CFB Zeitgeist Score
76
All-Conference in the position cohort. Carried by sacks at the 98th percentile.
Rodney McGraw
Below the discourse floor — the honest stats-only state.
42 TACKLES · 7 SACKS
2026 Outlook
Returning to Western Michigan for 2026
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Defensive line · Western Michigan
Returning around him
- 100% of 2024 offensive production back (Strong continuity)
- Transfer portal: +1 net (14 in / 13 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Western Michigan · Last season: 10-4 · Talent rank #105 · 2026 recruiting class #104
DL · WESTERN MICHIGAN · MID-AMERICAN
Rodney McGraw
- 4
- #99
- 6-6 | 265 lb
- Chicago, IL
Heisman Heat
#14532
<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 · StarterR07 · Impact starter
Impact starter. Producing measurable value above replacement.
Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career Arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
2 teams
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 | 0.8859 | No. 441 recruit | HighSchool | Penn 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—
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 Penn State
Composite
0.8859
#441 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 Rodney McGraw
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 Rodney McGraw
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
42Tackles
8.5Tackles for loss
7Sacks
Per game
3Tackles
0.6Tackles for loss
0.5Sacks
Final
42Tackles
8.5Tackles for loss
7Sacks
✓ Hit 6-sack season · finished with 7.
Why this is a rare defensive case
The fast read on the thing that makes this player more than a generic stat line.
Rodney McGraw is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on Western Michigan's defense, with 7.0 sacks, 8.5 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 | High-volume tackler against FBS defenders.
2025 Season · Final
2025 season snapshot | final
Tackling & Disruption
TOT
42 83rd
SOLO
18 74th
TFL
8.5 97th
SACK
7.0 99th
QBH
10 99th
Coverage & Takeaways
PD
1 43rd
Game Log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 14 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 6-23@ Michigan State | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | 2.5 sacks |
| Wk 2 | L 30-33vs North Texas | 5 | 3 | 2.5 | 2.5 | — | 0 | Season-high 5 tackles |
| Wk 3 | L 0-38@ Illinois | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 14-13vs Toledo | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 47-14vs Rhode Island | 4 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 21-3@ Massachusetts | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 42-0vs Ball State | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 17-26@ Miami (OH) | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 24-21vs Central Michigan | 3 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 17-13vs Ohio | 1 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 35-19@ Northern Illinois | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | W 31-21@ Eastern Michigan | 3 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 15 | W 23-13vs Miami (OH) | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Bowl | W 41-6vs Kennesaw State | 5 | 2 | 2.5 | 2.5 | — | 1 | |
| Total | 42 | 18 | 8.5 | 7.0 | — | 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
2022Penn State11-2HC: James Franklin · Run-leaning
2025Western Michigan10-4HC: Lance Taylor · Run-heavy
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Western Michigan | 42 | 18 | 8.5 | 7.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2022 | Penn State | 1 | -- | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 2 loaded seasons | 43 | 18 | 8.5 | 7.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
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 | 42 | #834/4942 | 83rd pct | Volumevs FBS DEF |
| Defense | TFL | 8.5 | #175/4972 | 97th pct | Disruptionvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Sacks | 7.0 | #39/4972 | 99th pct | Disruptionvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Pass breakups | 1 | #1241/2184 | 43rd pct | Coveragevs FBS DEF |
| Defense | QB hurries | 10 | #19/1878 | 99th pct | Disruptionvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Solo tackles | 18 | #1178/4584 | 74th pct | Volumevs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Fumbles recovered | 2 | #13/736 | 98th pct | Takeawaysvs FBS DEF |
| Ball Security | Fumbles lost | 0 | #1/773 | 100th pct | Turnoversvs 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
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 · 14 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home8g | 3.2 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.1 |
| Road6g | 2.7 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
Win vs Loss
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wins10g | 3.2 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.1 |
| Losses4g | 2.5 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-78g | 3.4 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.1 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 2.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
Pocket and defense-quality (clean vs. pressure) splits are coming soon.
Savant · Box-rate percentiles
Where this profile ranks vs the DL cohort
76All-Conference
Elite: qb hurries (99th). Strength: sacks (98th).
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
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
Rodney McGrawWestern MichiganAmare CampbellPenn State· 81% simMac HarrisSouth Florida· 81% simOumar DiomandeUConn· 80% sim
QB hurries
Sacks
Tackles for loss
Tackles
Solo tackles
Passes defended
Forced fumbles
Closest peers by overall box-score percentile profile at the same position.
Player DNA
The 3-Tech Penetrator
Disruptive interior rusher who lives in the backfield.
IDL
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Lazarus Williams’s 2021 season.
Lazarus Williams
85%match
#2
Wesley Bailey
84%
#3
Lazarus Williams
83%
#4
Jack Sullivan
83%
#5
Linus Zunk
82%
Matches Lazarus on
Weight
TFL rate
Sack rate
Differs from Lazarus on
Height (higher)
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Wesley Bailey's junior season at Rutgers (2023).
Wesley Bailey
86%match
#2
Jack Sullivan
85%
#3
Adam Plant
All-Mountain West
83%
#4
Jack Sawyer
All-Big TenNFL Rd 4
83%
#5
Linus Zunk
81%
Matches Wesley on
Class year
Weight
Sack rate
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Lance Taylor
Pass share
33.3%
304 pass / 609 run
Plays / game
65.2
14 games
OL sack rate (allowed)
9.3%
248 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy.
Coaching Lineage · 2022–2025
2 coaches2022
Tim Lester
Western Michigan
2025era →
Lance Taylor
Western Michigan
Coaching transition mid-career: Tim Lester → Lance Taylor. 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.
HometownChicago, IL
Height6'6"
Weight265 lb
Class4
PositionDL
Jersey99
No fields populated yet.
No fields populated yet.
Current teamWestern Michigan
ConferenceMid-American
Joined2025
Career arc5 season(s)
Trophy Case · Detail
Every honor on the ledger, broken out by stream and selector.
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 | Western Michigan | DL4 | #14532 | #14614 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W16 snapshot | Mid-American |
| 2023 | Louisville | DL4 | #8183 | #7825 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W19 snapshot | ACC |
| 2022 | Penn State | DL4 | #6091 | #5908 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W20 snapshot | Big Ten |
| 2021 | Penn State | DL4 | #8636 | #8170 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W20 snapshot | Big Ten |
Roster Timeline
Team, conference, and class by season.
| Season | Team | Conference | Pos | Class | Bio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Western Michigan | Mid-American | DL | 4 | No. 99 | 6-6 | 265 lb | Chicago, IL |
| 2024 | Western Michigan | Mid-American | DL | 4 | No. 99 | 6-6 | 265 lb | Chicago, IL |
| 2023 | Louisville | ACC | DL | 4 | No. 99 | 6-6 | 265 lb | Chicago, IL |
| 2022 | Penn State | Big Ten | DL | 4 | No. 99 | 6-6 | 265 lb | Chicago, IL |
| 2021 | Penn State | Big Ten | DL | 4 | No. 99 | 6-6 | 265 lb | Chicago, IL |