Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 13-41@ Notre Dame | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 2 tackles |
| Wk 2 | W 36-9vs Western Illinois | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Total | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 |
#11
Carson Van Dinter
Sophomore safety on Wisconsin's 2026 roster.
6′2″ · 204 lb · Kaukauna, WI · Kaukauna
Transferred Iowa State → Wisconsin for 2026
Recruiting
3★
S recruit
No. 1487 nationally · Signed with Iowa State
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
2 safety on Wisconsin's 2026 roster.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to Iowa State in 2024.
- Transferred from Iowa State to Wisconsin in 2026.
Carson Van Dinter
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Across two seasons and two programs, two head coaches: Matt Campbell and Luke Fickell. The receipt on tape: 2 tackles against Notre Dame, Week 1, 2026.
2 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- positional archetype classification
- head-coach lineage
- game log
His career
2024
- Signed with Iowa State3-star out of Kaukauna
2026
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
2 teams
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Where He Ended Up · Transfer
Transferred to Wisconsin
2025Iowa State
2026Wisconsin
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2025Iowa State8-4HC: Matt Campbell · Run-leaning
2026Wisconsin1-1HC: Luke Fickell · Run-leaning, slow tempo
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: tackles (0th percentile).
Box-score production (6)
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits & context
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 2 games: 1.0 TKL/g, 0.0 TFL/g, 0.0 SACK/g, 0.5 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Luke Fickell
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2025
Rotational
Tackle volume for the position in rotation-piece range.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Wisconsin | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Iowa State | 18 | 11 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| Career | 20 | 12 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 2 | -- | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 36–9
Game log
How he plays
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
CFB Index positional classification
DNA match
Player DNA
Hybrid Nickel
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
S
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Zavier Mincey’s 2025 season.
Matches Zavier on
Height
PD rate
Tackle volume
Differs from Zavier on
Class year (lower)
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a freshman, his production profile tracks closest to Victor Earl's freshman season at Central Michigan (2025).
Matches Victor on
TFL rate
Weight
PD rate
Player DNA
Players who play like Carson Van Dinter
Background
Honors and Awards 2025: Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll 2024: Special Teams Scout Team Player of the Year 2025 (Redshirt freshman at Iowa State): Played in 10 games, making one start at safety for Iowa State in 2025 … totaled 180 snaps on defense, including 88 across his final two games of the s...
The secondary · Wisconsin
- #4Marvin Burks Jr.49 tackles · 2025
- #29Matthew Jung49 tackles · 2025
- #2Javan Robinson42 tackles · 2025
- #11Carson Van Dinter18 tackles · 2025
- #1Eric Fletcher12 tackles · 2025
14 more on the roster · Wisconsin team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology