cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Holden Staes /Indiana

Holden Staes

TE · Indiana · Sr · #19

Below the discourse floor — the honest stats-only state.

62 REC YDS · 7 REC · 2 REC TD

2026 RETURNINGReturning to Indiana for 2026

2026 Outlook

Returning to Indiana for 2026

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Tight end · Indiana

Returning around him

  • 25% of 2024 offensive production back (Heavy turnover)
  • 8 Indiana players drafted to NFL
  • Transfer portal: +1 net (17 in / 16 out)

2026 Award watch

No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)

Indiana · Last season: 16-0 (AP #1) · Talent rank #72 · 2026 recruiting class #47

TE · INDIANA · BIG TEN

Holden Staes

  • 4
  • #19
  • 6-4 | 248 lb
  • Atlanta, GA

CFB Zeitgeist Score

15

Below cohort in the position cohort. Carried by rec tds at the 43rd percentile.

Heisman Heat

#794

<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 TE AWARD

Mackey

CONSENSUS

All-American

Player Standing · 17 rungs

Tier 2 · Starter

R06 · Starter

Starter. A locked-in starting role.

Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Development Trajectory · receiving yards

2022–2025
11.02022
1762023
1312024
62.02025

+464%

Up 464% from first season to most-recent.

Career Arc

HS
Recruit
★★★★
#288 national
CFB
College
3 teams
2022–2025
NFL
NFL Draft
Not drafted (yet)

Identity & Role

The durable bio layer: position, size, hometown, and roster role.

PositionTE
Class4
Jersey19
Measurements6-4 | 248 lb
HometownAtlanta, GA
Primary teamIndiana

Recruiting Pedigree

How big the prospect was before college, and whether the later career arc beat that expectation.

Top pedigree 4-star No. 288 recruit
Composite rating 0.9026 HighSchool
Signed with Notre Dame 2022
Origin Westminster School Atlanta, GA, USA
Class Profile Context
2022 4-star | 0.9026 No. 288 recruit | HighSchool | Notre Dame

Transfer Arc

Portal movement changes role, context, and perception. This keeps that path in one place.

Portal moves 0 No portal entry on file
Latest destination -- --
Transfer stars -- CFBD transfer rating context
Eligibility -- Transfer date TBD
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 16
Current nowcast#794Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#656Where the full season sim points
Win probability0.0%Chance to actually win the trophy
Finalist probability0.0%Chance to make the finalist tier
Ballot probability0.0%Chance to appear anywhere on a ballot
Best official finish--Best completed Heisman placement on file

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.

NIL · Recruiting · NFL Draft

Market value, pedigree & pro outcome

Recruit stars

★★★★☆

to Notre Dame

Composite

0.9026

#288 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

PENDING

The 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 Holden Staes

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 Holden Staes

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.

A 3-act season arc returns once this player has six or more games on the ledger.

Season Pace · Projection

Where the receiving totals stand

projecting to 13-game
Through 5g
62Rec yards
7Receptions
2Rec TDs
Per game
12.4Rec yards
1Receptions
0Rec TDs
Projected (13g)
161.2Rec yards
18Receptions
5Rec TDs

To hit 700-yard receiver (currently 62): needs 79.8/game over remaining 8.

To hit 1,000-yard receiver (currently 62): needs 117.2/game over remaining 8.

To hit 60-catch season (currently 7): needs 6.6/game over remaining 8.

To hit 80-catch season (currently 7): needs 9.1/game over remaining 8.

To hit 8 receiving TDs (currently 2): needs 0.8/game over remaining 8.

To hit 10 receiving TDs (currently 2): needs 1/game over remaining 8.

What made this player interesting

The fast read on the thing that makes this player more than a generic stat line.

Holden Staes's story is about how role and output meet each other. For Indiana, the card already shows enough current-season production to explain why he is on the serious-player board, and the next layer is determining whether the profile is just very good or actually distinctive.

Current place #794 0.0% win | 0.0% finalist
Role load 1.9% Overall usage share
Profile quirk Blue-chip pedigree No. 288 recruit

2025 Season · Final

Traditional stats first. Advanced context underneath.

Last season

TE season snapshot

2025 season snapshot | final

2025 season snapshot | finalData: CFBD player stats + local Heisman modelPeer context: same position + same level
Receptions 7 2 rec TD | #224/475 (53rd pct)
Receiving yards 62 8.9 per catch | #247/475 (48th pct)
Scrimmage yards 62 Total offensive yardage | #247/475 (48th pct)
Player identity What kind of player is this?

30-second read

What kind of player is this?

Receiving weapon against FBS receiving peers.

Balanced profile

2025 Season · Final

2025 season snapshot | final

Receiving

REC
7 53rd
YDS
62 48th
YPR
8.9 40th
TD
2 84th

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 5 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppRECYDSAVGTDLONGNote
Wk 1W 27-14vs Old Dominion144.004
Wk 2W 56-9vs Kennesaw State177.007
Wk 3W 73-0vs Indiana State23115.5118Season-high 31 yds
Wk 10W 55-10@ Maryland11313.0013
Wk 12W 31-7vs Wisconsin273.515
Total7628.6218
Season-by-season tables Career rows + per-season box score

Traditional history

Traditional Stats

Season rows up top, career context at the bottom.

Season rows Career row

Season context · Team result + system

2022Notre Dame9-4HC: Marcus Freeman · Run-heavy
2023Notre Dame10-3HC: Marcus Freeman · Run-leaning, slow tempo
2024Tennessee10-3HC: Josh Heupel · Run-heavy, fast tempo
2025Indiana16-0HC: Curt Cignetti · Run-heavy
SeasonTeam
2025Indiana7628.92--
2024Tennessee151318.71--
2023Notre Dame1517611.74--
2022Notre Dame11111.00--
Career4 loaded seasons3838010.07--
Advanced layer Usage, value, and context

Advanced metrics second

Advanced Metrics

Usage, value, and opponent-adjusted context.

Usage Value Context
Pass share

The tight end's share of the passing offense, which helps distinguish a featured receiving tight end from a secondary option.

Role share

A blended usage view that shows how often the offense flows through the tight end compared with other same-level peers.

Peer percentile

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.

Traditional first

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.

Usage 1.9% 4.8% pass-game share | #303/468 (35th pct)
Return yards 0 0 return TD
Touchdowns 2 Across offense and returns | #79/475 (84th pct)
Open full stat explorer
0 metrics visible Showing all metrics
Group Metric Value Rank Pct Why it matters
Receiving Receptions 7 #224/475 53rd pct Volumevs FBS TE
Receiving Receiving yards 62 #247/475 48th pct Volumevs FBS TE
Receiving Receiving TD 2 #79/475 84th pct Scoringvs FBS TE
Receiving Yards / catch 8.9 #288/475 40th pct Efficiencyvs FBS TE
Usage Pass share 4.8% #303/468 35th pct Air-game usagevs FBS TE
Receiving Receiving LONG 18 #281/475 41st pct Metricvs FBS TE
Usage Passing-down usage 3.0% #272/468 42nd pct Known-passing sharevs FBS TE
Usage 2nd-down usage 2.5% #305/468 35th pct Middle-down loadvs FBS TE
Usage 1st-down usage 2.2% #294/468 37th pct Early-down loadvs FBS TE
Usage Role share 1.9% #351/468 25th pct Share of team offensevs FBS TE
Usage Standard-down usage 1.7% #375/468 20th pct Base-situation sharevs FBS TE
Usage 3rd-down usage 0.0% #339/468 28th pct Money-down loadvs FBS TE
Usage Rush share 0.0% #58/468 88th pct Ground-game usagevs FBS TE

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

StatusAwaiting tracker

The Mackey 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 · 5 games

Home/Road · Win/Loss · Season halves

Home vs Road

REC/gYDS/gYPRTD/g
Home4g1.512.27.50.5
Road1g1.013.013.00.0

Win vs Loss

REC/gYDS/gYPRTD/g
Wins5g1.412.48.60.4

First half vs Second half

REC/gYDS/gYPRTD/g
Weeks 1-73g1.314.08.80.3
Weeks 8+2g1.510.08.20.5

Pocket and defense-quality (clean vs. pressure) splits are coming soon.

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the TE cohort

15Below cohort
5 metrics · season cumulative

Concern: receptions (0th).

Rec TDs#76 / 175 · 43rd pct
2rece
Yards / catch#138 / 175 · 21st pct
8.9rece
Long catch#168 / 175 · 4th pct
18rece
Rec yards#175 / 175 · 1st pct
62rece
Receptions#176 / 175 · 0th pct
7rece

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.

Advanced Savant · TE · 2024

Percentile Card

Advanced opponent-adjusted percentile bars are coming soon for this player.

P4G5All FBS
EPA / dropback
awaiting
CPOE
awaiting
Success rate
awaiting
Explosive rate (20+)
awaiting
aDOT
awaiting
Deep-ball accuracy
awaiting
Pressure-to-sack
awaiting
3rd-down EPA
awaiting
Red-zone TD rate
awaiting
Play-action EPA
awaiting
Scramble EPA
awaiting
Turnover-worthy play rate
awaiting

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

3 peers · 5 metrics
Holden StaesIndianaBryce CaufieldOregon State· 60% simHayden HansenFlorida· 59% simRichie AndersonFresno State· 56% sim
Rec TDs
43
Staes
21
Caufield
43
Hansen
66
Anderson
Yards / catch
21
Staes
7
Caufield
16
Hansen
33
Anderson
Long catch
4
Staes
39
Caufield
32
Hansen
20
Anderson
Rec yards
1
Staes
44
Caufield
54
Hansen
60
Anderson
Receptions
0
Staes
66
Caufield
69
Hansen
72
Anderson

Closest peers by overall box-score percentile profile at the same position.

DNA Match awaiting data — similarity scores compute once season stats clear the volume gate for this position cohort.

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Curt Cignetti

Pass share

38.7%

404 pass / 641 run

Plays / game

65.3

16 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

7.3%

275 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Run-heavy.

Coaching Lineage · 2022–2025

2 coaches
2022
Tom Allen
Indiana
2023
Tom Allen
Indiana
2024
Curt Cignetti
Indiana
era →
2025
Curt Cignetti
Indiana

Coaching transition mid-career: Tom Allen → Curt Cignetti. 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.

HometownAtlanta, GA
Height6'4"
Weight248 lb
Class4
PositionTE
Jersey19

Trophy Case · Detail

Every honor on the ledger, broken out by stream and selector.

Honors

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
2024 Tennessee TE4 #794 #656 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | SEC
2023 Notre Dame TE4 #587 #513 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W19 snapshot | FBS Independents
2022 Notre Dame TE4 #2215 #1980 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | FBS Independents

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2025 Indiana Big Ten TE 4 No. 19 | 6-4 | 248 lb | Atlanta, GA
2024 Tennessee SEC TE 4 No. 19 | 6-4 | 248 lb | Atlanta, GA
2023 Notre Dame FBS Independents TE 4 No. 19 | 6-4 | 248 lb | Atlanta, GA
2022 Notre Dame FBS Independents TE 4 No. 19 | 6-4 | 248 lb | Atlanta, GA