cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Mattheus Carroll /Kent State

Mattheus Carroll

DL · Kent State · Sr · #17

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

19 TACKLES · 0.5 SACKS

2026 RETURNINGReturning to Kent State for 2026

2026 Outlook

Returning to Kent State for 2026

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Defensive line · Kent State

Returning around him

  • 11% of 2024 offensive production back (Heavy turnover)
  • Transfer portal: -4 net (11 in / 15 out)

2026 Award watch

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

Kent State · Last season: 5-7 · Talent rank #128 · 2026 recruiting class #93

DL · KENT STATE · MID-AMERICAN

Mattheus Carroll

  • 4
  • #17
  • 6-3 | 240 lb
  • Baltimore, MD

CFB Zeitgeist Score

39

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

Heisman Heat

#15710

<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
★★★
#837 national
CFB
College
2 teams
2021–2025
NFL
NFL Draft
Not drafted (yet)

Identity & Role

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

PositionDL
Class4
Jersey17
Measurements6-3 | 240 lb
HometownBaltimore, MD
Primary teamKent State

Recruiting Pedigree

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

Top pedigree 3-star No. 837 recruit
Composite rating 0.8630 HighSchool
Signed with -- 2021
Origin Gilman Baltimore, MD, USA
Class Profile Context
2021 3-star | 0.8630 No. 837 recruit | HighSchool

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#15710Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#15805Where 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 —

Composite

0.8630

#837 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 Mattheus Carroll

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 Mattheus Carroll

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 9g
19Tackles
1.5Tackles for loss
0.5Sacks
Per game
2Tackles
0.2Tackles for loss
0.1Sacks
Projected (13g)
27Tackles
2.2Tackles for loss
0.7Sacks

To hit 80-tackle season (currently 19): needs 15.2/game over remaining 4.

To hit 100-tackle season (currently 19): needs 20.2/game over remaining 4.

To hit 6-sack season (currently 0.5): needs 1.4/game over remaining 4.

To hit 10-sack season (currently 0.5): needs 2.4/game over remaining 4.

Why this is a rare defensive case

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

Mattheus Carroll is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on Kent State's defense, with 0.5 sacks, 1.5 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 #15710 0.0% win | 0.0% finalist
Role load -- Role share still loading
Profile quirk Transfer path 0 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 19 6 solo | #2072/4942 (58th pct)
TFL 1.5 Backfield disruption | #1771/4972 (64th 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
19 58th
SOLO
6 43rd
TFL
1.5 64th
SACK
0.5 70th
QBH
2 66th

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 9 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppTKLSOLOTFLSACKINTPDNote
Wk 1W 21-17vs Merrimack310.50.00Season-high 3 tackles
Wk 2L 14-62@ Texas Tech210.00.00
Wk 3L 28-31vs Buffalo210.00.00
Wk 4L 10-66@ Florida State100.00.00
Wk 6L 0-44@ Oklahoma110.00.00
Wk 8L 10-45@ Toledo200.00.00
Wk 9W 24-21vs Bowling Green210.00.00
Wk 12W 42-35@ Akron310.50.50
Wk 13L 16-28vs Central Michigan300.50.00
Total1961.50.50
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

2021Virginia Tech6-6HC: J.C. Price · Run-heavy
2023Kent State1-11HC: Kenni Burns · Run-leaning
2025Kent State5-7HC: Mark Carney · Run-leaning, slow tempo
SeasonTeam
2025Kent State1961.50.5------
2023Kent State1861.51.0------
2021Virginia Tech2--0.00.0------
Career3 loaded seasons39123.01.5------
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 0 Coverage disruption
QB pressures 2 Quarterback hurries | #647/1878 (66th pct)
Open full stat explorer
0 metrics visible Showing all metrics
Group Metric Value Rank Pct Why it matters
Defense Total tackles 19 #2072/4942 58th pct Volumevs FBS DEF
Defense TFL 1.5 #1771/4972 64th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Sacks 0.5 #1501/4972 70th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense QB hurries 2 #647/1878 66th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Solo tackles 6 #2592/4584 43rd 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 · 9 games

Home/Road · Win/Loss · Season halves

Home vs Road

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Home4g2.50.20.00.0
Road5g1.80.10.10.0

Win vs Loss

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Wins3g2.70.30.20.0
Losses6g1.80.10.00.0

First half vs Second half

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Weeks 1-75g1.80.10.00.0
Weeks 8+4g2.50.20.10.0

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

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the DL cohort

39Mid-pack
6 metrics · season cumulative

Concern: solo tackles (11th).

QB hurries#634 / 2975 · 72nd pct
2defe
Sacks#1367 / 2975 · 51st pct
0.5defe
Tackles for loss#1711 / 2975 · 39th pct
1.5defe
Tackles#2072 / 2975 · 29th pct
19defe
Passes defended#1916 / 2975 · 18th pct
0defe
Solo tackles#2560 / 2975 · 12th pct
6defe

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
Mattheus CarrollKent StateBlake FletcherAir Force· 50% simMarcAnthony ParkerNavy· 50% simMicah DaveyUTEP· 49% sim
QB hurries
72
Carroll
92
Fletcher
88
Parker
82
Davey
Sacks
51
Carroll
24
Fletcher
80
Parker
63
Davey
Tackles for loss
39
Carroll
28
Fletcher
87
Parker
91
Davey
Tackles
29
Carroll
99
Fletcher
98
Parker
99
Davey
Passes defended
18
Carroll
67
Fletcher
18
Parker
18
Davey
Solo tackles
12
Carroll
91
Fletcher
96
Parker
99
Davey

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 Quintayvious Hutchins’s 2025 season.

Quintayvious Hutchins

87%match

Boston College · 2025

NFL Rd 7
#2

Aeneas DiCosmo

Stanford · 2022

86%
#3

Stephens Sings V

Liberty · 2021

86%
#4

Mattheus Carroll

Kent State · 2023

85%
#5

Jamar Rucks

Kennesaw State · 2025

85%

Matches Quintayvious on

Class year
Height
Weight

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Marco Notarainni's senior season at Boise State (2025).

Marco Notarainni

97%match

Boise State · 2025

All-Mountain West
#2

Brandon George

Pittsburgh · 2023

95%
#3

Shay Taylor

Charlotte · 2025

All-MAC
93%
#4

Khalil Murdock

Buffalo · 2025

92%
#5

Ben Bywater

BYU · 2023

92%

Matches Marco on

Class year
Height
TFL rate

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Mark Carney

Pass share

42.8%

292 pass / 390 run

Plays / game

56.8

12 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

9.5%

242 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Run-leaning, slow tempo.

Coaching Lineage · 2021–2025

3 coaches
2021
Sean Lewis
Kent State
2023
Kenni Burns
Kent State
era →
2025
Mark Carney
Kent State
era →

Played under 3 different head coaches: Sean Lewis, Kenni Burns, and Mark Carney. Multi-era developmental context.

Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster

Off-field context — switch tabs to drill into recruit profile, transfer arc, or roster timeline.

HometownBaltimore, MD
Height6'3"
Weight240 lb
Class4
PositionDL
Jersey17

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 Kent State DL4 #15710 #15805 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | Mid-American
2023 Kent State DL4 #14747 #15133 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W19 snapshot | Mid-American
2022 Virginia Tech DL4 #11893 #11889 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | ACC
2021 Virginia Tech DL4 #11081 #10912 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | ACC

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2025 Kent State Mid-American DL 4 No. 17 | 6-3 | 240 lb | Baltimore, MD
2024 Kent State Mid-American DL 4 No. 17 | 6-3 | 240 lb | Baltimore, MD
2023 Kent State Mid-American DL 4 No. 17 | 6-3 | 240 lb | Baltimore, MD
2022 Virginia Tech ACC DL 4 No. 17 | 6-3 | 240 lb | Baltimore, MD
2021 Virginia Tech ACC DL 4 No. 17 | 6-3 | 240 lb | Baltimore, MD