CFB Zeitgeist Score
83
All-Conference in the position cohort. Carried by sacks at the 97th percentile.
Max Llewellyn
Below the discourse floor — the honest stats-only state.
25 TACKLES · 6 SACKS
Where He Ended Up · NFL
Miami2026 NFL rookie season
#238Rd 7 · Pick 22
Miami2026 NFL rookie season
DL · IOWA · BIG TEN
Max Llewellyn
- 4
- #48
- 6-5 | 263 lb
- Urbandale, IA
Heisman Heat
#5947
<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 · StarterR06 · Starter
Starter. A locked-in starting role.
Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career Arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
Iowa
NFL
NFL Draft
R7 · #238
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 3-star | 0.8870 | No. 436 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—
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 Iowa
Composite
0.8870
#436 national
NFL Draft
2026 · Rd 7, Pick 22
#238 overall · Miami
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 Max Llewellyn
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 Max Llewellyn
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 12g
25Tackles
9Tackles for loss
6Sacks
Per game
2Tackles
0.8Tackles for loss
0.5Sacks
Projected (13g)
27Tackles
9.8Tackles for loss
6.5Sacks
To hit 80-tackle season (currently 25): needs 55/game over remaining 1.
To hit 100-tackle season (currently 25): needs 75/game over remaining 1.
✓ Hit 6-sack season · finished with 6.
To hit 10-sack season (currently 6): needs 4/game over remaining 1.
Why this is a rare defensive case
The fast read on the thing that makes this player more than a generic stat line.
Max Llewellyn 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 6.0 sacks, 9.0 tackles for loss, and -- 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 | Coverage splash against FBS defenders.
2025 Season · Final
2025 season snapshot | final
Tackling & Disruption
TOT
25 66th
SOLO
14 67th
TFL
9.0 97th
SACK
6.0 99th
QBH
8 98th
Coverage & Takeaways
PD
5 90th
Game Log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 12 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 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 47-7vs Massachusetts | 3 | 2 | 2.5 | 2.0 | — | 0 | 2 sacks |
| Wk 4 | W 38-28@ Rutgers | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 5 | L 15-20vs Indiana | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 37-0@ Wisconsin | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 25-24vs Penn State | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 9 | W 41-3vs Minnesota | 2 | 2 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | L 16-18vs Oregon | 5 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 5 tackles |
| Wk 13 | W 20-17vs Michigan State | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 14 | W 40-16@ Nebraska | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Bowl | W 34-27@ Vanderbilt | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 25 | 14 | 9.0 | 6.0 | — | 5 |
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 | 25 | #1667/4942 | 66th pct | Volumevs FBS DEF |
| Defense | TFL | 9.0 | #142/4972 | 97th pct | Disruptionvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Sacks | 6.0 | #74/4972 | 99th pct | Disruptionvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Pass breakups | 5 | #218/2184 | 90th pct | Coveragevs FBS DEF |
| Defense | QB hurries | 8 | #41/1878 | 98th pct | Disruptionvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Solo tackles | 14 | #1520/4584 | 67th 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
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 · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 2.3 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Road5g | 1.8 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.4 |
Win vs Loss
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wins9g | 1.8 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Losses3g | 3.0 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 2.0 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.1 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 2.2 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.8 |
Pocket and defense-quality (clean vs. pressure) splits are coming soon.
Savant · Box-rate percentiles
Where this profile ranks vs the DL cohort
83All-Conference
Elite: qb hurries (98th). Strength: sacks (97th).
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
Max LlewellynIowaRasheem BilesPittsburgh· 71% simJohn MillerUtah State· 70% simCade UluaveCalifornia· 70% sim
QB hurries
Sacks
Tackles for loss
Passes defended
Solo tackles
Tackles
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 Max Llewellyn’s 2024 season.
Max Llewellyn
87%match
NFL Rd 7
#2
Michael Heldman
All-MAC
85%
#3
Micheal Clemons
NFL Rd 4
84%
#4
YaYa Diaby
All-ACCNFL Rd 3 · Pk 19
82%
#5
Clayton Smith
82%
Matches Max on
TFL rate
Height
Sack rate
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Tyler Baron's senior season at Tennessee (2023).
Tyler Baron
87%match
NFL Rd 5
#2
Kenyatta Jackson
83%
#3
Taylor Upshaw
83%
#4
Bradley Weaver
All-MAC
81%
#5
Malakai Williams
81%
Matches Tyler on
Class year
Height
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.
HometownUrbandale, IA
Height6'5"
Weight263 lb
Class4
PositionDL
Jersey48
No fields populated yet.
No fields populated yet.
Current teamIowa
ConferenceBig Ten
Joined2025
Career arc5 season(s)
Trophy Case · Detail
Every honor on the ledger, broken out by stream and selector.
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 | Iowa | DL4 | #5947 | #6951 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W16 snapshot | Big Ten |
| 2023 | Iowa | DL4 | #5785 | #6262 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W19 snapshot | Big Ten |
| 2022 | Iowa | DL4 | #9072 | #8823 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W20 snapshot | Big Ten |
| 2021 | Iowa | DL4 | #7208 | #6884 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W20 snapshot | Big Ten |
Roster Timeline
Team, conference, and class by season.
| Season | Team | Conference | Pos | Class | Bio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Iowa | Big Ten | DL | 4 | No. 48 | 6-5 | 263 lb | Urbandale, IA |
| 2024 | Iowa | Big Ten | DL | 4 | No. 48 | 6-5 | 263 lb | Urbandale, IA |
| 2023 | Iowa | Big Ten | DL | 4 | No. 48 | 6-5 | 263 lb | Urbandale, IA |
| 2022 | Iowa | Big Ten | DL | 4 | No. 48 | 6-5 | 263 lb | Urbandale, IA |
| 2021 | Iowa | Big Ten | DL | 4 | No. 48 | 6-5 | 263 lb | Urbandale, IA |