cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Ike Larsen /Utah State

Ike Larsen

S · Utah State · Sr

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

56 TACKLES · 0 SACKS

2026 RETURNINGReturning to Utah State for 2026

2026 Outlook

Returning to Utah State for 2026

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Safety · Utah State

Returning around him

  • 63% of 2024 offensive production back (Solid continuity)
  • Transfer portal: +10 net (29 in / 19 out)

2026 Award watch

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

Utah State · Last season: 6-7 · Talent rank #114 · 2026 recruiting class #87

S · UTAH STATE · MOUNTAIN WEST

Ike Larsen

  • 4
  • 5-11 | 195 lb
  • Smithfield, UT

CFB Zeitgeist Score

57

Solid starter in the position cohort. Carried by passes defended at the 91st percentile.

Heisman Heat

#14807

<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 2 · Starter

R05 · Part-time starter

Part-time starter. Splitting first-team reps.

Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Career arc · Season-by-season Standing

3 seasons on the ladder

Peak: R09 All-Conference HM / 2nd team · 2023

2022

Utah State · S

2023

Utah State · S

R09 · All-Conference HM / 2nd team

Recognized

2025

Utah State · S

Career Arc

HS
Recruit
★★★
#2090 national
CFB
College
Utah State
2022–2025
NFL
NFL Draft
Not drafted (yet)

Identity & Role

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

PositionS
Class4
Jersey--
Measurements5-11 | 195 lb
HometownSmithfield, UT
Primary teamUtah State

Recruiting Pedigree

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

Top pedigree 3-star No. 2090 recruit
Composite rating 0.8167 HighSchool
Signed with Utah State 2021
Origin Sky View Smithfield, UT, USA
Class Profile Context
2021 3-star | 0.8167 No. 2090 recruit | HighSchool | Utah State

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#14807Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#14937Where 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 Utah State

Composite

0.8167

#2090 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 Ike Larsen

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 Ike Larsen

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 8g
56Tackles
3Tackles for loss
0Sacks
Per game
7Tackles
0.4Tackles for loss
0Sacks
Projected (13g)
91Tackles
4.9Tackles for loss
0Sacks

To hit 80-tackle season (currently 56): needs 4.8/game over remaining 5.

To hit 100-tackle season (currently 56): needs 8.8/game over remaining 5.

To hit 6-sack season (currently 0): needs 1.2/game over remaining 5.

To hit 10-sack season (currently 0): needs 2/game over remaining 5.

Why this is a rare defensive case

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

Ike Larsen is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on Utah State's defense, with 0.0 sacks, 3.0 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 #14807 0.0% win | 0.0% finalist
Role load -- Role share still loading
Profile quirk Honors spine 1 honors loaded

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 56 33 solo | #468/4942 (91st pct)
TFL 3.0 Backfield disruption | #1006/4972 (80th 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?

Coverage splash | High-volume tackler against FBS defenders.

Coverage splashHigh-volume tackler

2025 Season · Final

2025 season snapshot | final

Tackling & Disruption

TOT
56 91st
SOLO
33 91st
TFL
3.0 80th
SACK
0.0 65th
QBH
1 44th

Coverage & Takeaways

PD
5 90th
INT
1 65th

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 8 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppTKLSOLOTFLSACKINTPDNote
Wk 7L 26-44@ Hawai'i770.00.00
Wk 8W 30-25vs San José State510.00.02
Wk 9L 14-33@ New Mexico760.00.01
Wk 11W 51-14vs Nevada510.50.00
Wk 12L 26-29@ UNLV630.00.01
Wk 13W 28-17@ Fresno State881.00.01
Wk 14L 24-25vs Boise State1140.50.00Season-high 11 tackles
BowlL 21-34vs Washington State731.00.010
Total56333.00.015
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

2022Utah State6-7HC: Blake Anderson · Run-leaning
2023Utah State6-7HC: Blake Anderson · Run-leaning
2025Utah State6-7HC: Bronco Mendenhall · Balanced
SeasonTeam
2025Utah State56333.00.051--
2023Utah State102584.50.064--
2022Utah State34203.02.024--
Career3 loaded seasons19211110.52.0139--
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 5 Coverage disruption | #218/2184 (90th pct)
QB pressures 1 Quarterback hurries | #1051/1878 (44th pct)
Open full stat explorer
0 metrics visible Showing all metrics
Group Metric Value Rank Pct Why it matters
Defense Total tackles 56 #468/4942 91st pct Volumevs FBS DEF
Defense TFL 3.0 #1006/4972 80th 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 5 #218/2184 90th pct Coveragevs FBS DEF
Defense QB hurries 1 #1051/1878 44th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Solo tackles 33 #417/4584 91st pct Volumevs FBS DEF
Defense INT return avg 12.0 #325/578 44th pct Takeawaysvs FBS DEF
Defense INT return yards 12 #382/578 34th pct Takeawaysvs 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 · 8 games

Home/Road · Win/Loss · Season halves

Home vs Road

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Home4g7.00.50.00.5
Road4g7.00.20.00.8

Win vs Loss

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Wins3g6.00.50.01.0
Losses5g7.60.30.00.4

First half vs Second half

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Weeks 1-72g7.00.50.00.0
Weeks 8+6g7.00.30.00.8

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

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the S cohort

57Solid starter
7 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: passes defended (90th). Strength: solo tackles (85th). Concern: sacks (23rd).

Passes defended#218 / 2975 · 91st pct
5defe
Solo tackles#417 / 2975 · 85th pct
33defe
Tackles#468 / 2975 · 84th pct
56defe
Tackles for loss#1001 / 2975 · 63rd pct
3.0defe
QB hurries#1007 / 2975 · 55th pct
1defe
Interceptions#304 / 817 · 31st pct
1inte
Sacks#1575 / 2975 · 24th pct
0.0defe

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
Ike LarsenUtah StateRobert FitzgeraldNorthwestern· 88% simTahj Ra-ElPurdue· 84% simTyler MartinMassachusetts· 84% sim
Passes defended
91
Larsen
86
Fitzgerald
91
Ra-El
67
Martin
Solo tackles
85
Larsen
100
Fitzgerald
100
Ra-El
87
Martin
Tackles
84
Larsen
99
Fitzgerald
99
Ra-El
98
Martin
Tackles for loss
63
Larsen
85
Fitzgerald
56
Ra-El
63
Martin
QB hurries
55
Larsen
55
Fitzgerald
22
Ra-El
22
Martin
Interceptions
31
Larsen
31
Fitzgerald
31
Martin
Sacks
24
Larsen
24
Fitzgerald
24
Ra-El
24
Martin

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

Player DNA

The Hybrid Nickel

Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.

S

His 2025 production profile sits closest to Jahdae Barron’s 2023 season.

Jahdae Barron

90%match

Texas · 2023

NFL Rd 1 · Pk 20
#2

Jaylen Mahoney

Vanderbilt · 2023

87%
#3

Caleb Spann

Central Michigan · 2025

84%
#4

Dante Trader Jr.

Maryland · 2024

NFL Rd 5
84%
#5

Jaylen Mahoney

Vanderbilt · 2022

84%

Matches Jahdae on

Height
PD rate
Interceptions

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Solomon Brown's senior season at Buffalo (2025).

Solomon Brown

99%match

Buffalo · 2025

#2

Jahdae Barron

Texas · 2023

ThorpeConsensus All-AmericanNFL Rd 1 · Pk 20
97%
#3

Jaylen Mahoney

Vanderbilt · 2023

91%
#4

Tayvonn Kyle

Virginia · 2023

90%
#5

Juan Powell

Coastal Carolina · 2023

88%

Matches Solomon on

Class year
Height
Interceptions

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Bronco Mendenhall

Pass share

47.9%

403 pass / 439 run

Plays / game

64.8

13 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

12.7%

339 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Balanced.

Coaching Lineage · 2022–2025

2 coaches
2022
Blake Anderson
Utah State
2023
Blake Anderson
Utah State
2025
Bronco Mendenhall
Utah State
era →

Coaching transition mid-career: Blake Anderson → Bronco Mendenhall. 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.

HometownSmithfield, UT
Height5'11"
Weight195 lb
Class4
PositionS

Trophy Case · Confirmed honors

What the selectors said

1 entries
🎖

ALL-CONFERENCE

All-Conf mention (2023)

All-Mountain West

Trophy Case · Detail

Every honor on the ledger, broken out by stream and selector.

All-Conference

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
2023 All-Mountain West all_conference Utah State | Mountain West DB

Heisman By Year

Modeled rank and official finish by season.

Season Team Role Latest Model Forecast Win Finalist Official Finish Points Context
2024 Utah State S4 #14807 #14937 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | Mountain West
2023 Utah State S4 #9348 #10059 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W19 snapshot | Mountain West
2022 Utah State S4 #10517 #10998 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | Mountain West

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2025 Utah State Mountain West S 4 5-11 | 195 lb | Smithfield, UT
2024 Utah State Mountain West S 4 5-11 | 195 lb | Smithfield, UT
2023 Utah State Mountain West S 4 5-11 | 195 lb | Smithfield, UT
2022 Utah State Mountain West S 4 5-11 | 195 lb | Smithfield, UT