CFB Zeitgeist Score
79
All-Conference in the position cohort. Carried by sacks at the 80th percentile.
Caleb Francl
Below the discourse floor — the honest stats-only state.
82 TACKLES · 2 SACKS
2026 Outlook
Returning to Washington State for 2026
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Linebacker · Washington State
Returning around him
- 25% of 2024 offensive production back (Heavy turnover)
- Transfer portal: -13 net (28 in / 41 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Washington State · Last season: 7-6 · Talent rank #95 · 2026 recruiting class #71
LB · WASHINGTON STATE · PAC-12
Caleb Francl
- 4
- #9
- 6-1 | 190 lb
- Grand Island, NE
Heisman Heat
Awaiting
Not on the live Heisman board this week.
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
—
TOP LB AWARD
Butkus
—
CONSENSUS
All-American
—
Player Standing · 17 rungs
Tier 2 · StarterR06 · Starter
Starter. A locked-in starting role.
Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career Arc
HS
Recruit
—
CFB
College
Washington State
NFL
NFL Draft
—
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 |
|---|---|---|
| No recruiting profile is on file for this player. | ||
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
Where the model places this player relative to the rest of the Heisman field.
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.
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 Caleb Francl
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 Caleb Francl
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
82Tackles
6Tackles for loss
2Sacks
Per game
6Tackles
0.5Tackles for loss
0.2Sacks
Final
82Tackles
6Tackles for loss
2Sacks
✓ Hit 80-tackle season · finished with 82.
Why this is a rare defensive case
The fast read on the thing that makes this player more than a generic stat line.
Caleb Francl is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on Washington State's defense, with 2.0 sacks, 6.0 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.
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 | Coverage splash | High-volume tackler against FBS defenders.
2025 Season · Final
2025 season snapshot | final
Tackling & Disruption
TOT
82 97th
SOLO
34 92nd
TFL
6.0 92nd
SACK
2.0 90th
QBH
5 90th
Coverage & Takeaways
PD
3 76th
INT
2 87th
Game Log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 13 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 13-10vs Idaho | 11 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 11 tackles |
| Wk 2 | W 36-13vs San Diego State | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 10-59@ North Texas | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 24-59vs Washington | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 20-3@ Colorado State | 8 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 21-24@ Ole Miss | 6 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 20-22@ Virginia | 10 | 1 | 1.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 9 | W 28-7vs Toledo | 7 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | L 7-10@ Oregon State | 6 | 4 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 28-3vs Louisiana Tech | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 13 | L 20-24@ James Madison | 8 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | W 32-8vs Oregon State | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Bowl | W 34-21@ Utah State | 8 | 6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 82 | 34 | 6.0 | 2.0 | 2 | 3 |
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
2025Washington State7-6HC: Jimmy Rogers · Balanced
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Washington State | 82 | 34 | 6.0 | 2.0 | 3 | 2 | -- |
| Career | 1 loaded season | 82 | 34 | 6.0 | 2.0 | 3 | 2 | -- |
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 | 82 | #131/4942 | 97th pct | Volumevs FBS DEF |
| Defense | TFL | 6.0 | #406/4972 | 92nd pct | Disruptionvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Sacks | 2.0 | #491/4972 | 90th pct | Disruptionvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Interceptions | 2 | #114/869 | 87th pct | Takeawaysvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Pass breakups | 3 | #521/2184 | 76th pct | Coveragevs FBS DEF |
| Defense | QB hurries | 5 | #188/1878 | 90th pct | Disruptionvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Solo tackles | 34 | #386/4584 | 92nd pct | Volumevs 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.
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
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 5.5 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| Road7g | 7.0 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
Win vs Loss
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wins7g | 6.7 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| Losses6g | 5.8 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 5.9 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 6.8 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.5 |
Pocket and defense-quality (clean vs. pressure) splits are coming soon.
Savant · Box-rate percentiles
Where this profile ranks vs the LB cohort
79All-Conference
Elite: tackles (95th). Strength: qb hurries (92nd).
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.
Advanced Savant · LB · 2025
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
Caleb FranclWashington StateRay ConeyTulsa· 94% simMatt RoseStanford· 93% simTreylin PayneTexas State· 93% sim
Tackles
QB hurries
Solo tackles
Tackles for loss
Sacks
Passes defended
Interceptions
Forced fumbles
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 Keionte Newson’s 2023 season.
Keionte Newson
77%match
#2
Cameron Bergeron
66%
#3
Jordan Pollard
64%
#4
Jack Fagot
63%
#5
Manny Lawrence-Burke
62%
Matches Keionte on
TFL rate
PD rate
Weight
Differs from Keionte on
Height (lower)
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Myles Rowser's senior season at Arizona State (2025).
Myles Rowser
86%match
#2
Evan Williams
83%
#3
Jett Elad
82%
#4
Emmanuel Mcneil-Warren
All-MACNFL Rd 2 · Pk 26
80%
#5
Shaquan Loyal
80%
Matches Myles on
PD rate
Tackle volume
Weight
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jimmy Rogers
Pass share
48.7%
407 pass / 429 run
Plays / game
64.3
13 games
OL sack rate (allowed)
6.1%
327 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Coaching Lineage · 2025
1 coach2025
Jimmy Rogers
Washington State
Played his entire career under Jimmy Rogers.
Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster
Off-field context — switch tabs to drill into recruit profile, transfer arc, or roster timeline.
HometownGrand Island, NE
Height6'1"
Weight190 lb
Class4
PositionLB
Jersey9
No fields populated yet.
No fields populated yet.
Current teamWashington State
ConferencePac-12
Joined2025
Career arc1 season(s)
Trophy Case · Detail
Every honor on the ledger, broken out by stream and selector.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This player hasn’t appeared on a Heisman ballot tracked by the model. | |||||||||
Roster Timeline
Team, conference, and class by season.
| Season | Team | Conference | Pos | Class | Bio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Washington State | Pac-12 | LB | 4 | No. 9 | 6-1 | 190 lb | Grand Island, NE |