cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Braeden Marshall /UCF

Braeden Marshall

DB · UCF · Jr · #4

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

22 TACKLES · 0 SACKS

2026 RETURNINGReturning to UCF for 2026

2026 Outlook

Returning to UCF for 2026

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Defensive back · UCF

Returning around him

  • 31% of 2024 offensive production back (Moderate turnover)
  • 1 UCF player drafted to NFL
  • Transfer portal: -4 net (31 in / 35 out)

2026 Award watch

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

UCF · Last season: 5-7 · Talent rank #43 · 2026 recruiting class #79

DB · UCF · BIG 12

Braeden Marshall

  • 3
  • #4
  • 5-10 | 175 lb
  • Lake Mary, FL

CFB Zeitgeist Score

45

Mid-pack in the position cohort. Carried by interceptions at the 75th percentile.

Heisman Heat

#10780

<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 DB AWARD

Jim Thorpe

CONSENSUS

All-American

Player Standing · 17 rungs

Tier 2 · Starter

R05 · Part-time starter

Part-time starter. Splitting first-team reps.

Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Career Arc

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

Identity & Role

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

PositionDB
Class3
Jersey4
Measurements5-10 | 175 lb
HometownLake Mary, FL
Primary teamUCF

Recruiting Pedigree

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

Top pedigree 3-star No. 476 recruit
Composite rating 0.8883 HighSchool
Signed with UCF 2023
Origin Lake Mary Lake Mary, FL, USA
Class Profile Context
2023 3-star | 0.8883 No. 476 recruit | HighSchool | UCF

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#10780Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#10880Where 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 UCF

Composite

0.8883

#476 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 Braeden Marshall

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 Braeden Marshall

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 10g
22Tackles
2Tackles for loss
0Sacks
Per game
2Tackles
0.2Tackles for loss
0Sacks
Projected (13g)
29Tackles
2.6Tackles for loss
0Sacks

To hit 80-tackle season (currently 22): needs 19.3/game over remaining 3.

To hit 100-tackle season (currently 22): needs 26/game over remaining 3.

To hit 6-sack season (currently 0): needs 2/game over remaining 3.

To hit 10-sack season (currently 0): needs 3.3/game over remaining 3.

Why this is a rare defensive case

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

Braeden Marshall is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on UCF's defense, with 0.0 sacks, 2.0 tackles for loss, and 2 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 #10780 0.0% win | 0.0% finalist
Role load -- Role share still loading
Profile quirk Defensive rarity 0.0 sacks | 2.0 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 22 20 solo | #1869/4942 (62nd pct)
TFL 2.0 Backfield disruption | #1443/4972 (71st pct)
Sacks 0.0 Pass-rush finish | #1762/4972 (65th pct)
Player identity What kind of player is this?

30-second read

What kind of player is this?

Coverage splash against FBS defenders.

Coverage splash

2025 Season · Final

2025 season snapshot | final

Tackling & Disruption

TOT
22 62nd
SOLO
20 78th
TFL
2.0 71st
SACK
0.0 65th

Coverage & Takeaways

PD
1 43rd
INT
2 87th

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 10 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppTKLSOLOTFLSACKINTPDNote
Wk 1W 17-10vs Jacksonville State220.00.00
Wk 2W 68-7vs North Carolina A&T110.00.00
Wk 4W 34-9vs North Carolina210.00.010
Wk 5L 20-34@ Kansas State661.00.00Season-high 6 tackles
Wk 6L 20-27vs Kansas330.00.00
Wk 7L 11-20@ Cincinnati110.00.00
Wk 8W 45-13vs West Virginia110.00.01
Wk 10L 3-30@ Baylor320.00.00
Wk 13W 17-14vs Oklahoma State221.00.010
Wk 14L 21-41@ BYU110.00.00
Total22202.00.021
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

2023UCF6-7HC: Gus Malzahn · Run-leaning
2024UCF4-8HC: Gus Malzahn · Run-heavy
2025UCF5-7HC: Scott Frost · Balanced
SeasonTeam
2025UCF22202.00.012--
2024UCF22173.00.0311
2023UCF17112.00.011--
Career3 loaded seasons61487.00.0541
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 2 0 pick-six TD | #114/869 (87th pct)
Pass breakups 1 Coverage disruption | #1241/2184 (43rd pct)
QB pressures 0 Quarterback hurries
Open full stat explorer
0 metrics visible Showing all metrics
Group Metric Value Rank Pct Why it matters
Defense Total tackles 22 #1869/4942 62nd pct Volumevs FBS DEF
Defense TFL 2.0 #1443/4972 71st pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Sacks 0.0 #1762/4972 65th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Interceptions 2 #114/869 87th pct Takeawaysvs FBS DEF
Defense Pass breakups 1 #1241/2184 43rd pct Coveragevs FBS DEF
Defense INT return yards 37 #167/578 71st pct Takeawaysvs FBS DEF
Defense Solo tackles 20 #1029/4584 78th pct Volumevs FBS DEF
Defense INT return avg 18.5 #227/578 61st pct Takeawaysvs 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 Thorpe 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 · 10 games

Home/Road · Win/Loss · Season halves

Home vs Road

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Home6g1.80.20.00.2
Road4g2.80.20.00.0

Win vs Loss

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Wins5g1.60.20.00.2
Losses5g2.80.20.00.0

First half vs Second half

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Weeks 1-76g2.50.20.00.0
Weeks 8+4g1.80.20.00.2

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

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the DB cohort

45Mid-pack
7 metrics · season cumulative

Concern: qb hurries (22nd).

Interceptions#114 / 817 · 75th pct
2inte
Solo tackles#1029 / 2975 · 64th pct
20defe
Passes defended#1191 / 2975 · 48th pct
1defe
Tackles for loss#1424 / 2975 · 47th pct
2.0defe
Tackles#1869 / 2975 · 36th pct
22defe
Sacks#1575 / 2975 · 24th pct
0.0defe
QB hurries#1662 / 2975 · 22nd pct
0defe

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

Advanced Savant · DB · 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 · 7 metrics
Braeden MarshallUCFTyler MartinMassachusetts· 69% simTahj Ra-ElPurdue· 66% simDevin LafayetteTroy· 65% sim
Interceptions
75
Marshall
31
Martin
75
Lafayette
Solo tackles
64
Marshall
87
Martin
100
Ra-El
98
Lafayette
Passes defended
48
Marshall
67
Martin
91
Ra-El
91
Lafayette
Tackles for loss
47
Marshall
63
Martin
56
Ra-El
56
Lafayette
Tackles
36
Marshall
98
Martin
99
Ra-El
99
Lafayette
Sacks
24
Marshall
24
Martin
24
Ra-El
63
Lafayette
QB hurries
22
Marshall
22
Martin
22
Ra-El
22
Lafayette

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

Player DNA

The Hybrid Nickel

Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.

S

His 2025 production profile sits closest to Jeremiah Wilson’s 2022 season.

Jeremiah Wilson

86%match

Syracuse · 2022

#2

Marquis Williams

Pittsburgh · 2022

86%
#3

D'Mon Brinson

UConn · 2023

85%
#4

Brylan Green

Liberty · 2022

85%
#5

TJ Smith

Kansas State · 2022

84%

Matches Jeremiah on

PD rate
Height
Tackle volume

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Manny Stokes Jr.'s junior season at Coastal Carolina (2022).

Manny Stokes Jr.

92%match

Coastal Carolina · 2022

#2

Marcus Williams

Rice · 2023

81%
#3

Jackson Greene

App State · 2022

78%
#4

Zion Tracy

Penn State · 2025

77%
#5

Kalen King

Penn State · 2023

All-Big TenNFL Rd 7
77%

Matches Manny on

Class year
Height
PD rate

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Scott Frost

Pass share

51.7%

403 pass / 377 run

Plays / game

65.0

12 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

6.5%

324 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Balanced.

Coaching Lineage · 2023–2025

2 coaches
2023
Gus Malzahn
UCF
2024
Gus Malzahn
UCF
2025
Scott Frost
UCF
era →

Coaching transition mid-career: Gus Malzahn → Scott Frost. 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.

HometownLake Mary, FL
Height5'10"
Weight175 lb
Class3
PositionDB
Jersey4

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 UCF DB3 #10780 #10880 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | Big 12
2023 UCF DB3 #11423 #11376 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W19 snapshot | Big 12

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2025 UCF Big 12 DB 3 No. 4 | 5-10 | 175 lb | Lake Mary, FL
2024 UCF Big 12 DB 3 No. 4 | 5-10 | 175 lb | Lake Mary, FL
2023 UCF Big 12 DB 3 No. 4 | 5-10 | 175 lb | Lake Mary, FL