cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Mordecai McDaniel /Oklahoma State

Mordecai McDaniel

S · Oklahoma State · Sr · #32

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

39 TACKLES · 1 SACKS

2026 RETURNINGReturning to Oklahoma State for 2026

2026 Outlook

Returning to Oklahoma State for 2026

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Safety · Oklahoma State

Returning around him

  • 44% of 2024 offensive production back (Moderate turnover)
  • Transfer portal: -10 net (55 in / 65 out)

2026 Award watch

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

Oklahoma State · Last season: 1-11 · Talent rank #49 · 2026 recruiting class #53

S · OKLAHOMA STATE · BIG 12

Mordecai McDaniel

  • 4
  • #32
  • 6-1 | 200 lb
  • Washington, DC

CFB Zeitgeist Score

53

Mid-pack in the position cohort. Carried by sacks at the 63rd percentile.

Heisman Heat

#13318

<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

R07 · Impact starter

Impact starter. Producing measurable value above replacement.

Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Career Arc

HS
Recruit
★★★★
#354 national
CFB
College
3 teams
2021–2025
NFL
NFL Draft
Not drafted (yet)

Identity & Role

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

PositionS
Class4
Jersey32
Measurements6-1 | 200 lb
HometownWashington, DC
Primary teamOklahoma State

Recruiting Pedigree

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

Top pedigree 4-star No. 354 recruit
Composite rating 0.8963 HighSchool
Signed with -- 2020
Origin St. John's College Washington, DC, USA
Class Profile Context
2020 4-star | 0.8963 No. 354 recruit | HighSchool

Transfer Arc

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

Portal moves 2 Programs changed on file
Latest destination Oklahoma State 2025
Transfer stars 3-star CFBD transfer rating context
Eligibility Immediate Dec 22, 2024
Season Move Context
2025 Charlotte -> Oklahoma State 3-star | 0.8600 | Immediate
2022 Florida -> -- 3-star | 0.8700 | 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#13318Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#13827Where 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

0.8963

#354 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 Mordecai McDaniel

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 Mordecai McDaniel

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
39Tackles
2Tackles for loss
1Sacks
Per game
6Tackles
0.3Tackles for loss
0.1Sacks
Projected (13g)
72Tackles
3.7Tackles for loss
1.9Sacks

To hit 80-tackle season (currently 39): needs 6.8/game over remaining 6.

To hit 100-tackle season (currently 39): needs 10.2/game over remaining 6.

To hit 6-sack season (currently 1): needs 0.8/game over remaining 6.

To hit 10-sack season (currently 1): needs 1.5/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.

Mordecai McDaniel is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on Oklahoma State's defense, with 1.0 sacks, 2.0 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.

Current place #13318 0.0% win | 0.0% finalist
Role load -- Role share still loading
Profile quirk Blue-chip pedigree No. 354 recruit

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 39 23 solo | #937/4942 (81st pct)
TFL 2.0 Backfield disruption | #1443/4972 (71st pct)
Sacks 1.0 Pass-rush finish | #872/4972 (82nd pct)
Player identity What kind of player is this?

30-second read

What kind of player is this?

High-volume tackler against FBS defenders.

High-volume tackler

2025 Season · Final

2025 season snapshot | final

Tackling & Disruption

TOT
39 81st
SOLO
23 82nd
TFL
2.0 71st
SACK
1.0 82nd

Coverage & Takeaways

PD
1 43rd

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 7 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppTKLSOLOTFLSACKINTPDNote
Wk 5L 27-45vs Baylor320.00.00
Wk 6L 13-41@ Arizona1060.00.00
Wk 7L 17-39vs Houston1370.00.01Season-high 13 tackles
Wk 8L 17-49vs Cincinnati630.00.00
Wk 9L 0-42@ Texas Tech442.01.00
Wk 10L 21-38@ Kansas210.00.00
Wk 13L 14-17@ UCF100.00.00
Total39232.01.01
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

2021Florida6-6HC: Dan Mullen · Run-leaning, fast tempo
2024Charlotte5-7HC: Biff Poggi · Balanced, slow tempo
2025Oklahoma State1-11HC: Mike Gundy · Balanced
SeasonTeam
2025Oklahoma State39232.01.01----
2024Charlotte42282.01.03----
2021Florida1570.00.0--1--
Career3 loaded seasons96584.02.041--
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 -- -- pick-six TD
Pass breakups 1 Coverage disruption | #1241/2184 (43rd 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 39 #937/4942 81st pct Volumevs FBS DEF
Defense TFL 2.0 #1443/4972 71st pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Sacks 1.0 #872/4972 82nd pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Pass breakups 1 #1241/2184 43rd pct Coveragevs FBS DEF
Defense Solo tackles 23 #839/4584 82nd 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
Home3g7.30.00.00.3
Road4g4.20.50.20.0

Win vs Loss

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Losses7g5.60.30.10.1

First half vs Second half

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Weeks 1-73g8.70.00.00.3
Weeks 8+4g3.20.50.20.0

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

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the S cohort

53Mid-pack
6 metrics · season cumulative

Concern: qb hurries (22nd).

Solo tackles#839 / 2975 · 71st pct
23defe
Tackles#937 / 2975 · 68th pct
39defe
Sacks#847 / 2975 · 63rd pct
1.0defe
Passes defended#1191 / 2975 · 48th pct
1defe
Tackles for loss#1424 / 2975 · 47th pct
2.0defe
QB hurries#1662 / 2975 · 22nd pct
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 · 6 metrics
Mordecai McDanielOklahoma StateJonJon VaughnsUCLA· 78% simTyler MartinMassachusetts· 77% simMichael MontgomerySouthern Miss· 76% sim
Solo tackles
71
McDaniel
96
Vaughns
87
Martin
82
Montgomery
Tackles
68
McDaniel
99
Vaughns
98
Martin
99
Montgomery
Sacks
63
McDaniel
63
Vaughns
24
Martin
89
Montgomery
Passes defended
48
McDaniel
48
Vaughns
67
Martin
67
Montgomery
Tackles for loss
47
McDaniel
85
Vaughns
63
Martin
85
Montgomery
QB hurries
22
McDaniel
22
Vaughns
22
Martin
22
Montgomery

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 Domani Jackson’s 2025 season.

Domani Jackson

92%match

Alabama · 2025

NFL Rd 6
#2

Andrew Johnson

Wyoming · 2025

91%
#3

CJ Christian

Florida International · 2023

88%
#4

Scotty Edwards

Stanford · 2023

88%
#5

Malik Dixon

UConn · 2023

86%

Matches Domani on

Class year
Height
PD rate

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Domani Jackson's senior season at Alabama (2025).

Domani Jackson

97%match

Alabama · 2025

All-SECNFL Rd 6
#2

Jordan Hansen

Northern Illinois · 2023

92%
#3

Armorion Smith

Michigan State · 2025

91%
#4

Akeem Dent

Florida State · 2023

91%
#5

Austin Jordan

TCU · 2025

88%

Matches Domani on

Class year
Height
PD rate

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Mike Gundy

Pass share

47.5%

365 pass / 403 run

Plays / game

64.0

12 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

9.9%

223 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Balanced.

Coaching Lineage · 2021–2025

1 coach
2021
Mike Gundy
Oklahoma State
2024
Mike Gundy
Oklahoma State
2025
Mike Gundy
Oklahoma State

Played his entire career under Mike Gundy.

Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster

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

HometownWashington, DC
Height6'1"
Weight200 lb
Class4
PositionS
Jersey32

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 Charlotte S4 #13318 #13827 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | American Athletic
2021 Florida S4 #9317 #9055 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | SEC

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2025 Oklahoma State Big 12 S 4 No. 32 | 6-1 | 200 lb | Washington, DC
2024 Charlotte American Athletic S 4 No. 32 | 6-1 | 200 lb | Washington, DC
2021 Florida SEC S 4 No. 32 | 6-1 | 200 lb | Washington, DC