CFB Zeitgeist Score
57
Solid starter in the position cohort. Carried by rush tds at the 80th percentile.
DJ McKinney
The Long Memoryas of 2026-06-22
DJ McKinney arrives at New Mexico with a new fit to prove and an old chapter behind him.
464RUSH YDS7RUSH TD111CARRIES
RUSHING VALUE · WEPA
+0.06
via your WEPA model · 2025 · 99 plays
Rival boards can't stop talking about him, and it isn't admiration.
low confidence1 source
Minority viewA vocal minority sees it the other way.
Read the story so far
AI narrative · updated 2026-06-22 · compiled from CFB Zeitgeist data
Where He Ended Up · Transfer
Transferred to Tulsa
2025New Mexico
2026Tulsa
RB · NEW MEXICO · MOUNTAIN WEST
DJ McKinney
- 2
- #4
- 5-8 | 182 lb
- Tulsa, OK
Heisman Heat
#2825
<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 RB AWARD
Doak Walker
—
CONSENSUS
All-American
—
Player Standing · 17 rungs
Tier 2 · StarterR05 · Part-time starter
Part-time starter. Splitting first-team reps.
Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career Arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
New Mexico
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 | 3-star | 0.8696 | No. 776 recruit | HighSchool |
Transfer Arc
Portal movement changes role, context, and perception. This keeps that path in one place.
| Season | Move | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | New Mexico -> Tulsa | Immediate |
| 2025 | Sam Houston -> New Mexico | 3-star | 0.8500 | 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 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 —
Composite
0.8696
#776 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 DJ McKinney
Fan sentiment ·
Belief Meter
83
Grounded Optimism
Top Take
“”
Trajectory
Per-cohort trajectory lands when historical bucket data is aggregated.
Cohort divergence map
- Own fans · n=3
- Rivals · n=2
- National · n=3
Rival Radar
How rival fanbases talk about DJ McKinney
Only 2 rival mention(s) — below the 4-mention floor for a defensible read.
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 rushing totals stand
Through 13g
464Rush yards
111Carries
7Rush TDs
Per game
35.7Rush yards
9Carries
1Rush TDs
Final
464Rush yards
111Carries
7Rush TDs
Why this is more than a rushing profile
The fast read on the thing that makes this player more than a generic stat line.
DJ McKinney is not a one-lane back. The profile is interesting because the workload spills beyond pure rushing volume: 464 rushing yards, 15 catches, and 119 return yards for New Mexico. That kind of all-purpose footprint gives the card a much richer story than a basic carry total.
2025 Season · Final
Traditional stats first. Advanced context underneath.
Last season
RB 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?
Passing-game back against FBS RB peers.
2025 Season · Final
2025 season snapshot | final
Rushing
CAR
111 82nd
YDS
464 75th
YPC
4.2 38th
TD
7 92nd
Receiving
REC
15 75th
YDS
161 85th
YPR
10.7 82nd
TD
0 70th
Game Log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 13 games
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 17-34@ Michigan | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 0 | 3 | |
| Wk 2 | W 32-22vs Idaho State | 7 | 45 | 6.4 | 0 | 17 | |
| Wk 3 | W 35-10@ UCLA | 21 | 89 | 4.2 | 1 | 11 | Season-high 89 yds |
| Wk 5 | W 38-20vs New Mexico State | 11 | 36 | 3.3 | 0 | 8 | |
| Wk 6 | L 28-35@ San José State | 4 | 11 | 2.8 | 0 | 4 | |
| Wk 7 | L 25-41@ Boise State | 3 | 15 | 5.0 | 0 | 12 | |
| Wk 8 | W 24-22vs Nevada | 8 | 39 | 4.9 | 2 | 22 | |
| Wk 9 | W 33-14vs Utah State | 11 | 53 | 4.8 | 1 | 24 | |
| Wk 10 | W 40-35@ UNLV | 7 | 20 | 2.9 | 1 | 13 | |
| Wk 12 | W 20-17vs Colorado State | 17 | 52 | 3.1 | 1 | 11 | |
| Wk 13 | W 20-3@ Air Force | 14 | 43 | 3.1 | 0 | 9 | |
| Wk 14 | W 23-17vs San Diego State | 4 | 46 | 11.5 | 1 | 54 | |
| Bowl | L 17-20@ Minnesota | 2 | 10 | 5.0 | 0 | 11 | |
| Total | 111 | 464 | 4.6 | 7 | 54 |
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
2025New Mexico9-4HC: Jason Eck · Run-leaning
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | New Mexico | 111 | 464 | 4.2 | 7 | -- |
| Career | 1 loaded season | 111 | 464 | 4.2 | 7 | -- |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | New Mexico | 15 | 161 | 10.7 | 0 | -- |
| Career | 1 loaded season | 15 | 161 | 10.7 | 0 | -- |
Advanced layer Usage, value, and context
Advanced metrics second
Advanced Metrics
Usage, value, and opponent-adjusted context.
Opponent-adjusted rushing value. It helps separate empty volume from carries that actually move the scoreboard.
How much of the team's offense flows through this back once rushing work and receiving work are combined.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rushing | Rushing yards | 464 | #182/735 | 75th pct | Volumevs FBS RB |
| Rushing | Rush TD | 7 | #62/739 | 92nd pct | Scoringvs FBS RB |
| Rushing | Yards / carry | 4.2 | #455/735 | 38th pct | Efficiencyvs FBS RB |
| Receiving | Receptions | 15 | #140/552 | 75th pct | Volumevs FBS RB |
| Receiving | Receiving yards | 161 | #85/548 | 85th pct | Volumevs FBS RB |
| Value | Rushing WEPA | +0.06 | #279/362 | 23rd pct | Opponent-adjusted rushing value | 99 weighted playsvs FBS RB |
| Usage | Role share | 15.7% | #164/738 | 78th pct | Share of team offensevs FBS RB |
| Rushing | Carries | 111 | #135/739 | 82nd pct | Volumevs FBS RB |
| Rushing | Rushing LONG | 54 | #136/733 | 82nd pct | Metricvs FBS RB |
| Receiving | Receiving LONG | 39 | #74/540 | 86th pct | Metricvs FBS RB |
| Receiving | Yards / catch | 10.7 | #98/548 | 82nd pct | Efficiencyvs FBS RB |
| Receiving | Receiving TD | 0 | #169/552 | 70th pct | Scoringvs FBS RB |
| Returns | Punt return yards | 73 | #10/27 | 67th pct | Volumevs FBS RB |
| Returns | Kick return yards | 46 | #102/200 | 50th pct | Volumevs FBS RB |
| Returns | Kick return avg | 15.3 | #142/199 | 29th pct | Efficiencyvs FBS RB |
| Returns | Punt return avg | 14.6 | #9/27 | 70th pct | Efficiencyvs FBS RB |
| Returns | Punt returns | 5 | #12/29 | 62nd pct | Volumevs FBS RB |
| Returns | Kick returns | 3 | #85/206 | 59th pct | Volumevs FBS RB |
| Returns | Punt return TD | 1 | #1/5 | 100th pct | Scoringvs FBS RB |
| Usage | Rush share | 25.3% | #175/738 | 76th pct | Ground-game usagevs FBS RB |
| Usage | 1st-down usage | 18.4% | #166/738 | 78th pct | Early-down loadvs FBS RB |
| Usage | Standard-down usage | 17.5% | #179/738 | 76th pct | Base-situation sharevs FBS RB |
| Usage | 2nd-down usage | 14.3% | #196/738 | 74th pct | Middle-down loadvs FBS RB |
| Usage | 3rd-down usage | 13.8% | #102/738 | 86th pct | Money-down loadvs FBS RB |
| Usage | Passing-down usage | 11.5% | #144/738 | 81st pct | Known-passing sharevs FBS RB |
| Usage | Pass share | 5.7% | #132/738 | 82nd pct | Air-game usagevs FBS RB |
| Ball Security | Fumbles lost | 0 | #1/256 | 100th pct | Turnoversvs FBS RB |
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
Heisman model tracks the top FBS contenders weekly; this player hasn't entered the watch list yet.
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 13 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 45.2 | 5.7 | 0.8 |
| Road7g | 27.6 | 3.6 | 0.3 |
Win vs Loss
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wins9g | 47.0 | 4.9 | 0.8 |
| Losses4g | 10.2 | 3.8 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 30.1 | 4.2 | 0.1 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 42.2 | 5.0 | 1.0 |
Pocket and defense-quality (clean vs. pressure) splits are coming soon.
Savant · Box-rate percentiles
Where this profile ranks vs the RB cohort
57Solid starter
Elite: fumbles lost (86th). Concern: yards / carry (20th).
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.
Advanced Savant · RB · 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.
wepa_rushing0.06Below (<p25) (n=178)
Peer Comparator · Fingerprint match
Three closest profiles by box-rate percentile
DJ McKinneyNew MexicoTJ HardenSMU· 81% simAnthony HankersonOregon State· 77% simCarson HansenIowa State· 77% sim
Fumbles lost
Rush TDs
Rec yards
Long run
Carries
Receptions
Rush yards
Yards / carry
Closest peers by overall box-score percentile profile at the same position.
Player DNA
The Balanced Back
Plays within the scheme — consistent production without a dominant dimension.
RB
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Diore Hubbard’s 2025 season.
Diore Hubbard
64%match
#2
James Charles
61%
#3
Sedrick Alexander
62%
#4
Shedro Louis
61%
#5
Trelon Smith
60%
Matches Diore on
Yards / carry
Receiving share
Weight
Differs from Diore on
Height (lower)
Rush TD rate (higher)
Through 2 college seasons, his career arc tracks closest to Darius Wilson’s path through William & Mary.
Darius Wilson
96%match
#2
Deon Jackson
88%
#3
Sean McGrew
85%
#4
Velton Gardner
85%
#5
Ron Cook Jr.
84%
Matches Darius on
Yards per carry
As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Diore Hubbard's sophomore season at West Virginia (2025).
Diore Hubbard
70%match
#2
James Charles
65%
#3
Jaylan Knighton
All-AAC
64%
#4
Xavier Arline
58%
#5
Joshon Barbie
62%
Matches Diore on
Receiving share
Weight
Differs from Diore on
Class year (higher)
Height (lower)
Rush TD rate (higher)
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jason Eck
Pass share
43.3%
350 pass / 459 run
Plays / game
62.2
13 games
OL sack rate (allowed)
11.3%
293 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Coaching Lineage · 2025
1 coach2025
Jason Eck
New Mexico
Played his entire career under Jason Eck.
Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster
Off-field context — switch tabs to drill into recruit profile, transfer arc, or roster timeline.
HometownTulsa, OK
Height5'8"
Weight182 lb
Class2
PositionRB
Jersey4
No fields populated yet.
No fields populated yet.
Current teamNew Mexico
ConferenceMountain West
Joined2025
Career arc3 season(s)
Trophy Case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
🎖
ALL-CONFERENCE
All-Conf mention (2024)
All-Conference USA
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | All-Conference USA | all_conference | Sam Houston | Conference USA | RB |
Heisman By Year
Modeled rank and official finish by season.
| Season | Team | Role | Latest Model | Forecast | Win | Finalist | Official Finish | Points | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Sam Houston | RB2 | #2825 | #2560 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W16 snapshot | Conference USA |
| 2023 | Sam Houston | RB2 | #4639 | #4903 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W19 snapshot | Conference USA |
Roster Timeline
Team, conference, and class by season.
| Season | Team | Conference | Pos | Class | Bio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | New Mexico | Mountain West | RB | 2 | No. 4 | 5-8 | 182 lb | Tulsa, OK |
| 2024 | Sam Houston | Conference USA | RB | 2 | No. 4 | 5-8 | 182 lb | Tulsa, OK |
| 2023 | Sam Houston | Conference USA | RB | 2 | No. 4 | 5-8 | 182 lb | Tulsa, OK |