cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Deshawn McCuin /San Diego State

Deshawn McCuin

S · San Diego State · Sr · #17

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

12 TACKLES · 0 SACKS

2026 RETURNINGReturning to San Diego State for 2026

2026 Outlook

Returning to San Diego State for 2026

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Safety · San Diego State

Returning around him

  • 80% of 2024 offensive production back (Strong continuity)
  • 1 San Diego State player drafted to NFL
  • Transfer portal: +0 net (26 in / 26 out)

2026 Award watch

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

San Diego State · Last season: 9-4 · Talent rank #86 · 2026 recruiting class #78

S · SAN DIEGO STATE · MOUNTAIN WEST

Deshawn McCuin

  • 4
  • #17
  • 6-0 | 195 lb
  • Jacksonville, TX

CFB Zeitgeist Score

35

Below cohort in the position cohort. Carried by passes defended at the 67th percentile.

Heisman Heat

#14606

<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 1 · 2-deep

R04 · Rotational

Rotational. Earning real snaps in the rotation.

Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Career Arc

HS
Recruit
★★★
#812 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.

PositionS
Class4
Jersey17
Measurements6-0 | 195 lb
HometownJacksonville, TX
Primary teamSan Diego State

Recruiting Pedigree

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

Top pedigree 3-star No. 812 recruit
Composite rating 0.8667 HighSchool
Signed with -- 2019
Origin Jacksonville Jacksonville, TX, USA
Class Profile Context
2019 3-star | 0.8667 No. 812 recruit | HighSchool

Transfer Arc

Portal movement changes role, context, and perception. This keeps that path in one place.

Portal moves 1 Programs changed on file
Latest destination -- 2023
Transfer stars 3-star CFBD transfer rating context
Eligibility Immediate Apr 15, 2023
Season Move Context
2023 TCU -> -- 3-star | Immediate

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#14606Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#14692Where 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

0.8667

#812 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 Deshawn McCuin

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 Deshawn McCuin

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 7g
12Tackles
2Tackles for loss
0Sacks
Per game
2Tackles
0.3Tackles for loss
0Sacks
Projected (13g)
22Tackles
3.7Tackles for loss
0Sacks

To hit 80-tackle season (currently 12): needs 11.3/game over remaining 6.

To hit 100-tackle season (currently 12): needs 14.7/game over remaining 6.

To hit 6-sack season (currently 0): needs 1/game over remaining 6.

To hit 10-sack season (currently 0): needs 1.7/game over remaining 6.

Why this is a rare defensive case

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

Deshawn McCuin is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on San Diego State's defense, with 0.0 sacks, 2.0 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.

Current place #14606 0.0% win | 0.0% finalist
Role load -- Role share still loading
Profile quirk Transfer path 1 portal move

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 12 11 solo | #2651/4942 (46th pct)
TFL 2.0 Backfield disruption | #1443/4972 (71st pct)
Sacks 0.0 Pass-rush finish | #1762/4972 (65th 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
12 46th
SOLO
11 60th
TFL
2.0 71st
SACK
0.0 65th

Coverage & Takeaways

PD
2 64th
INT
1 65th

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 7 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppTKLSOLOTFLSACKINTPDNote
Wk 2L 13-36@ Washington State330.00.00
Wk 7W 44-10@ Nevada110.00.01
Wk 9W 23-0@ Fresno State110.00.00
Wk 10W 24-7vs Wyoming111.00.00
Wk 11L 6-38@ Hawai'i1
Wk 13W 25-3vs San José State220.00.00
BowlL 47-49vs North Texas431.00.01
Total12112.00.012
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

2021TCU5-7HC: Gary Patterson · Run-heavy
2022TCU13-2HC: Sonny Dykes · Run-leaning
2023San Diego State4-8HC: Brady Hoke · Run-leaning
2025San Diego State9-4HC: Sean Lewis · Run-heavy
SeasonTeam
2025San Diego State12112.00.021--
2023San Diego State1391.00.021--
2022TCU970.00.01----
2021TCU1--0.00.0--1--
Career4 loaded seasons35273.00.053--
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 1 0 pick-six TD | #308/869 (65th pct)
Pass breakups 2 Coverage disruption | #792/2184 (64th pct)
QB pressures 0 Quarterback hurries
Open full stat explorer
0 metrics visible Showing all metrics
Group Metric Value Rank Pct Why it matters
Defense Total tackles 12 #2651/4942 46th pct Volumevs FBS DEF
Defense TFL 2.0 #1443/4972 71st pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Sacks 0.0 #1762/4972 65th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Interceptions 1 #308/869 65th pct Takeawaysvs FBS DEF
Defense Pass breakups 2 #792/2184 64th pct Coveragevs FBS DEF
Defense INT return avg 13.0 #311/578 46th pct Takeawaysvs FBS DEF
Defense INT return yards 13 #374/578 35th pct Takeawaysvs FBS DEF
Defense Solo tackles 11 #1855/4584 60th 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 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 · 7 games

Home/Road · Win/Loss · Season halves

Home vs Road

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Home3g2.30.70.00.3
Road4g1.20.00.00.2

Win vs Loss

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Wins4g1.20.20.00.2
Losses3g2.30.30.00.3

First half vs Second half

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Weeks 1-73g2.70.30.00.7
Weeks 8+4g1.00.20.00.0

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

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the S cohort

35Below cohort
7 metrics · season cumulative

Concern: tackles (9th).

Passes defended#777 / 2975 · 67th pct
2defe
Tackles for loss#1424 / 2975 · 47th pct
2.0defe
Solo tackles#1855 / 2975 · 35th pct
11defe
Interceptions#304 / 817 · 31st pct
1inte
Sacks#1575 / 2975 · 24th pct
0.0defe
QB hurries#1662 / 2975 · 22nd pct
0defe
Tackles#2651 / 2975 · 9th pct
12defe

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
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 · 7 metrics
Deshawn McCuinSan Diego StateTyler MartinMassachusetts· 61% simTahj Ra-ElPurdue· 54% simRobert FitzgeraldNorthwestern· 54% sim
Passes defended
67
McCuin
67
Martin
91
Ra-El
86
Fitzgerald
Tackles for loss
47
McCuin
63
Martin
56
Ra-El
85
Fitzgerald
Solo tackles
35
McCuin
87
Martin
100
Ra-El
100
Fitzgerald
Interceptions
31
McCuin
31
Martin
31
Fitzgerald
Sacks
24
McCuin
24
Martin
24
Ra-El
24
Fitzgerald
QB hurries
22
McCuin
22
Martin
22
Ra-El
55
Fitzgerald
Tackles
9
McCuin
98
Martin
99
Ra-El
99
Fitzgerald

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

Sean Lewis

Pass share

35.3%

290 pass / 532 run

Plays / game

63.2

13 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

7.6%

224 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Run-heavy.

Coaching Lineage · 2021–2025

2 coaches
2021
Brady Hoke
San Diego State
2022
Brady Hoke
San Diego State
2023
Brady Hoke
San Diego State
2025
Sean Lewis
San Diego State
era →

Coaching transition mid-career: Brady Hoke → Sean Lewis. 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.

HometownJacksonville, TX
Height6'0"
Weight195 lb
Class4
PositionS
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 San Diego State S4 #14606 #14692 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | Mountain West
2023 San Diego State S4 #12108 #12509 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W19 snapshot | Mountain West
2022 TCU S4 #5784 #5658 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | Big 12
2021 TCU S4 #13156 #13123 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | Big 12

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2025 San Diego State Mountain West S 4 No. 17 | 6-0 | 195 lb | Jacksonville, TX
2024 San Diego State Mountain West S 4 No. 17 | 6-0 | 195 lb | Jacksonville, TX
2023 San Diego State Mountain West S 4 No. 17 | 6-0 | 195 lb | Jacksonville, TX
2022 TCU Big 12 S 4 No. 17 | 6-0 | 195 lb | Jacksonville, TX
2021 TCU Big 12 S 4 No. 17 | 6-0 | 195 lb | Jacksonville, TX