cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Ben Black /Rutgers

Ben Black

WR · Rutgers · So · #2

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

119 REC YDS · 8 REC · 1 REC TD

2026 RETURNINGReturning to Rutgers for 2026

2026 Outlook

Returning to Rutgers for 2026

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Wide receiver · Rutgers

Returning around him

  • 67% of 2024 offensive production back (Solid continuity)
  • 1 Rutgers player drafted to NFL
  • Transfer portal: +0 net (15 in / 15 out)

2026 Award watch

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

Rutgers · Last season: 5-7 · Talent rank #53 · 2026 recruiting class #33

WR · RUTGERS · BIG TEN

Ben Black

  • 2
  • #2
  • 6-0 | 184 lb
  • Charlotte, NC

CFB Zeitgeist Score

28

Below cohort in the position cohort. Carried by yards / catch at the 75th percentile.

Heisman Heat

#854

<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 WR AWARD

Biletnikoff

CONSENSUS

All-American

Player Standing · 17 rungs

Tier 1 · 2-deep

R04 · Rotational

Rotational. Earning real snaps in the rotation.

Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Development Trajectory · receiving yards

2024–2025
1572024
1192025

-24%

Sharp dropoff (-24%) — career inflection point.

Career Arc

HS
Recruit
★★★
#1191 national
CFB
College
Rutgers
2024–2025
NFL
NFL Draft
Not drafted (yet)

Identity & Role

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

PositionWR
Class2
Jersey2
Measurements6-0 | 184 lb
HometownCharlotte, NC
Primary teamRutgers

Recruiting Pedigree

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

Top pedigree 3-star No. 1191 recruit
Composite rating 0.8608 HighSchool
Signed with -- 2024
Origin Mallard Creek Charlotte, NC, USA
Class Profile Context
2024 3-star | 0.8608 No. 1191 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#854Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#865Where 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

0.8608

#1191 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 Ben Black

Fan sentiment ·

Belief Meter

50

Mixed Sentiment

Sample 2 mentions
Confidence BELOW-FLOOR

Top Take

Trajectory

Cohort divergence mapbearishbullishheatedcalmOwn fans: 2 mentions · belief +0 · "Ben Black - Football Coach &nbsp;&nbsp; University of North Texas Athletics"Own fans
  • Own fans · n=2

Rival Radar

How rival fanbases talk about Ben Black

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 receiving totals stand

projecting to 13-game
Through 10g
119Rec yards
8Receptions
1Rec TDs
Per game
11.9Rec yards
1Receptions
0Rec TDs
Projected (13g)
154.7Rec yards
10Receptions
1Rec TDs

To hit 700-yard receiver (currently 119): needs 193.7/game over remaining 3.

To hit 1,000-yard receiver (currently 119): needs 293.7/game over remaining 3.

To hit 60-catch season (currently 8): needs 17.3/game over remaining 3.

To hit 80-catch season (currently 8): needs 24/game over remaining 3.

To hit 8 receiving TDs (currently 1): needs 2.3/game over remaining 3.

To hit 10 receiving TDs (currently 1): needs 3/game over remaining 3.

What made this player interesting

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

Ben Black's story is about how role and output meet each other. For Rutgers, the card already shows enough current-season production to explain why he is on the serious-player board, and the next layer is determining whether the profile is just very good or actually distinctive.

Current place #854 0.0% win | 0.0% finalist
Role load 3.4% Overall usage share
Profile quirk Development arc 125 return yds

2025 Season · Final

Traditional stats first. Advanced context underneath.

Last season

WR season snapshot

2025 season snapshot | final

2025 season snapshot | finalData: CFBD player stats + local Heisman modelPeer context: same position + same level
Receptions 8 1 rec TD | #631/1110 (43rd pct)
Receiving yards 119 14.9 per catch | #590/1107 (47th pct)
Scrimmage yards 119 Total offensive yardage | #590/1107 (47th pct)
Player identity What kind of player is this?

30-second read

What kind of player is this?

Receiving weapon against FBS receiving peers.

Balanced profile

2025 Season · Final

2025 season snapshot | final

Receiving

REC
8 43rd
YDS
119 47th
YPR
14.9 75th
TD
1 64th

Returns

KR YDS
125 67th
KR AVG
17.9 38th

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 10 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppRECYDSAVGTDLONGNote
Wk 1W 34-31vs Ohio
Wk 2W 45-17vs Miami (OH)
Wk 3W 60-10vs Norfolk State35618.7137Season-high 56 yds
Wk 4L 28-38vs Iowa
Wk 7L 19-38@ Washington
Wk 8L 10-56vs Oregon
Wk 9W 27-24@ Purdue45614.0022
Wk 10L 13-35@ Illinois177.007
Wk 13L 9-42@ Ohio State
Wk 14L 36-40vs Penn State
Total811913.2137
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

2024Rutgers7-6HC: Greg Schiano · Run-leaning, fast tempo
2025Rutgers5-7HC: Greg Schiano · Run-leaning
SeasonTeam
2025Rutgers811914.91--
2024Rutgers1215713.11--
Career2 loaded seasons2027613.82--
SeasonTeam
2025Rutgers----125----
2024Rutgers----38----
Career2 loaded seasons----163----
Advanced layer Usage, value, and context

Advanced metrics second

Advanced Metrics

Usage, value, and opponent-adjusted context.

Usage Value Context
Pass share

The player's share of a team's passing-game involvement. It is the fastest way to see whether the receiver is a true focal point or more of a complementary piece.

Role share

A blended workload view that accounts for catches, designed touches, and any return-game involvement that shapes the overall profile.

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.

Usage 3.4% 6.3% pass-game share | #747/1137 (34th pct)
Return yards 125 0 return TD | #79/238 (67th pct)
Touchdowns 1 Across offense and returns | #396/1111 (64th pct)
Open full stat explorer
0 metrics visible Showing all metrics
Group Metric Value Rank Pct Why it matters
Receiving Receptions 8 #631/1110 43rd pct Volumevs FBS WR
Receiving Receiving yards 119 #590/1107 47th pct Volumevs FBS WR
Receiving Receiving TD 1 #396/1111 64th pct Scoringvs FBS WR
Receiving Yards / catch 14.9 #272/1106 75th pct Efficiencyvs FBS WR
Returns Kick return yards 125 #79/238 67th pct Volumevs FBS WR
Usage Pass share 6.3% #747/1137 34th pct Air-game usagevs FBS WR
Receiving Receiving LONG 37 #499/1105 55th pct Metricvs FBS WR
Returns Kick return avg 17.9 #147/236 38th pct Efficiencyvs FBS WR
Returns Kick returns 7 #69/243 72nd pct Volumevs FBS WR
Usage Passing-down usage 6.1% #586/1137 49th pct Known-passing sharevs FBS WR
Usage 3rd-down usage 5.1% #630/1137 45th pct Money-down loadvs FBS WR
Usage Role share 3.4% #696/1137 39th pct Share of team offensevs FBS WR
Usage 1st-down usage 2.8% #768/1137 33rd pct Early-down loadvs FBS WR
Usage 2nd-down usage 2.6% #851/1137 25th pct Middle-down loadvs FBS WR
Usage Standard-down usage 2.1% #857/1137 25th pct Base-situation sharevs FBS WR
Usage Rush share 0.0% #391/1137 66th pct Ground-game usagevs FBS WR
Ball Security Fumbles lost 0 #1/302 100th pct Turnoversvs FBS WR

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

Heisman model tracks the top FBS contenders weekly; this player hasn't entered the watch list yet.

Splits · Per-game

2025 season · 10 games

Home/Road · Win/Loss · Season halves

Home vs Road

REC/gYDS/gYPRTD/g
Home6g0.59.318.70.2
Road4g1.215.810.50.0

Win vs Loss

REC/gYDS/gYPRTD/g
Wins4g1.828.016.40.2
Losses6g0.21.27.00.0

First half vs Second half

REC/gYDS/gYPRTD/g
Weeks 1-75g0.611.218.70.2
Weeks 8+5g1.012.610.50.0

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

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort

28Below cohort
6 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: fumbles lost (80th). Concern: receptions (0th).

Fumbles lost#1 / 218 · 81st pct
0fumb
Yards / catch#138 / 558 · 75th pct
14.9rece
Long catch#416 / 558 · 25th pct
37rece
Rec TDs#373 / 558 · 24th pct
1rece
Rec yards#542 / 558 · 3rd pct
119rece
Receptions#559 / 558 · 0th pct
8rece

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

Advanced Savant · WR · 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
Ben BlackRutgersAaron TurnerRice· 43% simSean WilsonDelaware· 40% simHank BeattyIllinois· 40% sim
Fumbles lost
81
Black
81
Turner
36
Wilson
81
Beatty
Yards / catch
75
Black
1
Turner
49
Wilson
42
Beatty
Long catch
25
Black
65
Turner
58
Wilson
74
Beatty
Rec TDs
24
Black
68
Turner
57
Wilson
57
Beatty
Rec yards
3
Black
48
Turner
91
Wilson
91
Beatty
Receptions
0
Black
92
Turner
94
Wilson
96
Beatty

Closest peers by overall box-score percentile profile at the same position.

DNA Match awaiting data — similarity scores compute once season stats clear the volume gate for this position cohort.

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Greg Schiano

Pass share

45.1%

378 pass / 460 run

Plays / game

69.8

12 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

11.1%

359 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Run-leaning.

Coaching Lineage · 2024–2025

1 coach
2024
Greg Schiano
Rutgers
2025
Greg Schiano
Rutgers

Played his entire career under Greg Schiano.

Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster

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

HometownCharlotte, NC
Height6'0"
Weight184 lb
Class2
PositionWR
Jersey2

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 Rutgers WR2 #854 #865 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | Big Ten

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2025 Rutgers Big Ten WR 2 No. 2 | 6-0 | 184 lb | Charlotte, NC
2024 Rutgers Big Ten WR 2 No. 2 | 6-0 | 184 lb | Charlotte, NC