 101.

✓ Hit 100-tackle season · finished with 101.

To hit 6-sack season (currently 2): needs 4/game over remaining 1.

To hit 10-sack season (currently 2): needs 8/game over remaining 1.

Why this is a rare defensive case

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

Treylin Payne is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on Texas State's defense, with 2.0 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 #12076 0.0% win | 0.0% finalist
Role load -- Role share still loading
Profile quirk Transfer path 1 portal move

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 101 44 solo | #48/4942 (99th pct)
TFL 6.5 Backfield disruption | #340/4972 (93rd pct)
Sacks 2.0 Pass-rush finish | #491/4972 (90th 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
101 99th
SOLO
44 97th
TFL
6.5 93rd
SACK
2.0 90th
QBH
3 75th

Coverage & Takeaways

PD
2 64th

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 12 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppTKLSOLOTFLSACKINTPDNote
Wk 1W 52-27vs Eastern Michigan960.00.00
Wk 2W 43-36@ UTSA850.00.01
Wk 3L 15-34@ Arizona State631.51.00
Wk 4W 35-3vs Nicholls640.00.00
Wk 6L 30-31@ Arkansas State820.00.00
Wk 7L 41-48vs Troy531.01.00
Wk 8L 37-40@ Marshall2471.50.00Season-high 24 tackles
Wk 11L 39-42@ Louisiana921.00.00
Wk 12W 41-14@ Southern Miss840.00.00
Wk 13W 31-14vs UL Monroe921.00.00
Wk 14W 49-26vs South Alabama420.50.01
BowlW 41-10vs Rice540.00.00
Total101446.52.02
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

2022Houston8-5HC: Dana Holgorsen · Pass-leaning
2023Houston4-8HC: Dana Holgorsen · Balanced
2025Texas State7-6HC: G.J. Kinne · Run-heavy
SeasonTeam
2025Texas State101446.52.02----
2023Houston28132.51.5--1--
2022Houston21101.50.0------
Career3 loaded seasons1506710.53.521--
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 2 Coverage disruption | #792/2184 (64th 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 101 #48/4942 99th pct Volumevs FBS DEF
Defense TFL 6.5 #340/4972 93rd pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Sacks 2.0 #491/4972 90th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Pass breakups 2 #792/2184 64th pct Coveragevs FBS DEF
Defense QB hurries 3 #462/1878 75th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Solo tackles 44 #137/4584 97th 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 · 12 games

Home/Road · Win/Loss · Season halves

Home vs Road

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Home6g6.30.40.20.2
Road6g10.50.70.20.2

Win vs Loss

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Wins7g7.00.20.00.3
Losses5g10.41.00.40.0

First half vs Second half

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Weeks 1-77g6.70.40.30.1
Weeks 8+5g10.80.80.00.2

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 (95th).

Tackles#48 / 2975 · 98th pct
101defe
Solo tackles#137 / 2975 · 95th pct
44defe
Tackles for loss#340 / 2975 · 87th pct
6.5defe
QB hurries#457 / 2975 · 82nd pct
3defe
Sacks#487 / 2975 · 80th pct
2.0defe
Passes defended#777 / 2975 · 67th pct
2defe

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
Treylin PayneTexas StateRay ConeyTulsa· 97% simJaylen WesterWestern Kentucky· 97% simJaxton EckNew Mexico· 97% sim
Tackles
98
Payne
100
Coney
99
Wester
100
Eck
Solo tackles
95
Payne
93
Coney
98
Wester
100
Eck
Tackles for loss
87
Payne
90
Coney
90
Wester
87
Eck
QB hurries
82
Payne
88
Coney
82
Wester
82
Eck
Sacks
80
Payne
80
Coney
74
Wester
74
Eck
Passes defended
67
Payne
67
Coney
67
Wester
67
Eck

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 Trey Fields’s 2025 season.

Trey Fields

92%match

North Texas · 2025

#2

Tavante Beckett

Marshall · 2020

All-Conference USA
83%
#3

Jordan Crook

Arizona State · 2025

All-Big 12
81%
#4

Traveion Webster

UL Monroe · 2021

79%
#5

Jourdon Quibodeaux

Louisiana · 2022

78%

Matches Trey on

TFL rate
PD rate
Tackle volume

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Trey Fields's senior season at North Texas (2025).

Trey Fields

96%match

North Texas · 2025

#2

Jaylen Wester

Western Kentucky · 2025

88%
#3

Jordan Crook

Arizona State · 2025

All-Big 12
88%
#4

Trey Rucker

Oklahoma State · 2023

87%
#5

Trent Hendrick

James Madison · 2025

All-Sun Belt
84%

Matches Trey on

Class year
TFL rate
Tackle volume

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

G.J. Kinne

Pass share

39.5%

358 pass / 549 run

Plays / game

69.8

13 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

9.4%

267 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Run-heavy.

Coaching Lineage · 2022–2025

2 coaches
2022
Jake Spavital
Texas State
2023
G.J. Kinne
Texas State
era →
2025
G.J. Kinne
Texas State

Coaching transition mid-career: Jake Spavital → G.J. Kinne. 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.

HometownConverse, TX
Height6'0"
Weight215 lb
Class4
PositionLB
Jersey29

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 Texas State LB4 #12076 #12103 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | Sun Belt
2023 Houston LB4 #12310 #12764 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W19 snapshot | Big 12
2022 Houston LB4 #11849 #11819 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | American Athletic

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2025 Texas State Sun Belt LB 4 No. 29 | 6-0 | 215 lb | Converse, TX
2024 Texas State Sun Belt LB 4 No. 29 | 6-0 | 215 lb | Converse, TX
2023 Houston Big 12 LB 4 No. 29 | 6-0 | 215 lb | Converse, TX
2022 Houston American Athletic LB 4 No. 29 | 6-0 | 215 lb | Converse, TX