CFB Zeitgeist Score
77
All-Conference in the position cohort. Carried by rush yards at the 86th percentile.
Demond Claiborne
Below the discourse floor — the honest stats-only state.
905 RUSH YDS · 10 RUSH TD · 179 CARRIES
Where He Ended Up · NFL
Minnesota2026 NFL rookie season
#198Rd 6 · Pick 17
Minnesota2026 NFL rookie season
RB · WAKE FOREST · ACC
Demond Claiborne
- 4
- #1
- 5-10 | 195 lb
- Aylett, VA
Heisman Heat
#2873
<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
2022
Wake Forest · RB
—
2023
Wake Forest · RB
—
★
2025
Wake Forest · RB
R09 · All-Conference HM / 2nd team
Recognized
NFL Draft 2026 · Rd 6, Pick 17 · #198 overall · Minnesota
Development Trajectory · rushing yards
2022–2025+1488%
Up 1488% from first season to most-recent.
Career Arc
HS
Recruit
★★★★
CFB
College
Wake Forest
NFL
NFL Draft
R6 · #198
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 4-star | 0.8994 | No. 329 recruit | HighSchool | Wake Forest |
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 (905).
Selector Grid · 2025
AP—
FWAA—
AFCA—
WCFF—
SN—
SI—
NIL · Recruiting · NFL Draft
Market value, pedigree & pro outcome
Recruit stars
★★★★☆
to Wake Forest
Composite
0.8994
#329 national
NFL Draft
2026 · Rd 6, Pick 17
#198 overall · Minnesota
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 Demond Claiborne
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=3
- National · n=2
Rival Radar
How rival fanbases talk about Demond Claiborne
No rival-bucket mentions in the current season.
2025 Signature · 2025 season
Yards per carry
5.1
yds
P4 + Notre Dame RBs, min 80 carries
National rank #30 of 69
Percentile vs P4 + Notre Dame RBs, min 80 carries 57th
Why it matters
#30 of 69 P4 + Notre Dame RBs at 5.1 yards per carry (179 carries).
Vs cohort
This player 5.1 (57th)
HIGH · n=179 cohort 69
- Also strong
- Rushing yards (total)#21 / 69
- Rushing WEPA per carry#51 / 66
Signature Moment
Week 2 vs Western Carolina — 193 ypc
Result W 42-10
The week the volume broke through — put up 193 yds vs Western Carolina.
Season Pace · Projection
Where the rushing totals stand
Through 12g
905Rush yards
179Carries
10Rush TDs
Per game
75.4Rush yards
15Carries
1Rush TDs
Projected (13g)
980.4Rush yards
194Carries
11Rush TDs
✓ Hit 750-yard season · finished with 905.
To hit 1,000-yard season (currently 905): needs 95/game over remaining 1.
To hit 1,500-yard season (currently 905): needs 595/game over remaining 1.
✓ Hit 10 rushing TDs · finished with 10.
To hit 15 rushing TDs (currently 10): needs 5/game over remaining 1.
To hit 20 rushing TDs (currently 10): needs 10/game over remaining 1.
Why this is more than a rushing profile
The fast read on the thing that makes this player more than a generic stat line.
Demond Claiborne is not a one-lane back. The profile is interesting because the workload spills beyond pure rushing volume: 905 rushing yards, 28 catches, and 18 return yards for Wake Forest. 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
179 95th
YDS
905 93rd
YPC
5.1 65th
TD
10 96th
Receiving
REC
28 93rd
YDS
140 82nd
YPR
5.0 26th
TD
0 70th
Game Log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 12 games
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 10-9vs Kennesaw State | 3 | 19 | 6.3 | 0 | 13 | |
| Wk 2 | W 42-10vs Western Carolina | 10 | 193 | 19.3 | 3 | 85 | Season-high 193 yds |
| Wk 3 | L 24-34vs NC State | 12 | 35 | 2.9 | 1 | 8 | |
| Wk 5 | L 29-30vs Georgia Tech | 21 | 119 | 5.7 | 2 | 27 | |
| Wk 6 | W 30-23@ Virginia Tech | 7 | 29 | 4.1 | 1 | 11 | |
| Wk 7 | W 39-14@ Oregon State | 16 | 144 | 9.0 | 1 | 66 | |
| Wk 9 | W 13-12vs SMU | 23 | 73 | 3.2 | 0 | 17 | |
| Wk 10 | L 7-42@ Florida State | 14 | 27 | 1.9 | 0 | 9 | |
| Wk 11 | W 16-9@ Virginia | 25 | 75 | 3.0 | 0 | 12 | |
| Wk 12 | W 28-12vs North Carolina | 23 | 98 | 4.3 | 1 | 20 | |
| Wk 13 | W 52-14vs Delaware | 12 | 37 | 3.1 | 1 | 13 | |
| Wk 14 | L 32-49@ Duke | 13 | 56 | 4.3 | 0 | 14 | |
| Total | 179 | 905 | 5.6 | 10 | 85 |
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
2022Wake Forest8-5HC: Dave Clawson · Balanced
2023Wake Forest4-8HC: Dave Clawson · Run-leaning
2025Wake Forest9-4HC: Jake Dickert · Balanced
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Wake Forest | 179 | 905 | 5.1 | 10 | -- |
| 2023 | Wake Forest | 137 | 586 | 4.3 | 5 | -- |
| 2022 | Wake Forest | 14 | 57 | 4.1 | 0 | -- |
| Career | 3 loaded seasons | 330 | 1,548 | 4.7 | 15 | -- |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Wake Forest | 28 | 140 | 5.0 | 0 | -- |
| 2023 | Wake Forest | 3 | 35 | 11.7 | 0 | -- |
| 2022 | Wake Forest | 1 | -5 | -5.0 | 0 | -- |
| Career | 3 loaded seasons | 32 | 170 | 5.3 | 0 | -- |
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 | 905 | #51/735 | 93rd pct | Volumevs FBS RB |
| Rushing | Rush TD | 10 | #33/739 | 96th pct | Scoringvs FBS RB |
| Rushing | Yards / carry | 5.1 | #257/735 | 65th pct | Efficiencyvs FBS RB |
| Receiving | Receptions | 28 | #39/552 | 93rd pct | Volumevs FBS RB |
| Receiving | Receiving yards | 140 | #100/548 | 82nd pct | Volumevs FBS RB |
| Value | Rushing WEPA | +0.08 | #247/362 | 32nd pct | Opponent-adjusted rushing value | 167 weighted playsvs FBS RB |
| Usage | Role share | 25.7% | #42/738 | 94th pct | Share of team offensevs FBS RB |
| Rushing | Carries | 179 | #40/739 | 95th pct | Volumevs FBS RB |
| Rushing | Rushing LONG | 85 | #14/733 | 98th pct | Metricvs FBS RB |
| Receiving | Receiving LONG | 21 | #218/540 | 60th pct | Metricvs FBS RB |
| Receiving | Yards / catch | 5.0 | #406/548 | 26th pct | Efficiencyvs FBS RB |
| Receiving | Receiving TD | 0 | #169/552 | 70th pct | Scoringvs FBS RB |
| Returns | Kick return avg | 18.0 | #104/199 | 48th pct | Efficiencyvs FBS RB |
| Returns | Kick return yards | 18 | #156/200 | 22nd pct | Volumevs FBS RB |
| Returns | Kick returns | 1 | #139/206 | 33rd pct | Volumevs FBS RB |
| Usage | Rush share | 40.1% | #63/738 | 92nd pct | Ground-game usagevs FBS RB |
| Usage | 1st-down usage | 30.6% | #36/738 | 95th pct | Early-down loadvs FBS RB |
| Usage | Standard-down usage | 29.6% | #40/738 | 95th pct | Base-situation sharevs FBS RB |
| Usage | 2nd-down usage | 23.7% | #57/738 | 92nd pct | Middle-down loadvs FBS RB |
| Usage | 3rd-down usage | 18.8% | #35/738 | 95th pct | Money-down loadvs FBS RB |
| Usage | Passing-down usage | 17.6% | #34/738 | 96th pct | Known-passing sharevs FBS RB |
| Usage | Pass share | 10.6% | #22/738 | 97th pct | Air-game usagevs FBS RB |
| Ball Security | Fumbles lost | 4 | #254/256 | 1st pct | Turnoversvs FBS RB |
Player Standing
Universal 17-step ladder. Tier pills below; accolade streams nested.
ALL-CONF HM
On-team2-deepStartingRecognizedEliteApex
ALL-CONF HM · Rung 9 of 16
Why he’s here
All-Conference honorable mention / 2nd team — the recognition has started.
What moves him up
A best-at-position run lifts to 1st team.
What moves him down
A back-end conference finish drops out of the honor list.
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 · 12 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 82.0 | 6.4 | 1.1 |
| Road5g | 66.2 | 4.5 | 0.4 |
Win vs Loss
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wins8g | 83.5 | 6.5 | 0.9 |
| Losses4g | 59.2 | 3.7 | 0.8 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 89.8 | 7.9 | 1.3 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 61.0 | 3.3 | 0.3 |
Pocket and defense-quality (clean vs. pressure) splits are coming soon.
Savant · Box-rate percentiles
Where this profile ranks vs the RB cohort
77All-Conference
Elite: long run (96th). Strength: rush tds (89th). Concern: fumbles lost (0th).
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_rushing0.08Low (p25–p50) (n=178)
Peer Comparator · Fingerprint match
Three closest profiles by box-rate percentile
Demond ClaiborneWake ForestCameron DickeyTexas Tech· 91% simCamryn EdwardsUConn· 87% simLincoln PareTexas State· 86% sim
Long run
Rush TDs
Carries
Receptions
Rush yards
Rec yards
Yards / carry
Fumbles lost
Closest peers by overall box-score percentile profile at the same position.
Player DNA
The Balanced Back
Plays within the scheme — consistent production without a dominant dimension.
RB
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Ulysses Bentley IV’s 2020 season.
Ulysses Bentley IV
76%match
All-AAC
#2
Omiri Wiggins
77%
#3
Rodney Hammond Jr.
76%
#4
Kaegun Williams
75%
#5
Andrew Henry
75%
Matches Ulysses on
Yards / carry
Receiving share
Class year
Differs from Ulysses on
Yards / reception (lower)
Height (lower)
Through 4 college seasons, his career arc tracks closest to Clay Thevenin’s path through Louisiana Tech.
Clay Thevenin
96%match
#2
Andrew Body
93%
#3
Chuba Hubbard
All-Big 12NFL Rd 4
92%
#4
Austin Jones
91%
#5
Herschel Turner
91%
Matches Clay on
Height
Weight
Yards per carry
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to J'mari Taylor's senior season at Virginia (2025).
J'mari Taylor
71%match
#2
Nate Noel
All-Sun Belt
71%
#3
Aidan Laughery
All-Big Ten
70%
#4
Larry McCammon III
All-Conference USA
69%
#5
Ron Cook Jr.
69%
Matches J'mari on
Receiving share
Height
EPA / carry (adj)
Differs from J'mari on
Total rush EPA (college ability) (lower)
Weight (lower)
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jake Dickert
Pass share
48.0%
405 pass / 439 run
Plays / game
64.9
13 games
OL sack rate (allowed)
5.1%
293 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Coaching Lineage · 2022–2025
2 coaches2022
Dave Clawson
Wake Forest
2023
Dave Clawson
Wake Forest
2025era →
Jake Dickert
Wake Forest
Coaching transition mid-career: Dave Clawson → Jake Dickert. 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.
HometownAylett, VA
Height5'10"
Weight195 lb
Class4
PositionRB
Jersey1
No fields populated yet.
No fields populated yet.
Current teamWake Forest
ConferenceACC
Joined2025
Career arc4 season(s)
Trophy Case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
🎖
ALL-CONFERENCE
All-Conf mention (2025)
All-ACC
Trophy Case · Detail
Every honor on the ledger, broken out by stream and selector.
2 all-conference honors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | All-ACC | all_conference | Wake Forest | ACC | RB |
| 2024 | All-ACC | all_conference | Wake Forest | ACC | ALL |
Heisman By Year
Modeled rank and official finish by season.
| Season | Team | Role | Latest Model | Forecast | Win | Finalist | Official Finish | Points | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Wake Forest | RB4 | #2873 | #3240 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W16 snapshot | ACC |
| 2023 | Wake Forest | RB4 | #713 | #983 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W19 snapshot | ACC |
| 2022 | Wake Forest | RB4 | #1658 | #1559 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W20 snapshot | ACC |
Roster Timeline
Team, conference, and class by season.
| Season | Team | Conference | Pos | Class | Bio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Wake Forest | ACC | RB | 4 | No. 1 | 5-10 | 195 lb | Aylett, VA |
| 2024 | Wake Forest | ACC | RB | 4 | No. 1 | 5-10 | 195 lb | Aylett, VA |
| 2023 | Wake Forest | ACC | RB | 4 | No. 1 | 5-10 | 195 lb | Aylett, VA |
| 2022 | Wake Forest | ACC | RB | 4 | No. 1 | 5-10 | 195 lb | Aylett, VA |