cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Zach Mowchan /Eastern Michigan

Zach Mowchan

LB · Eastern Michigan · Sr · #11

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

40 TACKLES · 0 SACKS

2026 RETURNINGReturning to Eastern Michigan for 2026

2026 Outlook

Returning to Eastern Michigan for 2026

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Linebacker · Eastern Michigan

Returning around him

  • 25% of 2024 offensive production back (Heavy turnover)
  • Transfer portal: -15 net (11 in / 26 out)

2026 Award watch

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

Eastern Michigan · Last season: 4-8 · Talent rank #94 · 2026 recruiting class #97

LB · EASTERN MICHIGAN · MID-AMERICAN

Zach Mowchan

  • 4
  • #11
  • 6-1 | 223 lb
  • Dillsburg, PA

CFB Zeitgeist Score

39

Mid-pack in the position cohort. Carried by tackles at the 69th percentile.

Heisman Heat

#12269

<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 2 · Starter

R05 · Part-time starter

Part-time starter. Splitting first-team reps.

Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Career Arc

HS
Recruit
No recruit profile
CFB
College
Eastern Michigan
2022–2025
NFL
NFL Draft
Not drafted (yet)

Identity & Role

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

PositionLB
Class4
Jersey11
Measurements6-1 | 223 lb
HometownDillsburg, PA
Primary teamEastern Michigan

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#12269Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#12122Where 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 Zach Mowchan

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 Zach Mowchan

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
40Tackles
1.5Tackles for loss
0Sacks
Per game
5Tackles
0.2Tackles for loss
0Sacks
Projected (13g)
65Tackles
2.4Tackles for loss
0Sacks

To hit 80-tackle season (currently 40): needs 8/game over remaining 5.

To hit 100-tackle season (currently 40): needs 12/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.

Zach Mowchan is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on Eastern Michigan's defense, with 0.0 sacks, 1.5 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 #12269 0.0% win | 0.0% finalist
Role load -- Role share still loading
Profile quirk Defensive rarity 0.0 sacks | 1.5 TFL

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 40 14 solo | #906/4942 (82nd pct)
TFL 1.5 Backfield disruption | #1771/4972 (64th 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?

High-volume tackler against FBS defenders.

High-volume tackler

2025 Season · Final

2025 season snapshot | final

Tackling & Disruption

TOT
40 82nd
SOLO
14 67th
TFL
1.5 64th
SACK
0.0 65th

Coverage & Takeaways

PD
1 43rd

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 8 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppTKLSOLOTFLSACKINTPDNote
Wk 1L 27-52@ Texas State630.00.00
Wk 2L 23-28vs Long Island University200.00.01
Wk 6L 30-31@ Buffalo100.00.00
Wk 8L 30-44@ Miami (OH)200.00.00
Wk 9L 21-28vs Ohio410.00.00
Wk 11W 27-21vs Bowling Green1010.50.00Season-high 10 tackles
Wk 12W 24-9@ Ball State530.00.00
Wk 14L 21-31vs Western Michigan1061.00.00
Total40141.50.01
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

2022Eastern Michigan9-4HC: Chris Creighton · Run-leaning
2023Eastern Michigan6-7HC: Chris Creighton · Run-leaning, slow tempo
2025Eastern Michigan4-8HC: Chris Creighton · Balanced
SeasonTeam
2025Eastern Michigan40141.50.01----
2023Eastern Michigan1050.00.0------
2022Eastern Michigan310.00.0------
Career3 loaded seasons53201.50.01----
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 40 #906/4942 82nd pct Volumevs FBS DEF
Defense TFL 1.5 #1771/4972 64th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Sacks 0.0 #1762/4972 65th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Pass breakups 1 #1241/2184 43rd pct Coveragevs 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

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 · 8 games

Home/Road · Win/Loss · Season halves

Home vs Road

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Home4g6.50.40.00.2
Road4g3.50.00.00.0

Win vs Loss

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Wins2g7.50.20.00.0
Losses6g4.20.20.00.2

First half vs Second half

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Weeks 1-73g3.00.00.00.3
Weeks 8+5g6.20.30.00.0

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

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the LB cohort

39Mid-pack
6 metrics · season cumulative

Concern: qb hurries (22nd).

Tackles#906 / 2975 · 69th pct
40defe
Passes defended#1191 / 2975 · 48th pct
1defe
Solo tackles#1520 / 2975 · 47th pct
14defe
Tackles for loss#1711 / 2975 · 39th pct
1.5defe
Sacks#1575 / 2975 · 24th pct
0.0defe
QB hurries#1662 / 2975 · 22nd pct
0defe

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

Advanced Savant · 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 · 6 metrics
Zach MowchanEastern MichiganTyler MartinMassachusetts· 76% simTahj Ra-ElPurdue· 69% simJonJon VaughnsUCLA· 66% sim
Tackles
69
Mowchan
98
Martin
99
Ra-El
99
Vaughns
Passes defended
48
Mowchan
67
Martin
91
Ra-El
48
Vaughns
Solo tackles
47
Mowchan
87
Martin
100
Ra-El
96
Vaughns
Tackles for loss
39
Mowchan
63
Martin
56
Ra-El
85
Vaughns
Sacks
24
Mowchan
24
Martin
24
Ra-El
63
Vaughns
QB hurries
22
Mowchan
22
Martin
22
Ra-El
22
Vaughns

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

Player DNA

The Balanced Linebacker

Solid in every phase without a signature dimension.

LB

His 2025 production profile sits closest to Garland Benyard’s 2025 season.

Garland Benyard

92%match

Kennesaw State · 2025

#2

Devon Williams

Minnesota · 2024

86%
#3

Tre Pinkney

Coastal Carolina · 2022

84%
#4

Jackson Barrow

Toledo · 2021

84%
#5

Jaelin Willis

App State · 2025

84%

Matches Garland on

Class year
PD rate
Tackle volume

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Armorion Smith's senior season at Michigan State (2025).

Armorion Smith

90%match

Michigan State · 2025

#2

Jack Beebe

Ball State · 2025

90%
#3

Joey Stemler

Ball State · 2025

90%
#4

Devon Williams

Minnesota · 2024

89%
#5

Calvin Pitcher

UAB · 2025

88%

Matches Armorion on

Class year
PD rate
TFL rate

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Chris Creighton

Pass share

51.1%

403 pass / 385 run

Plays / game

65.7

12 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

2.9%

342 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Balanced.

Coaching Lineage · 2022–2025

1 coach
2022
Chris Creighton
Eastern Michigan
2023
Chris Creighton
Eastern Michigan
2025
Chris Creighton
Eastern Michigan

Played his entire career under Chris Creighton.

Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster

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

HometownDillsburg, PA
Height6'1"
Weight223 lb
Class4
PositionLB
Jersey11

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 Eastern Michigan LB4 #12269 #12122 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | Mid-American
2023 Eastern Michigan LB4 #13359 #13280 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W19 snapshot | Mid-American
2022 Eastern Michigan LB4 #13213 #12951 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | Mid-American
2021 Eastern Michigan LB4 #13466 #13314 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | Mid-American

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2025 Eastern Michigan Mid-American LB 4 No. 11 | 6-1 | 223 lb | Dillsburg, PA
2024 Eastern Michigan Mid-American LB 4 No. 11 | 6-1 | 223 lb | Dillsburg, PA
2023 Eastern Michigan Mid-American LB 4 No. 11 | 6-1 | 223 lb | Dillsburg, PA
2022 Eastern Michigan Mid-American LB 4 No. 11 | 6-1 | 223 lb | Dillsburg, PA
2021 Eastern Michigan Mid-American LB 4 No. 11 | 6-1 | 223 lb | Dillsburg, PA