CFB Zeitgeist Score
66
Solid starter in the position cohort. Carried by sacks at the 89th percentile.
Esean Carter
Below the discourse floor — the honest stats-only state.
36 TACKLES · 3 SACKS
2026 Outlook
Returning to Toledo for 2026
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Defensive tackle · Toledo
Returning around him
- 68% of 2024 offensive production back (Solid continuity)
- 2 Toledo players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: -5 net (33 in / 38 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Toledo · Last season: 8-5 · Talent rank #75 · 2026 recruiting class #73
DT · TOLEDO · MID-AMERICAN
Esean Carter
- 4
- #12
- 6-2 | 285 lb
- Detroit, MI
Heisman Heat
#8249
<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 DEFENSE AWARD
Nagurski
—
CONSENSUS
All-American
—
Player Standing · 17 rungs
Tier 2 · StarterR06 · Starter
Starter. A locked-in starting role.
Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career arc · Season-by-season Standing
3 seasons on the ladder
2023
Toledo · DT
—
2024
Toledo · DT
—
★
2025
Toledo · DT
R09 · All-Conference HM / 2nd team
Recognized
Career Arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
Toledo
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 3-star | 0.8278 | No. 1811 recruit | HighSchool | Toledo |
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.
No achievements unlocked yet this season.
Selector Grid · 2025
AP—
FWAA—
AFCA—
WCFF—
SN—
SI—
NIL · Recruiting · NFL Draft
Market value, pedigree & pro outcome
Recruit stars
★★★☆☆
to Toledo
Composite
0.8278
#1811 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 Esean Carter
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 Esean Carter
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
36Tackles
3.5Tackles for loss
3Sacks
Per game
3Tackles
0.3Tackles for loss
0.2Sacks
Final
36Tackles
3.5Tackles for loss
3Sacks
Why this is a rare defensive case
The fast read on the thing that makes this player more than a generic stat line.
Esean Carter is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on Toledo's defense, with 3.0 sacks, 3.5 tackles for loss, and -- 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 against FBS defenders.
2025 Season · Final
2025 season snapshot | final
Tackling & Disruption
TOT
36 79th
SOLO
10 56th
TFL
3.5 83rd
SACK
3.0 94th
QBH
3 75th
Coverage & Takeaways
PD
1 43rd
Game Log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 13 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 16-24@ Kentucky | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 45-21vs Western Kentucky | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 60-0vs Morgan State | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 13-14@ Western Michigan | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 45-3vs Akron | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 23-28@ Bowling Green | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 45-10vs Kent State | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 7-28@ Washington State | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 42-3vs Northern Illinois | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 12 | W 24-3@ Miami (OH) | 3 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 38-9vs Ball State | 7 | 3 | 1.5 | 1.5 | — | 0 | Season-high 7 tackles |
| Wk 14 | W 21-3@ Central Michigan | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Bowl | L 22-27@ Louisville | 4 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 36 | 10 | 3.5 | 3.0 | — | 1 |
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
2023Toledo11-3HC: Jason Candle · Run-leaning
2024Toledo8-5HC: Jason Candle · Balanced
2025Toledo8-5HC: Jason Candle · Run-leaning
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 | 36 | #1060/4942 | 79th pct | Volumevs FBS DEF |
| Defense | TFL | 3.5 | #869/4972 | 83rd pct | Disruptionvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Sacks | 3.0 | #292/4972 | 94th pct | Disruptionvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Pass breakups | 1 | #1241/2184 | 43rd pct | Coveragevs FBS DEF |
| Defense | QB hurries | 3 | #462/1878 | 75th pct | Disruptionvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Solo tackles | 10 | #1996/4584 | 56th pct | Volumevs FBS DEF |
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
The Lombardi 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 | 3.2 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.2 |
| Road7g | 2.4 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
Win vs Loss
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wins8g | 3.0 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.1 |
| Losses5g | 2.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 2.7 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 2.8 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.2 |
Pocket and defense-quality (clean vs. pressure) splits are coming soon.
Savant · Box-rate percentiles
Where this profile ranks vs the DT cohort
66Solid starter
Elite: sacks (88th). Strength: qb hurries (81st).
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.
Advanced Savant · DT · 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.
Advanced opponent-adjusted metrics are coming soon for this player. Selected cohort: P4.
Peer Comparator · Fingerprint match
Three closest profiles by box-rate percentile
Esean CarterToledoRay ConeyTulsa· 68% simTreylin PayneTexas State· 68% simMaverick BaranowskiMinnesota· 67% sim
Sacks
QB hurries
Tackles for loss
Tackles
Passes defended
Solo tackles
Closest peers by overall box-score percentile profile at the same position.
Player DNA
The Two-Gap Base
Stout at the point of attack; controls his gap and stacks blocks.
IDL
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Devin Danielson’s 2023 season.
Devin Danielson
92%match
#2
Akelo Stone
92%
#3
Mike Sandjo
92%
#4
Drew Hughes
89%
#5
Peyton Price
89%
Matches Devin on
Weight
TFL rate
Sack rate
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Peyton Price's junior season at Eastern Michigan (2023).
Peyton Price
95%match
#2
TyQaze Leggs
92%
#3
Drew Hughes
89%
#4
Howard Cross III
89%
#5
Darrion Dalton
87%
Matches Peyton on
Class year
Height
Weight
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jason Candle
Pass share
45.9%
397 pass / 467 run
Plays / game
66.5
13 games
OL sack rate (allowed)
4.5%
290 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Coaching Lineage · 2023–2025
1 coach2023
Jason Candle
Toledo
2024
Jason Candle
Toledo
2025
Jason Candle
Toledo
Played his entire career under Jason Candle.
Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster
Off-field context — switch tabs to drill into recruit profile, transfer arc, or roster timeline.
HometownDetroit, MI
Height6'2"
Weight285 lb
Class4
PositionDT
Jersey12
No fields populated yet.
No fields populated yet.
Current teamToledo
ConferenceMid-American
Joined2025
Career arc4 season(s)
Trophy Case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
🎖
ALL-CONFERENCE
All-Conf mention (2025)
All-MAC
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | All-MAC | all_conference | Toledo | MAC | DL |
Heisman By Year
Modeled rank and official finish by season.
| Season | Team | Role | Latest Model | Forecast | Win | Finalist | Official Finish | Points | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Toledo | DT4 | #8249 | #8343 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W16 snapshot | Mid-American |
| 2023 | Toledo | DT4 | #8423 | #8253 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W19 snapshot | Mid-American |
| 2022 | Toledo | DT4 | #11473 | #11189 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W20 snapshot | Mid-American |
Roster Timeline
Team, conference, and class by season.
| Season | Team | Conference | Pos | Class | Bio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Toledo | Mid-American | DT | 4 | No. 12 | 6-2 | 285 lb | Detroit, MI |
| 2024 | Toledo | Mid-American | DT | 4 | No. 12 | 6-2 | 285 lb | Detroit, MI |
| 2023 | Toledo | Mid-American | DT | 4 | No. 12 | 6-2 | 285 lb | Detroit, MI |
| 2022 | Toledo | Mid-American | DT | 4 | No. 12 | 6-2 | 285 lb | Detroit, MI |