CFB Zeitgeist Score
68
Solid starter in the position cohort. Carried by sacks at the 96th percentile.
Aaron Graves
Below the discourse floor — the honest stats-only state.
37 TACKLES · 5 SACKS
2026 Outlook
Returning to Iowa for 2026
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Defensive line · Iowa
Returning around him
- 49% of 2024 offensive production back (Moderate turnover)
- 7 Iowa players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: +7 net (15 in / 8 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Iowa · Last season: 9-4 · Talent rank #42 · 2026 recruiting class #38
DL · IOWA · BIG TEN
Aaron Graves
- 4
- #95
- 6-5 | 295 lb
- Dayton, IA
Heisman Heat
#6258
<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 · Season-by-season Standing
4 seasons on the ladder
2022
Iowa · DL
—
2023
Iowa · DL
—
2024
Iowa · DL
—
★
2025
Iowa · DL
R09 · All-Conference HM / 2nd team
Recognized
Career Arc
HS
Recruit
★★★★
CFB
College
Iowa
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 4-star | 0.9503 | No. 128 recruit | HighSchool | Iowa |
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 Iowa
Composite
0.9503
#128 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 Aaron Graves
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 Aaron Graves
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 13g
37Tackles
6.5Tackles for loss
5Sacks
Per game
3Tackles
0.5Tackles for loss
0.4Sacks
Final
37Tackles
6.5Tackles for loss
5Sacks
Why this is a rare defensive case
The fast read on the thing that makes this player more than a generic stat line.
Aaron Graves is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on Iowa's defense, with 5.0 sacks, 6.5 tackles for loss, and 1 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
37 80th
SOLO
17 73rd
TFL
6.5 93rd
SACK
5.0 98th
QBH
3 75th
Coverage & Takeaways
PD
1 43rd
INT
1 65th
Game Log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 13 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 34-7vs UAlbany | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 13-16@ Iowa State | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 47-7vs Massachusetts | 5 | 3 | 1.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 38-28@ Rutgers | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 15-20vs Indiana | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 37-0@ Wisconsin | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 25-24vs Penn State | 7 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 7 tackles |
| Wk 9 | W 41-3vs Minnesota | 2 | 2 | 2.0 | 2.0 | — | 0 | 2 sacks |
| Wk 11 | L 16-18vs Oregon | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | L 21-26@ USC | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 20-17vs Michigan State | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | W 40-16@ Nebraska | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Bowl | W 34-27@ Vanderbilt | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 37 | 17 | 6.5 | 5.0 | 1 | 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
2022Iowa8-5HC: Kirk Ferentz · Run-leaning, slow tempo
2023Iowa10-4HC: Kirk Ferentz · Run-leaning, slow tempo
2024Iowa8-5HC: Kirk Ferentz · Run-heavy
2025Iowa9-4HC: Kirk Ferentz · Run-heavy, slow tempo
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 | 37 | #1007/4942 | 80th pct | Volumevs FBS DEF |
| Defense | TFL | 6.5 | #340/4972 | 93rd pct | Disruptionvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Sacks | 5.0 | #102/4972 | 98th pct | Disruptionvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Interceptions | 1 | #308/869 | 65th pct | Takeawaysvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Pass breakups | 1 | #1241/2184 | 43rd pct | Coveragevs FBS DEF |
| Defense | QB hurries | 3 | #462/1878 | 75th pct | Disruptionvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | INT return avg | 35.0 | #67/578 | 89th pct | Takeawaysvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | INT return yards | 35 | #185/578 | 68th pct | Takeawaysvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Solo tackles | 17 | #1252/4584 | 73rd 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 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 · 13 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 3.1 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.0 |
| Road6g | 2.5 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
Win vs Loss
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wins9g | 2.9 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
| Losses4g | 2.8 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 2.7 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 3.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.2 |
Pocket and defense-quality (clean vs. pressure) splits are coming soon.
Savant · Box-rate percentiles
Where this profile ranks vs the DL cohort
68Solid starter
Elite: sacks (96th). Strength: tackles for loss (87th).
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
Aaron GravesIowaMaverick BaranowskiMinnesota· 78% simDaniel WingateMaryland· 78% simJordan CrookArizona State· 77% sim
Sacks
Tackles for loss
QB hurries
Tackles
Solo tackles
Passes defended
Interceptions
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 Braden Fiske’s 2023 season.
Braden Fiske
86%match
All-ACCNFL Rd 2 · Pk 7
#2
Sokoya McDuffie
86%
#3
Shakel Brown
85%
#4
Darius Robinson
NFL Rd 1 · Pk 27
84%
#5
Justin Eboigbe
NFL Rd 4
84%
Matches Braden on
Sack rate
Height
Weight
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Kameron Hamilton's senior season at Tulane (2025).
Kameron Hamilton
89%match
#2
Justin Eboigbe
All-SECNFL Rd 4
89%
#3
Rene Konga
84%
#4
Kyonte Hamilton
NFL Rd 7
84%
#5
Braden Fiske
All-ACCNFL Rd 2 · Pk 7
83%
Matches Kameron on
Class year
Sack rate
Weight
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Kirk Ferentz
Pass share
36.6%
286 pass / 495 run
Plays / game
60.1
13 games
OL sack rate (allowed)
7.9%
228 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy, slow tempo.
Coaching Lineage · 2022–2025
1 coach2022
Kirk Ferentz
Iowa
2023
Kirk Ferentz
Iowa
2024
Kirk Ferentz
Iowa
2025
Kirk Ferentz
Iowa
Played his entire career under Kirk Ferentz.
Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster
Off-field context — switch tabs to drill into recruit profile, transfer arc, or roster timeline.
HometownDayton, IA
Height6'5"
Weight295 lb
Class4
PositionDL
Jersey95
No fields populated yet.
No fields populated yet.
Current teamIowa
ConferenceBig Ten
Joined2025
Career arc4 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 | Iowa | Big Ten | DT |
Heisman By Year
Modeled rank and official finish by season.
Roster Timeline
Team, conference, and class by season.