cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Jalen Satchell /Michigan State

Jalen Satchell

DL · Michigan State · Sr · #93

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

15 TACKLES · 0.5 SACKS

2026 RETURNINGReturning to Michigan State for 2026

2026 Outlook

Returning to Michigan State for 2026

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Defensive line · Michigan State

Returning around him

  • 69% of 2024 offensive production back (Solid continuity)
  • 2 Michigan State players drafted to NFL
  • Transfer portal: -18 net (28 in / 46 out)

2026 Award watch

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

Michigan State · Last season: 4-8 · Talent rank #38 · 2026 recruiting class #57

DL · MICHIGAN STATE · BIG TEN

Jalen Satchell

  • 4
  • #93
  • 6-1 | 293 lb
  • Long Island, NY

CFB Zeitgeist Score

37

Mid-pack in the position cohort. Carried by sacks at the 51st percentile.

Heisman Heat

#12156

<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 1 · 2-deep

R03 · Backup

Backup. On the two-deep, pushing for snaps.

Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Career Arc

HS
Recruit
★★★
#2380 national
CFB
College
3 teams
2021–2025
NFL
NFL Draft
Not drafted (yet)

Identity & Role

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

PositionDL
Class4
Jersey93
Measurements6-1 | 293 lb
HometownLong Island, NY
Primary teamMichigan State

Recruiting Pedigree

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

Top pedigree 3-star No. 2380 recruit
Composite rating 0.8041 HighSchool
Signed with Temple 2021
Origin The Avalon School Long Island City, NY, USA
Class Profile Context
2021 3-star | 0.8041 No. 2380 recruit | HighSchool | Temple

Transfer Arc

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

Portal moves 2 Programs changed on file
Latest destination Michigan State 2024
Transfer stars 3-star CFBD transfer rating context
Eligibility Immediate Apr 24, 2024
Season Move Context
2024 Old Dominion -> Michigan State 3-star | 0.8500 | Immediate
2023 Temple -> Old Dominion 3-star | Immediate

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#12156Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#12257Where 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 Temple

Composite

0.8041

#2380 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 Jalen Satchell

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 Jalen Satchell

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 defensive totals stand

projecting to 13-game
Through 7g
15Tackles
0.5Tackles for loss
0.5Sacks
Per game
2Tackles
0.1Tackles for loss
0.1Sacks
Projected (13g)
28Tackles
0.9Tackles for loss
0.9Sacks

To hit 80-tackle season (currently 15): needs 10.8/game over remaining 6.

To hit 100-tackle season (currently 15): needs 14.2/game over remaining 6.

To hit 6-sack season (currently 0.5): needs 0.9/game over remaining 6.

To hit 10-sack season (currently 0.5): needs 1.6/game over remaining 6.

Why this is a rare defensive case

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

Jalen Satchell is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on Michigan State's defense, with 0.5 sacks, 0.5 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.

Current place #12156 0.0% win | 0.0% finalist
Role load -- Role share still loading
Profile quirk Transfer path 2 portal moves

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
Total tackles 15 8 solo | #2386/4942 (52nd pct)
TFL 0.5 Backfield disruption | #2658/4972 (47th pct)
Sacks 0.5 Pass-rush finish | #1501/4972 (70th pct)
Player identity What kind of player is this?

30-second read

What kind of player is this?

Defensive contributor against FBS defenders.

Balanced profile

2025 Season · Final

2025 season snapshot | final

Tackling & Disruption

TOT
15 52nd
SOLO
8 50th
TFL
0.5 47th
SACK
0.5 70th
QBH
1 44th

Coverage & Takeaways

PD
1 43rd

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 7 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppTKLSOLOTFLSACKINTPDNote
Wk 7L 13-38vs UCLA210.00.00
Wk 8L 13-38@ Indiana110.00.00
Wk 9L 20-31vs Michigan410.00.01Season-high 4 tackles
Wk 10L 20-23@ Minnesota210.00.00
Wk 12L 10-28vs Penn State420.50.50
Wk 13L 17-20@ Iowa110.00.00
Wk 14W 38-28vs Maryland110.00.00
Total1580.50.51
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

2021Temple3-9HC: Rod Carey · Balanced, slow tempo
2022Temple3-9HC: Stan Drayton · Pass-leaning
2023Old Dominion6-7HC: Ricky Rahne · Run-leaning
2025Michigan State4-8HC: Jonathan Smith · Balanced
SeasonTeam
2025Michigan State1580.50.51----
2023Old Dominion1551.01.0------
2022Temple1491.50.5------
2021Temple630.00.0------
Career4 loaded seasons50253.02.01----
Advanced layer Usage, value, and context

Advanced metrics second

Advanced Metrics

Usage, value, and opponent-adjusted context.

Usage Value Context
Disruption stats

TFL, sacks, and QB hurries are grouped together because defensive Heisman cases are usually built on visible havoc, not on tackle counts alone.

Coverage splash

Pass breakups, interceptions, and forced fumbles matter because national awards voters respond to plays that change possessions and highlight reels.

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.

INT -- -- pick-six TD
Pass breakups 1 Coverage disruption | #1241/2184 (43rd pct)
QB pressures 1 Quarterback hurries | #1051/1878 (44th pct)
Open full stat explorer
0 metrics visible Showing all metrics
Group Metric Value Rank Pct Why it matters
Defense Total tackles 15 #2386/4942 52nd pct Volumevs FBS DEF
Defense TFL 0.5 #2658/4972 47th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Sacks 0.5 #1501/4972 70th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Pass breakups 1 #1241/2184 43rd pct Coveragevs FBS DEF
Defense QB hurries 1 #1051/1878 44th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Solo tackles 8 #2283/4584 50th pct Volumevs FBS DEF

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 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 · 7 games

Home/Road · Win/Loss · Season halves

Home vs Road

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Home4g2.80.10.10.2
Road3g1.30.00.00.0

Win vs Loss

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Wins1g1.00.00.00.0
Losses6g2.30.10.10.2

First half vs Second half

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Weeks 1-71g2.00.00.00.0
Weeks 8+6g2.20.10.10.2

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

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the DL cohort

37Mid-pack
6 metrics · season cumulative

Concern: tackles for loss (18th).

QB hurries#1007 / 2975 · 55th pct
1defe
Sacks#1367 / 2975 · 51st pct
0.5defe
Passes defended#1191 / 2975 · 48th pct
1defe
Solo tackles#2282 / 2975 · 21st pct
8defe
Tackles#2386 / 2975 · 18th pct
15defe
Tackles for loss#2332 / 2975 · 18th pct
0.5defe

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

Advanced Savant · DL · 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 · 6 metrics
Jalen SatchellMichigan StateBlake FletcherAir Force· 52% simTyler MartinMassachusetts· 50% simDalton JohnsonArizona· 48% sim
QB hurries
55
Satchell
92
Fletcher
22
Martin
22
Johnson
Sacks
51
Satchell
24
Fletcher
24
Martin
63
Johnson
Passes defended
48
Satchell
67
Fletcher
67
Martin
96
Johnson
Solo tackles
21
Satchell
91
Fletcher
87
Martin
97
Johnson
Tackles
18
Satchell
99
Fletcher
98
Martin
98
Johnson
Tackles for loss
18
Satchell
28
Fletcher
63
Martin
47
Johnson

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 Gabriel Iniguez Jr.’s 2025 season.

Gabriel Iniguez Jr.

94%match

Utah State · 2025

#2

Jeremy Darvin

Western Kentucky · 2021

92%
#3

Noah Shannon

Iowa · 2021

89%
#4

Jordan Branch

Middle Tennessee · 2020

89%
#5

Tatuo Martinson

UNLV · 2023

89%

Matches Gabriel on

Class year
Height
TFL rate

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a graduate, his production profile tracks closest to Terry Lockett's graduate season at James Madison (2025).

Terry Lockett

78%match

James Madison · 2025

#2

Donovan Green

Eastern Michigan · 2025

78%
#3

Philip Blidi

Auburn · 2024

77%
#4

Demerick Morris

Temple · 2024

77%
#5

Jalen Lee

UNLV · 2025

77%

Matches Terry on

Class year
TFL rate
Weight

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Jonathan Smith

Pass share

49.7%

378 pass / 382 run

Plays / game

63.3

12 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

11.2%

303 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Balanced.

Coaching Lineage · 2021–2025

2 coaches
2021
Mel Tucker
Michigan State
2022
Mel Tucker
Michigan State
2023
Mel Tucker
Michigan State
2025
Jonathan Smith
Michigan State
era →

Coaching transition mid-career: Mel Tucker → Jonathan Smith. 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.

HometownLong Island, NY
Height6'1"
Weight293 lb
Class4
PositionDL
Jersey93

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 Michigan State DL4 #12156 #12257 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | Big Ten
2023 Old Dominion DL4 #11643 #11804 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W19 snapshot | Sun Belt
2022 Temple DL4 #12042 #12246 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | American Athletic
2021 Temple DL4 #13545 #13586 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | American Athletic

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2025 Michigan State Big Ten DL 4 No. 93 | 6-1 | 293 lb | Long Island, NY
2024 Michigan State Big Ten DL 4 No. 93 | 6-1 | 293 lb | Long Island, NY
2023 Old Dominion Sun Belt DL 4 No. 93 | 6-1 | 293 lb | Long Island, NY
2022 Temple American Athletic DL 4 No. 93 | 6-1 | 293 lb | Long Island, NY
2021 Temple American Athletic DL 4 No. 93 | 6-1 | 293 lb | Long Island, NY