cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Bernard Gooden /LSU

Bernard Gooden

DL · LSU · Sr · #88

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

20 TACKLES · 1.5 SACKS

2026 RETURNINGReturning to LSU for 2026

2026 Outlook

Returning to LSU for 2026

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Defensive line · LSU

Returning around him

  • 66% of 2024 offensive production back (Solid continuity)
  • 7 LSU players drafted to NFL
  • Transfer portal: +0 net (41 in / 41 out)

2026 Award watch

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

LSU · Last season: 7-6 (AP #20) · Talent rank #6 · 2026 recruiting class #10

DL · LSU · SEC

Bernard Gooden

  • 4
  • #88
  • 6-1 | 268 lb
  • Montgomery, AL

CFB Zeitgeist Score

54

Mid-pack in the position cohort. Carried by sacks at the 74th percentile.

Heisman Heat

#13082

<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 · Starter

R07 · Impact starter

Impact starter. Producing measurable value above replacement.

Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Career Arc

HS
Recruit
★★★
#1157 national
CFB
College
2 teams
2022–2025
NFL
NFL Draft
Not drafted (yet)

Identity & Role

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

PositionDL
Class4
Jersey88
Measurements6-1 | 268 lb
HometownMontgomery, AL
Primary teamLSU

Recruiting Pedigree

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

Top pedigree 3-star No. 1157 recruit
Composite rating 0.8511 HighSchool
Signed with -- 2021
Origin Park Crossing Montgomery, AL, USA
Class Profile Context
2021 3-star | 0.8511 No. 1157 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 LSU 2025
Transfer stars 4-star CFBD transfer rating context
Eligibility Immediate Apr 21, 2025
Season Move Context
2025 South Florida -> LSU 4-star | 0.9200 | Immediate
2023 Wake Forest -> -- 3-star | 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#13082Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#13283Where 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

0.8511

#1157 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 Bernard Gooden

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 Bernard Gooden

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 11g
20Tackles
3.5Tackles for loss
1.5Sacks
Per game
2Tackles
0.3Tackles for loss
0.1Sacks
Projected (13g)
24Tackles
4.1Tackles for loss
1.8Sacks

To hit 80-tackle season (currently 20): needs 30/game over remaining 2.

To hit 100-tackle season (currently 20): needs 40/game over remaining 2.

To hit 6-sack season (currently 1.5): needs 2.2/game over remaining 2.

To hit 10-sack season (currently 1.5): needs 4.2/game over remaining 2.

Why this is a rare defensive case

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

Bernard Gooden is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on LSU's defense, with 1.5 sacks, 3.5 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 #13082 0.0% win | 0.0% finalist
Role load -- Role share still loading
Profile quirk Transfer path 2 portal moves

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 20 8 solo | #1998/4942 (60th pct)
TFL 3.5 Backfield disruption | #869/4972 (83rd pct)
Sacks 1.5 Pass-rush finish | #724/4972 (85th pct)
Player identity What kind of player is this?

30-second read

What kind of player is this?

High-disruption defender against FBS defenders.

High-disruption defender

2025 Season · Final

2025 season snapshot | final

Tackling & Disruption

TOT
20 60th
SOLO
8 50th
TFL
3.5 83rd
SACK
1.5 85th
QBH
5 90th

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 11 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppTKLSOLOTFLSACKINTPDNote
Wk 1W 17-10@ Clemson210.50.00
Wk 2W 23-7vs Louisiana Tech100.00.00
Wk 4W 56-10vs SE Louisiana211.00.00
Wk 5L 19-24@ Ole Miss100.00.00
Wk 7W 20-10vs South Carolina521.01.00Season-high 5 tackles
Wk 9L 25-49vs Texas A&M000.00.00
Wk 11L 9-20@ Alabama210.00.00
Wk 12W 23-22vs Arkansas100.50.50
Wk 13W 13-10vs Western Kentucky110.00.00
Wk 14L 13-17@ Oklahoma300.50.00
BowlL 35-38@ Houston220.00.00
Total2083.51.50
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

2022Wake Forest8-5HC: Dave Clawson · Balanced
2025LSU7-6HC: Brian Kelly · Balanced, slow tempo
SeasonTeam
2025LSU2083.51.5------
2022Wake Forest711.50.5------
Career2 loaded seasons2795.02.0------
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 0 Coverage disruption
QB pressures 5 Quarterback hurries | #188/1878 (90th pct)
Open full stat explorer
0 metrics visible Showing all metrics
Group Metric Value Rank Pct Why it matters
Defense Total tackles 20 #1998/4942 60th pct Volumevs FBS DEF
Defense TFL 3.5 #869/4972 83rd pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Sacks 1.5 #724/4972 85th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense QB hurries 5 #188/1878 90th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Solo tackles 8 #2283/4584 50th 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 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 · 11 games

Home/Road · Win/Loss · Season halves

Home vs Road

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Home6g1.70.40.20.0
Road5g2.00.20.00.0

Win vs Loss

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Wins6g2.00.50.20.0
Losses5g1.60.10.00.0

First half vs Second half

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Weeks 1-76g2.20.40.20.0
Weeks 8+5g1.40.20.10.0

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

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the DL cohort

54Mid-pack
6 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: qb hurries (92nd). Concern: passes defended (17th).

QB hurries#188 / 2975 · 92nd pct
5defe
Sacks#707 / 2975 · 74th pct
1.5defe
Tackles for loss#866 / 2975 · 69th pct
3.5defe
Tackles#1998 / 2975 · 32nd pct
20defe
Solo tackles#2282 / 2975 · 21st pct
8defe
Passes defended#1916 / 2975 · 18th pct
0defe

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
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
Bernard GoodenLSUMarcAnthony ParkerNavy· 59% simEthan WesloskiNorth Texas· 57% simMicah DaveyUTEP· 57% sim
QB hurries
92
Gooden
88
Parker
95
Wesloski
82
Davey
Sacks
74
Gooden
80
Parker
74
Wesloski
63
Davey
Tackles for loss
69
Gooden
87
Parker
95
Wesloski
91
Davey
Tackles
32
Gooden
98
Parker
99
Wesloski
99
Davey
Solo tackles
21
Gooden
96
Parker
99
Wesloski
99
Davey
Passes defended
18
Gooden
18
Parker
18
Wesloski
18
Davey

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

Player DNA

The Two-Gap Base

Stout at the point of attack; controls his gap and stacks blocks.

IDL

His 2025 production profile sits closest to Kadarion Johnson’s 2024 season.

Kadarion Johnson

90%match

UTEP · 2024

#2

Brayden Utley

Baylor · 2021

89%
#3

Kadarion Johnson

UTEP · 2025

88%
#4

Will Choloh Jr.

Troy · 2021

87%
#5

Atlias Bell

Houston · 2022

86%

Matches Kadarion on

Weight
Height
TFL rate

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Kadarion Johnson's junior season at UTEP (2025).

Kadarion Johnson

91%match

UTEP · 2025

#2

Atlias Bell

Houston · 2022

90%
#3

Jamie Sheriff

South Alabama · 2023

88%
#4

Macyo Williams

Kent State · 2023

86%
#5

Henry Bryant

Georgia State · 2023

All-Sun Belt
84%

Matches Kadarion on

Class year
Height
TFL rate

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Brian Kelly

Pass share

55.0%

443 pass / 363 run

Plays / game

62.0

13 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

6.8%

365 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Balanced, slow tempo.

Coaching Lineage · 2022–2025

1 coach
2022
Brian Kelly
LSU
2025
Brian Kelly
LSU

Played his entire career under Brian Kelly.

Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster

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

HometownMontgomery, AL
Height6'1"
Weight268 lb
Class4
PositionDL
Jersey88

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 South Florida DL4 #13082 #13283 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | American Athletic
2023 South Florida DL4 #14130 #14119 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W19 snapshot | American Athletic
2022 Wake Forest DL4 #10730 #10734 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | ACC
2021 Wake Forest DL4 #9707 #9354 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | ACC

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2025 LSU SEC DL 4 No. 88 | 6-1 | 268 lb | Montgomery, AL
2024 South Florida American Athletic DL 4 No. 88 | 6-1 | 268 lb | Montgomery, AL
2023 South Florida American Athletic DL 4 No. 88 | 6-1 | 268 lb | Montgomery, AL
2022 Wake Forest ACC DL 4 No. 88 | 6-1 | 268 lb | Montgomery, AL
2021 Wake Forest ACC DL 4 No. 88 | 6-1 | 268 lb | Montgomery, AL