cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Fitzgerald West Jr. /Louisiana

Fitzgerald West Jr.

DL · Louisiana · Jr · #68

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

22 TACKLES · 1 SACKS

IN PORTALIn transfer portal — destination TBD (from Louisiana)

In Portal · 2026

In transfer portal

2025Louisiana
DestinationTBD

DL · LOUISIANA · SUN BELT

Fitzgerald West Jr.

  • 3
  • #68
  • 6-2 | 290 lb
  • Lafayette, LA

CFB Zeitgeist Score

49

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

Heisman Heat

#12033

<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

R05 · Part-time starter

Part-time starter. Splitting first-team reps.

Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Career Arc

HS
Recruit
★★★
#994 national
CFB
College
2 teams
2023–2025
NFL
NFL Draft
Not drafted (yet)

Identity & Role

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

PositionDL
Class3
Jersey68
Measurements6-2 | 290 lb
HometownLafayette, LA
Primary teamLouisiana

Recruiting Pedigree

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

Top pedigree 3-star No. 994 recruit
Composite rating 0.8600 HighSchool
Signed with -- 2022
Origin Lafayette Christian Academy Lafayette, LA, USA
Class Profile Context
2022 3-star | 0.8600 No. 994 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 -- 2026
Transfer stars 3-star CFBD transfer rating context
Eligibility Withdrawn Jan 20, 2026
Season Move Context
2026 Louisiana -> -- 3-star | Withdrawn
2024 LSU -> Louisiana 3-star | 0.8500 | 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#12033Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#12134Where 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

0.8600

#994 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 Fitzgerald West Jr.

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 Fitzgerald West Jr.

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
22Tackles
2Tackles for loss
1Sacks
Per game
2Tackles
0.2Tackles for loss
0.1Sacks
Projected (13g)
26Tackles
2.4Tackles for loss
1.2Sacks

To hit 80-tackle season (currently 22): needs 29/game over remaining 2.

To hit 100-tackle season (currently 22): needs 39/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.

Fitzgerald West Jr. is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on Louisiana'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 #12033 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 22 5 solo | #1869/4942 (62nd 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?

Defensive contributor against FBS defenders.

Balanced profile

2025 Season · Final

2025 season snapshot | final

Tackling & Disruption

TOT
22 62nd
SOLO
5 39th
TFL
2.0 71st
SACK
1.0 82nd
QBH
1 44th

Coverage & Takeaways

PD
2 64th

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 11 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppTKLSOLOTFLSACKINTPDNote
Wk 2W 34-10vs McNeese
Wk 3L 10-52@ Missouri100.00.00
Wk 4L 31-34@ Eastern Michigan400.00.00
Wk 5W 54-51vs Marshall111.01.00
Wk 7L 14-24@ James Madison310.00.00
Wk 8L 10-22vs Southern Miss210.00.01
Wk 9L 23-35@ Troy200.00.00
Wk 10W 31-22@ South Alabama500.00.00Season-high 5 tackles
Wk 11W 42-39vs Texas State211.00.01
Wk 13W 34-30@ Arkansas State100.00.00
BowlL 13-20@ Delaware110.00.00
Total2252.01.02
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

2023LSU10-3HC: Brian Kelly · Balanced
2024Louisiana10-4HC: Michael Desormeaux · Run-leaning
2025Louisiana6-7HC: Michael Desormeaux · Run-leaning
SeasonTeam
2025Louisiana2252.01.02----
2024Louisiana21122.01.0------
2023LSU2--0.00.0------
Career3 loaded seasons45174.02.02----
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 2 Coverage disruption | #792/2184 (64th 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 22 #1869/4942 62nd 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 2 #792/2184 64th pct Coveragevs FBS DEF
Defense QB hurries 1 #1051/1878 44th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Solo tackles 5 #2793/4584 39th 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
Home4g1.20.50.20.5
Road7g2.40.00.00.0

Win vs Loss

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Wins5g1.80.40.20.2
Losses6g2.20.00.00.2

First half vs Second half

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Weeks 1-76g1.70.20.20.0
Weeks 8+5g2.40.20.00.4

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

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the DL cohort

49Mid-pack
6 metrics · season cumulative

Concern: solo tackles (7th).

Passes defended#777 / 2975 · 67th pct
2defe
Sacks#847 / 2975 · 63rd pct
1.0defe
QB hurries#1007 / 2975 · 55th pct
1defe
Tackles for loss#1424 / 2975 · 47th pct
2.0defe
Tackles#1869 / 2975 · 36th pct
22defe
Solo tackles#2694 / 2975 · 8th pct
5defe

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
Fitzgerald West Jr.LouisianaMichael MontgomerySouthern Miss· 54% simTyler MartinMassachusetts· 54% simTJ DotteryOle Miss· 53% sim
Passes defended
67
Jr.
67
Montgomery
67
Martin
67
Dottery
Sacks
63
Jr.
89
Montgomery
24
Martin
74
Dottery
QB hurries
55
Jr.
22
Montgomery
22
Martin
55
Dottery
Tackles for loss
47
Jr.
85
Montgomery
63
Martin
83
Dottery
Tackles
36
Jr.
99
Montgomery
98
Martin
98
Dottery
Solo tackles
8
Jr.
82
Montgomery
87
Martin
97
Dottery

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 Bralen Henderson’s 2023 season.

Bralen Henderson

94%match

Ohio · 2023

#2

Quent Titre

Rice · 2022

90%
#3

Jaylon Haynes

UTSA · 2021

All-Conference USA
89%
#4

Daevion Davis

Vanderbilt · 2021

89%
#5

Kelton Moss

UTEP · 2022

88%

Matches Bralen on

Weight
Sack rate
TFL rate

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to JJ Hawkins's junior season at Marshall (2024).

JJ Hawkins

89%match

Marshall · 2024

#2

Mike Hall

Ohio State · 2023

87%
#3

Jason Hammond

Virginia · 2025

86%
#4

Khalil Laufau

Houston · 2025

85%
#5

Cornell Evans

Buffalo · 2025

84%

Matches JJ on

Class year
Height
Sack rate

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Michael Desormeaux

Pass share

40.1%

341 pass / 509 run

Plays / game

65.4

13 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

7.8%

257 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Run-leaning.

Coaching Lineage · 2023–2025

1 coach
2023
Michael Desormeaux
Louisiana
2024
Michael Desormeaux
Louisiana
2025
Michael Desormeaux
Louisiana

Played his entire career under Michael Desormeaux.

Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster

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

HometownLafayette, LA
Height6'2"
Weight290 lb
Class3
PositionDL
Jersey68

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 Louisiana DL3 #12033 #12134 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | Sun Belt
2023 LSU DL3 #11046 #10732 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W19 snapshot | SEC
2022 LSU DL3 #9199 #8744 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | SEC

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2025 Louisiana Sun Belt DL 3 No. 68 | 6-2 | 290 lb | Lafayette, LA
2024 Louisiana Sun Belt DL 3 No. 68 | 6-2 | 290 lb | Lafayette, LA
2023 LSU SEC DL 3 No. 68 | 6-2 | 290 lb | Lafayette, LA
2022 LSU SEC DL 3 No. 68 | 6-2 | 290 lb | Lafayette, LA