cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Tyler Martinez /New Mexico State

Tyler Martinez

LB · New Mexico State · Sr · #35

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

27 TACKLES · 0 SACKS

2026 RETURNINGReturning to New Mexico State for 2026

2026 Outlook

Returning to New Mexico State for 2026

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Linebacker · New Mexico State

Returning around him

  • 56% of 2024 offensive production back (Solid continuity)
  • Transfer portal: +1 net (25 in / 24 out)

2026 Award watch

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

New Mexico State · Last season: 4-8 · Talent rank #130 · 2026 recruiting class #126

LB · NEW MEXICO STATE · CONFERENCE USA

Tyler Martinez

  • 4
  • #35
  • 6-2 | 225 lb
  • Albuquerque, NM

CFB Zeitgeist Score

43

Mid-pack in the position cohort. Carried by passes defended at the 78th percentile.

Heisman Heat

#15248

<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 LB AWARD

Butkus

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
No recruit profile
CFB
College
New Mexico State
2023–2025
NFL
NFL Draft
Not drafted (yet)

Identity & Role

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

PositionLB
Class4
Jersey35
Measurements6-2 | 225 lb
HometownAlbuquerque, NM
Primary teamNew Mexico State

Recruiting Pedigree

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

Top pedigree Not on file No matched recruiting profile in the loaded archive
Composite rating -- Composite rating unavailable for this player
Signed with -- Commitment history unavailable
Origin -- Hometown and high school unavailable
Class Profile Context
No recruiting profile is on file for this player.

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#15248Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#15399Where 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.

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 Tyler Martinez

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 Tyler Martinez

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 4g
27Tackles
1Tackles for loss
0Sacks
Per game
7Tackles
0.2Tackles for loss
0Sacks
Projected (13g)
88Tackles
3.2Tackles for loss
0Sacks

To hit 80-tackle season (currently 27): needs 5.9/game over remaining 9.

To hit 100-tackle season (currently 27): needs 8.1/game over remaining 9.

To hit 6-sack season (currently 0): needs 0.7/game over remaining 9.

To hit 10-sack season (currently 0): needs 1.1/game over remaining 9.

Why this is a rare defensive case

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

Tyler Martinez is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on New Mexico State's defense, with 0.0 sacks, 1.0 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 #15248 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 27 15 solo | #1543/4942 (69th pct)
TFL 1.0 Backfield disruption | #2051/4972 (59th 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
27 69th
SOLO
15 69th
TFL
1.0 59th
SACK
0.0 65th
QBH
1 44th

Coverage & Takeaways

PD
3 76th
INT
1 65th

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 4 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppTKLSOLOTFLSACKINTPDNote
Wk 1W 19-3vs Bryant861.00.00
Wk 2W 21-14vs Tulsa950.00.02Season-high 9 tackles
Wk 3L 14-49@ Louisiana Tech720.00.011
Wk 5L 20-38@ New Mexico320.00.00
Total27151.00.013
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

2023New Mexico State10-5HC: Jerry Kill · Run-leaning, slow tempo
2025New Mexico State4-8HC: Tony Sanchez · Pass-leaning
SeasonTeam
2025New Mexico State27151.00.031--
2023New Mexico State21112.50.01----
Career2 loaded seasons48263.50.041--
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 1 0 pick-six TD | #308/869 (65th pct)
Pass breakups 3 Coverage disruption | #521/2184 (76th 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 27 #1543/4942 69th pct Volumevs FBS DEF
Defense TFL 1.0 #2051/4972 59th 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 3 #521/2184 76th pct Coveragevs FBS DEF
Defense QB hurries 1 #1051/1878 44th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Solo tackles 15 #1434/4584 69th 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 Butkus 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 · 4 games

Home/Road · Win/Loss · Season halves

Home vs Road

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Home2g8.50.50.01.0
Road2g5.00.00.00.5

Win vs Loss

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Wins2g8.50.50.01.0
Losses2g5.00.00.00.5

First half vs Second half

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Weeks 1-74g6.80.20.00.8

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

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the LB cohort

43Mid-pack
7 metrics · season cumulative

Concern: sacks (23rd).

Passes defended#517 / 2975 · 78th pct
3defe
QB hurries#1007 / 2975 · 55th pct
1defe
Solo tackles#1434 / 2975 · 50th pct
15defe
Tackles#1543 / 2975 · 47th pct
27defe
Interceptions#304 / 817 · 31st pct
1inte
Tackles for loss#1936 / 2975 · 28th pct
1.0defe
Sacks#1575 / 2975 · 24th pct
0.0defe

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.

Advanced Savant · LB · 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
Tyler MartinezNew Mexico StateTyler MartinMassachusetts· 70% simBlake FletcherAir Force· 69% simTahj Ra-ElPurdue· 66% sim
Passes defended
78
Martinez
67
Martin
67
Fletcher
91
Ra-El
QB hurries
55
Martinez
22
Martin
92
Fletcher
22
Ra-El
Solo tackles
50
Martinez
87
Martin
91
Fletcher
100
Ra-El
Tackles
47
Martinez
98
Martin
99
Fletcher
99
Ra-El
Interceptions
31
Martinez
31
Martin
Tackles for loss
28
Martinez
63
Martin
28
Fletcher
56
Ra-El
Sacks
24
Martinez
24
Martin
24
Fletcher
24
Ra-El

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

Player DNA

The Coverage 'Backer

Carries tight ends and patrols the middle of the field in coverage.

LB

His 2025 production profile sits closest to Tray Dunson’s 2024 season.

Tray Dunson

78%match

UTEP · 2024

#2

Jackson Wiegold

Ball State · 2025

77%
#3

Donald Willis

Minnesota · 2021

76%
#4

Trimarcus Cheeks

Houston · 2023

74%
#5

James Miller

Indiana · 2021

71%

Matches Tray on

TFL rate
PD rate
Tackle volume

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Michael Dixon's junior season at Minnesota (2022).

Michael Dixon

88%match

Minnesota · 2022

#2

Adonis Williams Jr.

Ohio · 2024

88%
#3

Emany Johnson

Nevada · 2022

85%
#4

Jacob Rodriguez

Texas Tech · 2023

NagurskiBednarikButkusNFL Rd 2 · Pk 11
83%
#5

Jaylen Jones

Virginia Tech · 2023

81%

Matches Michael on

Class year
Tackle volume
PD rate

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Tony Sanchez

Pass share

57.4%

472 pass / 350 run

Plays / game

68.5

12 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

9.7%

359 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Pass-leaning.

Coaching Lineage · 2023–2025

2 coaches
2023
Jerry Kill
New Mexico State
2025
Tony Sanchez
New Mexico State
era →

Coaching transition mid-career: Jerry Kill → Tony Sanchez. 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.

HometownAlbuquerque, NM
Height6'2"
Weight225 lb
Class4
PositionLB
Jersey35

Trophy Case · Confirmed honors

What the selectors said

1 entries
🎖

ALL-CONFERENCE

All-Conf mention (2024)

All-Conference USA

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
2024 All-Conference USA all_conference New Mexico State | Conference USA LB

Heisman By Year

Modeled rank and official finish by season.

Season Team Role Latest Model Forecast Win Finalist Official Finish Points Context
2024 New Mexico State LB4 #15248 #15399 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | Conference USA
2023 New Mexico State LB4 #12039 #12000 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 State Conference USA LB 4 No. 35 | 6-2 | 225 lb | Albuquerque, NM
2024 New Mexico State Conference USA LB 4 No. 35 | 6-2 | 225 lb | Albuquerque, NM
2023 New Mexico State Conference USA LB 4 No. 35 | 6-2 | 225 lb | Albuquerque, NM