CFB Zeitgeist Score
68
Solid starter in the position cohort. Carried by rush yards at the 72nd percentile.
Darius Taylor
Below the discourse floor — the honest stats-only state.
670 RUSH YDS · 4 RUSH TD · 143 CARRIES
2026 Outlook
Returning to Minnesota for 2026
2026 Depth chart
Returning starter
Running back · Minnesota · editorial
Returning around him
- 44% of 2024 offensive production back (Moderate turnover)
- 1 Minnesota player drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: -1 net (19 in / 20 out)
2026 Award watch
- Doak Walker
Minnesota · Last season: 8-5 · Talent rank #41 · 2026 recruiting class #49
RB · MINNESOTA · BIG TEN
Darius Taylor
- 3
- #1
- 6-0 | 215 lb
- Detroit, MI
Heisman Heat
#75
<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 RB AWARD
Doak Walker
—
CONSENSUS
All-American
—
Player Standing · 17 rungs
Tier 2 · StarterR07 · Impact starter
Impact starter. Producing measurable value above replacement.
Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career arc · Season-by-season Standing
3 seasons on the ladder
2023
Minnesota · RB
—
★
2024
Minnesota · RB
R09 · All-Conference HM / 2nd team
Recognized
2025
Minnesota · RB
—
Development Trajectory · rushing yards
2023–2025-16%
Down 16% — context-dependent (injury / role change?).
Career Arc
HS
Recruit
★★★★
CFB
College
Minnesota
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 4-star | 0.8981 | No. 354 recruit | HighSchool | Minnesota |
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 · 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 16Heisman 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 rushing yards (670).
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 Minnesota
Composite
0.8981
#354 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
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 Darius Taylor
Fan sentiment ·
Belief Meter
50
Mixed Sentiment
Top Take
“”
Trajectory
Per-cohort trajectory lands when historical bucket data is aggregated.
Cohort divergence map
- Own fans · n=1
Rival Radar
How rival fanbases talk about Darius Taylor
No rival-bucket mentions in the current season.
2025 Signature · 2025 season
Yards per carry
4.7
yds
P4 + Notre Dame RBs, min 80 carries
National rank #44 of 69
Percentile vs P4 + Notre Dame RBs, min 80 carries 37th
Why it matters
#44 of 69 P4 + Notre Dame RBs at 4.7 yards per carry (143 carries).
Vs cohort
This player 4.7 (37th)
HIGH · n=143 cohort 69
- Also strong
- Rushing yards (total)#34 / 69
- Rushing WEPA per carry#61 / 66
Signature Moment
Week 8 vs Nebraska — 148 ypc
Result W 24-6
The week the volume broke through — put up 148 yds vs Nebraska.
Season Pace · Projection
Where the rushing totals stand
Through 10g
670Rush yards
143Carries
4Rush TDs
Per game
67Rush yards
14Carries
0Rush TDs
Projected (13g)
871Rush yards
186Carries
5Rush TDs
To hit 750-yard season (currently 670): needs 26.7/game over remaining 3.
To hit 1,000-yard season (currently 670): needs 110/game over remaining 3.
To hit 1,500-yard season (currently 670): needs 276.7/game over remaining 3.
To hit 10 rushing TDs (currently 4): needs 2/game over remaining 3.
To hit 15 rushing TDs (currently 4): needs 3.7/game over remaining 3.
To hit 20 rushing TDs (currently 4): needs 5.3/game over remaining 3.
Why this is more than a rushing profile
The fast read on the thing that makes this player more than a generic stat line.
Darius Taylor is not a one-lane back. The profile is interesting because the workload spills beyond pure rushing volume: 670 rushing yards, 34 catches, and 0 return yards for Minnesota. That kind of all-purpose footprint gives the card a much richer story than a basic carry total.
2025 Season · Final
Traditional stats first. Advanced context underneath.
Last season
RB 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?
Workhorse | Passing-game back against FBS RB peers.
2025 Season · Final
2025 season snapshot | final
Rushing
CAR
143 90th
YDS
670 87th
YPC
4.7 53rd
TD
4 79th
Receiving
REC
34 97th
YDS
245 95th
YPR
7.2 55th
TD
0 70th
Game Log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 10 games
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 23-10vs Buffalo | 30 | 141 | 4.7 | 0 | 18 | |
| Wk 2 | W 66-0vs Northwestern State | 3 | 20 | 6.7 | 0 | 17 | |
| Wk 6 | L 3-42@ Ohio State | 8 | 12 | 1.5 | 0 | 5 | |
| Wk 7 | W 27-20vs Purdue | 14 | 32 | 2.3 | 0 | 9 | |
| Wk 8 | W 24-6vs Nebraska | 24 | 148 | 6.2 | 1 | 71 | Season-high 148 yds |
| Wk 9 | L 3-41@ Iowa | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Wk 12 | L 13-42@ Oregon | 10 | 57 | 5.7 | 0 | 23 | |
| Wk 13 | L 35-38@ Northwestern | 10 | 43 | 4.3 | 1 | 27 | |
| Wk 14 | W 17-7vs Wisconsin | 19 | 100 | 5.3 | 1 | 49 | |
| Bowl | W 20-17vs New Mexico | 24 | 116 | 4.8 | 1 | 38 | |
| Total | 143 | 670 | 4.2 | 4 | 71 |
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
2023Minnesota6-7HC: P.J. Fleck · Run-heavy, slow tempo
2024Minnesota8-5HC: P.J. Fleck · Balanced
2025Minnesota8-5HC: P.J. Fleck · Balanced, slow tempo
Advanced layer Usage, value, and context
Advanced metrics second
Advanced Metrics
Usage, value, and opponent-adjusted context.
Opponent-adjusted rushing value. It helps separate empty volume from carries that actually move the scoreboard.
How much of the team's offense flows through this back once rushing work and receiving work are combined.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rushing | Rushing yards | 670 | #98/735 | 87th pct | Volumevs FBS RB |
| Rushing | Rush TD | 4 | #154/739 | 79th pct | Scoringvs FBS RB |
| Rushing | Yards / carry | 4.7 | #343/735 | 53rd pct | Efficiencyvs FBS RB |
| Receiving | Receptions | 34 | #20/552 | 97th pct | Volumevs FBS RB |
| Receiving | Receiving yards | 245 | #31/548 | 95th pct | Volumevs FBS RB |
| Value | Rushing WEPA | +0.04 | #309/362 | 15th pct | Opponent-adjusted rushing value | 112 weighted playsvs FBS RB |
| Usage | Role share | 32.8% | #6/738 | 99th pct | Share of team offensevs FBS RB |
| Rushing | Carries | 143 | #76/739 | 90th pct | Volumevs FBS RB |
| Rushing | Rushing LONG | 71 | #58/733 | 92nd pct | Metricvs FBS RB |
| Receiving | Receiving LONG | 40 | #71/540 | 87th pct | Metricvs FBS RB |
| Receiving | Yards / catch | 7.2 | #250/548 | 55th pct | Efficiencyvs FBS RB |
| Receiving | Receiving TD | 0 | #169/552 | 70th pct | Scoringvs FBS RB |
| Usage | Rush share | 50.0% | #15/738 | 98th pct | Ground-game usagevs FBS RB |
| Usage | 2nd-down usage | 35.7% | #4/738 | 100th pct | Middle-down loadvs FBS RB |
| Usage | Standard-down usage | 34.5% | #15/738 | 98th pct | Base-situation sharevs FBS RB |
| Usage | 1st-down usage | 32.4% | #23/738 | 97th pct | Early-down loadvs FBS RB |
| Usage | 3rd-down usage | 29.6% | #3/738 | 100th pct | Money-down loadvs FBS RB |
| Usage | Passing-down usage | 29.0% | #1/738 | 100th pct | Known-passing sharevs FBS RB |
| Usage | Pass share | 17.9% | #1/738 | 100th pct | Air-game usagevs FBS RB |
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
Heisman model tracks the top FBS contenders weekly; this player hasn't entered the watch list yet.
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 10 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 92.8 | 5.0 | 0.5 |
| Road4g | 28.2 | 3.1 | 0.2 |
Win vs Loss
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wins6g | 92.8 | 5.0 | 0.5 |
| Losses4g | 28.2 | 3.1 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-75g | 64.2 | 4.0 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 69.8 | 4.5 | 0.6 |
Pocket and defense-quality (clean vs. pressure) splits are coming soon.
Savant · Box-rate percentiles
Where this profile ranks vs the RB cohort
68Solid starter
Elite: receptions (93rd). Strength: rec yards (91st).
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.
Advanced Savant · RB · 2024
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.
wepa_rushing0.04Below (<p25) (n=178)
Peer Comparator · Fingerprint match
Three closest profiles by box-rate percentile
Darius TaylorMinnesotaDean ConnorsHouston· 86% simCarson HansenIowa State· 83% simDominic RichardsonTulsa· 83% sim
Receptions
Rec yards
Long run
Carries
Rush yards
Rush TDs
Yards / carry
Closest peers by overall box-score percentile profile at the same position.
Player DNA
The Satellite Back
Deployed as a receiver as much as a runner. Value is in space, not between the tackles.
RB
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Ari Broussard’s 2021 season.
Ari Broussard
83%match
#2
Jirehl Brock
83%
#3
Jaylon Armstead
74%
#4
Jase McClellan
NFL Rd 6
76%
#5
Antonio Harris
74%
Matches Ari on
Rush TD rate
Yards / carry
Weight
Through 3 college seasons, his career arc tracks closest to Julius Loughridge’s path through Fordham.
Julius Loughridge
100%match
#2
Corey Taylor II
100%
#3
Cooper Wallace
97%
#4
CJ Marable
97%
#5
Jordan Waters
94%
Matches Julius on
Yards per carry
As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Jirehl Brock's junior season at Iowa State (2022).
Jirehl Brock
78%match
#2
Evan Hull
NFL Rd 5
77%
#3
Roman Hemby
All-Big Ten
73%
#4
Dylan Carson
70%
#5
Jaylon Armstead
70%
Matches Jirehl on
Yards / carry
Receiving share
Weight
Differs from Jirehl on
Class year (lower)
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
P.J. Fleck
Pass share
51.7%
397 pass / 371 run
Plays / game
59.1
13 games
OL sack rate (allowed)
7.3%
302 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced, slow tempo.
Coaching Lineage · 2023–2025
1 coach2023
P.J. Fleck
Minnesota
2024
P.J. Fleck
Minnesota
2025
P.J. Fleck
Minnesota
Played his entire career under P.J. Fleck.
Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster
Off-field context — switch tabs to drill into recruit profile, transfer arc, or roster timeline.
HometownDetroit, MI
Height6'0"
Weight215 lb
Class3
PositionRB
Jersey1
No fields populated yet.
No fields populated yet.
Current teamMinnesota
ConferenceBig Ten
Joined2025
Career arc3 season(s)
Trophy Case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
🎖
ALL-CONFERENCE
All-Conf mention (2024)
All-Big Ten
Trophy Case · Detail
Every honor on the ledger, broken out by stream and selector.
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-Big Ten | all_conference | Big Ten | OTHE |
Heisman By Year
Modeled rank and official finish by season.
Roster Timeline
Team, conference, and class by season.