cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Braden Siders /West Virginia

Braden Siders

LB · West Virginia · Sr · #10

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

24 TACKLES · 1 SACKS

2026 RETURNINGReturning to West Virginia for 2026

2026 Outlook

Returning to West Virginia for 2026

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Linebacker · West Virginia

Returning around him

  • 26% of 2024 offensive production back (Heavy turnover)
  • Transfer portal: -16 net (34 in / 50 out)

2026 Award watch

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

West Virginia · Last season: 4-8 · Talent rank #63 · 2026 recruiting class #43

LB · WEST VIRGINIA · BIG 12

Braden Siders

  • 4
  • #10
  • 6-2 | 238 lb
  • Thornton, CO

CFB Zeitgeist Score

46

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

Heisman Heat

#12125

<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

R03 · Backup

Backup. On the two-deep, pushing for snaps.

Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Career Arc

HS
Recruit
★★
#3396 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.

PositionLB
Class4
Jersey10
Measurements6-2 | 238 lb
HometownThornton, CO
Primary teamWest Virginia

Recruiting Pedigree

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

Top pedigree 2-star No. 3396 recruit
Composite rating 0.7800 HighSchool
Signed with Wyoming 2020
Origin Ralston Valley Arvada, CO, USA
Class Profile Context
2020 2-star | 0.7800 No. 3396 recruit | HighSchool | Wyoming

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#12125Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#12863Where 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 Wyoming

Composite

0.7800

#3396 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 Braden Siders

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 Braden Siders

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
24Tackles
1Tackles for loss
1Sacks
Per game
2Tackles
0.1Tackles for loss
0.1Sacks
Projected (13g)
28Tackles
1.2Tackles for loss
1.2Sacks

To hit 80-tackle season (currently 24): needs 28/game over remaining 2.

To hit 100-tackle season (currently 24): needs 38/game over remaining 2.

To hit 6-sack season (currently 1): needs 2.5/game over remaining 2.

To hit 10-sack season (currently 1): needs 4.5/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.

Braden Siders is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on West Virginia's defense, with 1.0 sacks, 1.0 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 #12125 0.0% win | 0.0% finalist
Role load -- Role share still loading
Profile quirk Transfer path 0 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 24 11 solo | #1737/4942 (65th pct)
TFL 1.0 Backfield disruption | #2051/4972 (59th 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?

Defensive contributor against FBS defenders.

Balanced profile

2025 Season · Final

2025 season snapshot | final

Tackling & Disruption

TOT
24 65th
SOLO
11 60th
TFL
1.0 59th
SACK
1.0 82nd
QBH
1 44th

Coverage & Takeaways

PD
1 43rd

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 11 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppTKLSOLOTFLSACKINTPDNote
Wk 1W 45-3vs Robert Morris110.00.01
Wk 2L 10-17@ Ohio410.00.00Season-high 4 tackles
Wk 3W 31-24vs Pittsburgh210.00.00
Wk 4L 10-41@ Kansas200.00.00
Wk 5L 14-48vs Utah210.00.00
Wk 8L 13-45@ UCF210.00.00
Wk 9L 17-23vs TCU220.00.00
Wk 10W 45-35@ Houston320.00.00
Wk 11W 29-22vs Colorado100.00.00
Wk 12L 23-25@ Arizona State210.00.00
Wk 14L 0-49vs Texas Tech311.01.00
Total24111.01.01
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

2022Wyoming7-6HC: Craig Bohl · Run-heavy, slow tempo
2023Wyoming9-4HC: Craig Bohl · Run-heavy, slow tempo
2024Wyoming3-9HC: Jay Sawvel · Run-leaning
2025West Virginia4-8HC: Rich Rodriguez · Run-heavy
SeasonTeam
2025West Virginia24111.01.01----
2024Wyoming20103.52.0------
2023Wyoming24154.53.52----
2022Wyoming403112.57.01----
Career4 loaded seasons1086721.513.54----
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 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 24 #1737/4942 65th pct Volumevs FBS DEF
Defense TFL 1.0 #2051/4972 59th 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 QB hurries 1 #1051/1878 44th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Solo tackles 11 #1855/4584 60th pct Volumevs FBS DEF
Defense Fumbles recovered 1 #103/736 86th pct Takeawaysvs FBS DEF
Ball Security Fumbles lost 0 #1/773 100th pct Turnoversvs 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 · 11 games

Home/Road · Win/Loss · Season halves

Home vs Road

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Home6g1.80.20.20.2
Road5g2.60.00.00.0

Win vs Loss

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Wins4g1.80.00.00.2
Losses7g2.40.10.10.0

First half vs Second half

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Weeks 1-75g2.20.00.00.2
Weeks 8+6g2.20.20.20.0

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

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the LB cohort

46Mid-pack
7 metrics · season cumulative

Concern: tackles for loss (28th).

Sacks#847 / 2975 · 63rd pct
1.0defe
QB hurries#1007 / 2975 · 55th pct
1defe
Passes defended#1191 / 2975 · 48th pct
1defe
Forced fumbles#36 / 687 · 47th pct
0fumb
Tackles#1737 / 2975 · 40th pct
24defe
Solo tackles#1855 / 2975 · 35th pct
11defe
Tackles for loss#1936 / 2975 · 28th pct
1.0defe

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
Braden SidersWest VirginiaTyler MartinMassachusetts· 62% simDalton JohnsonArizona· 61% simJonJon VaughnsUCLA· 60% sim
Sacks
63
Siders
24
Martin
63
Johnson
63
Vaughns
QB hurries
55
Siders
22
Martin
22
Johnson
22
Vaughns
Passes defended
48
Siders
67
Martin
96
Johnson
48
Vaughns
Forced fumbles
47
Siders
47
Martin
47
Johnson
47
Vaughns
Tackles
40
Siders
98
Martin
98
Johnson
99
Vaughns
Solo tackles
35
Siders
87
Martin
97
Johnson
96
Vaughns
Tackles for loss
28
Siders
63
Martin
47
Johnson
85
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 Tackett Curtis’s 2025 season.

Tackett Curtis

84%match

Wisconsin · 2025

#2

Evan Tattersall

California · 2021

84%
#3

Chris Russell

Texas A&M · 2023

78%
#4

Grayson Metz

Northwestern · 2024

76%
#5

Kyle Beaudry

UNLV · 2021

75%

Matches Tackett on

Tackle volume
Sack rate
PD rate

Differs from Tackett on

Class year (higher)

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Roman Harrison's senior season at Tennessee (2023).

Roman Harrison

85%match

Tennessee · 2023

#2

Chris Russell

Texas A&M · 2023

84%
#3

Tyler Elsdon

Penn State · 2023

83%
#4

Caleb Kibodi

Louisiana · 2025

83%
#5

Ronald Nunnery

Florida · 2023

82%

Matches Roman on

Weight
TFL rate
Tackle volume

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Rich Rodriguez

Pass share

38.7%

327 pass / 517 run

Plays / game

70.3

12 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

10.7%

272 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Run-heavy.

Coaching Lineage · 2022–2025

3 coaches
2022
Neal Brown
West Virginia
2023
Neal Brown
West Virginia
2024
Chad Scott
West Virginia
era →
2025
Rich Rodriguez
West Virginia
era →

Played under 3 different head coaches: Neal Brown, Chad Scott, and Rich Rodriguez. Multi-era developmental context.

Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster

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

HometownThornton, CO
Height6'2"
Weight238 lb
Class4
PositionLB
Jersey10

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 Wyoming LB4 #12125 #12863 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | Mountain West
2023 Wyoming LB4 #9600 #9986 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W19 snapshot | Mountain West
2022 Wyoming LB4 #8566 #9406 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | Mountain West
2021 Wyoming LB4 #11615 #11264 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | Mountain West

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2025 West Virginia Big 12 LB 4 No. 10 | 6-2 | 238 lb | Thornton, CO
2024 Wyoming Mountain West LB 4 No. 10 | 6-2 | 238 lb | Thornton, CO
2023 Wyoming Mountain West LB 4 No. 10 | 6-2 | 238 lb | Thornton, CO
2022 Wyoming Mountain West LB 4 No. 10 | 6-2 | 238 lb | Thornton, CO
2021 Wyoming Mountain West LB 4 No. 10 | 6-2 | 238 lb | Thornton, CO