CFB Zeitgeist Score
45
Mid-pack in the position cohort. Carried by passes defended at the 78th percentile.
Jaylen McClain
Below the discourse floor — the honest stats-only state.
53 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
2026 Outlook
Returning to Ohio State for 2026
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Safety · Ohio State
Returning around him
- 31% of 2024 offensive production back (Moderate turnover)
- 11 Ohio State players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: -20 net (17 in / 37 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Ohio State · Last season: 12-2 (AP #3) · Talent rank #3 · 2026 recruiting class #4
S · OHIO STATE · BIG TEN
Jaylen McClain
- 2
- #18
- 6-0 | 201 lb
- Rahway, NJ
Heisman Heat
#4254
<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 DB AWARD
Jim Thorpe
—
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
HS
Recruit
★★★★
CFB
College
Ohio State
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4-star | 0.8988 | No. 373 recruit | HighSchool | Ohio State |
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 Ohio State
Composite
0.8988
#373 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 Jaylen McClain
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 Jaylen McClain
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 14g
53Tackles
0Tackles for loss
0Sacks
Per game
4Tackles
0Tackles for loss
0Sacks
Final
53Tackles
0Tackles for loss
0Sacks
Why this is a rare defensive case
The fast read on the thing that makes this player more than a generic stat line.
Jaylen McClain is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on Ohio State's defense, with 0.0 sacks, 0.0 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-volume tackler against FBS defenders.
2025 Season · Final
2025 season snapshot | final
Tackling & Disruption
TOT
53 89th
SOLO
42 96th
TFL
0.0 39th
SACK
0.0 65th
Coverage & Takeaways
PD
3 76th
Game Log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 14 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 14-7vs Texas | 8 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 8 tackles |
| Wk 2 | W 70-0vs Grambling | 4 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 37-9vs Ohio | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 5 | W 24-6@ Washington | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 42-3vs Minnesota | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 34-16@ Illinois | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 34-0@ Wisconsin | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 38-14vs Penn State | 5 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 34-10@ Purdue | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 12 | W 48-10vs UCLA | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 13 | W 42-9vs Rutgers | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | W 27-9@ Michigan | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 15 | L 10-13vs Indiana | 6 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Bowl | L 14-24vs Miami | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 53 | 42 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 3 |
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
2025Ohio State12-2HC: Ryan Day · Run-leaning
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Ohio State | 53 | 42 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3 | -- | -- |
| Career | 1 loaded season | 53 | 42 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3 | -- | -- |
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 | 53 | #525/4942 | 89th pct | Volumevs FBS DEF |
| Defense | TFL | 0.0 | #3020/4972 | 39th pct | Disruptionvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Sacks | 0.0 | #1762/4972 | 65th pct | Disruptionvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Pass breakups | 3 | #521/2184 | 76th pct | Coveragevs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Solo tackles | 42 | #165/4584 | 96th 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 Thorpe 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 · 14 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home9g | 4.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Road5g | 3.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
Win vs Loss
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wins12g | 3.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Losses2g | 4.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 3.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Weeks 8+7g | 3.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
Pocket and defense-quality (clean vs. pressure) splits are coming soon.
Savant · Box-rate percentiles
Where this profile ranks vs the S cohort
45Mid-pack
Elite: solo tackles (94th). Strength: tackles (81st). Concern: tackles for loss (7th).
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.
Advanced Savant · S · 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
Jaylen McClainOhio StateTahj Ra-ElPurdue· 78% simTyler MartinMassachusetts· 76% simDalton JohnsonArizona· 75% sim
Solo tackles
Tackles
Passes defended
Sacks
QB hurries
Tackles for loss
Closest peers by overall box-score percentile profile at the same position.
Player DNA
The Hybrid Nickel
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
S
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Ethan Minter’s 2025 season.
Ethan Minter
88%match
#2
Alex Odom
87%
#3
Khalil Barnes
86%
#4
Brandyn Hillman
82%
#5
Jordan Allen
81%
Matches Ethan on
Class year
Height
Weight
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Ike Rowell's sophomore season at UAB (2023).
Ike Rowell
93%match
#2
Ethan Minter
88%
#3
Sione Vaki
NFL Rd 4
88%
#4
Quinton Hammonds
84%
#5
Jacob Redding
84%
Matches Ike on
Class year
Height
PD rate
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Ryan Day
Pass share
47.0%
408 pass / 461 run
Plays / game
62.1
14 games
OL sack rate (allowed)
4.9%
267 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Coaching Lineage · 2025
1 coach2025
Ryan Day
Ohio State
Played his entire career under Ryan Day.
Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster
Off-field context — switch tabs to drill into recruit profile, transfer arc, or roster timeline.
HometownRahway, NJ
Height6'0"
Weight201 lb
Class2
PositionS
Jersey18
No fields populated yet.
No fields populated yet.
Current teamOhio State
ConferenceBig Ten
Joined2025
Career arc2 season(s)
Trophy Case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
🎖
ALL-CONFERENCE
All-Conf mention (2025)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | All-Big Ten | all_conference | Ohio State | Big Ten | DB |
Heisman By Year
Modeled rank and official finish by season.
| Season | Team | Role | Latest Model | Forecast | Win | Finalist | Official Finish | Points | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Ohio State | S2 | #4254 | #3791 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W16 snapshot | Big Ten |
Roster Timeline
Team, conference, and class by season.
| Season | Team | Conference | Pos | Class | Bio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Ohio State | Big Ten | S | 2 | No. 18 | 6-0 | 201 lb | Rahway, NJ |
| 2024 | Ohio State | Big Ten | S | 2 | No. 18 | 6-0 | 201 lb | Rahway, NJ |