CFB Zeitgeist Score
63
Solid starter in the position cohort. Carried by tackles for loss at the 87th percentile.
Jacob Ferguson
Below the discourse floor — the honest stats-only state.
48 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
2026 Outlook
Returning to Georgia Southern for 2026
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Defensive line · Georgia Southern
Returning around him
- 92% of 2024 offensive production back (Strong continuity)
- Transfer portal: -1 net (17 in / 18 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Georgia Southern · Last season: 7-6 · Talent rank #93 · 2026 recruiting class #80
DL · GEORGIA SOUTHERN · SUN BELT
Jacob Ferguson
- 4
- #7
- 6-3 | 240 lb
- Troy, MO
Heisman Heat
#14153
<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 · StarterR07 · Impact starter
Impact starter. Producing measurable value above replacement.
Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career Arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
Georgia Southern
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Identity & Role
The durable bio layer: position, size, hometown, and roster role.
Recruiting Pedigree
How big the prospect was before college, and whether the later career arc beat that expectation.
| Class | Profile | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3-star | 0.8237 | No. 2342 recruit | HighSchool | Old Dominion |
Transfer Arc
Portal movement changes role, context, and perception. This keeps that path in one place.
| 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 16Heisman 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 Old Dominion
Composite
0.8237
#2342 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
PENDINGThe 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 Jacob Ferguson
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 Jacob Ferguson
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.
Season Pace · Projection
Where the defensive totals stand
Through 11g
48Tackles
6.5Tackles for loss
0Sacks
Per game
4Tackles
0.6Tackles for loss
0Sacks
Projected (13g)
57Tackles
7.7Tackles for loss
0Sacks
To hit 80-tackle season (currently 48): needs 16/game over remaining 2.
To hit 100-tackle season (currently 48): needs 26/game over remaining 2.
To hit 6-sack season (currently 0): needs 3/game over remaining 2.
To hit 10-sack season (currently 0): needs 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.
Jacob Ferguson is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on Georgia Southern's defense, with 0.0 sacks, 6.5 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.
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
Player identity What kind of player is this?
30-second read
What kind of player is this?
High-disruption defender | High-volume tackler against FBS defenders.
2025 Season · Final
2025 season snapshot | final
Tackling & Disruption
TOT
48 87th
SOLO
22 80th
TFL
6.5 93rd
SACK
0.0 65th
QBH
4 85th
Coverage & Takeaways
PD
1 43rd
Game Log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 11 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 14-42@ Fresno State | 4 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 20-59@ USC | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 41-34vs Jacksonville State | 4 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 4 | W 45-17vs Maine | 5 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 10-35@ James Madison | 6 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 35-38vs Southern Miss | 7 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 7 tackles |
| Wk 8 | W 41-24vs Georgia State | 7 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 24-34@ Arkansas State | 6 | 4 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 45-40vs Coastal Carolina | 3 | 3 | 3.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | 3.0 TFL |
| Wk 13 | L 10-45vs Old Dominion | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Bowl | W 29-10@ App State | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 48 | 22 | 6.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 |
Season-by-season tables Career rows + per-season box score
Traditional history
Traditional Stats
Season rows up top, career context at the bottom.
Season context · Team result + system
2023Georgia Southern6-7HC: Clay Helton · Pass-leaning
2025Georgia Southern7-6HC: Clay Helton · Balanced
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Georgia Southern | 48 | 22 | 6.5 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2023 | Georgia Southern | 11 | 4 | 2.5 | 1.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 2 loaded seasons | 59 | 26 | 9.0 | 1.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
Advanced layer Usage, value, and context
Advanced metrics second
Advanced Metrics
Usage, value, and opponent-adjusted context.
TFL, sacks, and QB hurries are grouped together because defensive Heisman cases are usually built on visible havoc, not on tackle counts alone.
Pass breakups, interceptions, and forced fumbles matter because national awards voters respond to plays that change possessions and highlight reels.
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.
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.
Open full stat explorer
| Group | Metric | Value | Rank | Pct | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Defense | Total tackles | 48 | #649/4942 | 87th pct | Volumevs FBS DEF |
| Defense | TFL | 6.5 | #340/4972 | 93rd 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 | QB hurries | 4 | #291/1878 | 85th pct | Disruptionvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Solo tackles | 22 | #902/4584 | 80th 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
Status—Awaiting 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 vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 4.7 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Road5g | 4.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Win vs Loss
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wins5g | 4.4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Losses6g | 4.3 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 4.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Weeks 8+4g | 4.5 | 1.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Pocket and defense-quality (clean vs. pressure) splits are coming soon.
Savant · Box-rate percentiles
Where this profile ranks vs the DL cohort
63Solid starter
Elite: qb hurries (87th). Strength: tackles for loss (87th). Concern: sacks (23rd).
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
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
Jacob FergusonGeorgia SouthernBryce LlewellynEastern Michigan· 78% simTrey FieldsNorth Texas· 77% simTy BenefieldBoise State· 76% sim
QB hurries
Tackles for loss
Tackles
Solo tackles
Passes defended
Sacks
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 Nate Temple’s 2025 season.
Nate Temple
85%match
#2
John Ward
84%
#3
Jamar Rucks
84%
#4
Blaine Spires
83%
#5
Donavan King
82%
Matches Nate on
Class year
Sack rate
TFL rate
Differs from Nate on
Height (lower)
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to VanDarius Cowan's junior season at Maryland (2022).
VanDarius Cowan
89%match
#2
Tarian Lee Jr.
88%
#3
Brandon Berger
All-MAC
87%
#4
Khalil Murdock
87%
#5
Aaron Casey
All-Big Ten
86%
Matches VanDarius on
Class year
Sack rate
Weight
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Clay Helton
Pass share
48.9%
429 pass / 448 run
Plays / game
67.5
13 games
OL sack rate (allowed)
8.6%
325 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Coaching Lineage · 2023–2025
1 coach2023
Clay Helton
Georgia Southern
2025
Clay Helton
Georgia Southern
Played his entire career under Clay Helton.
Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster
Off-field context — switch tabs to drill into recruit profile, transfer arc, or roster timeline.
HometownTroy, MO
Height6'3"
Weight240 lb
Class4
PositionDL
Jersey7
No fields populated yet.
No fields populated yet.
Current teamGeorgia Southern
ConferenceSun Belt
Joined2025
Career arc3 season(s)
Trophy Case · Detail
Every honor on the ledger, broken out by stream and selector.
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 | Georgia Southern | DL4 | #14153 | #14087 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W16 snapshot | Sun Belt |
| 2023 | Georgia Southern | DL4 | #12826 | #13161 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W19 snapshot | Sun Belt |
Roster Timeline
Team, conference, and class by season.
| Season | Team | Conference | Pos | Class | Bio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Georgia Southern | Sun Belt | DL | 4 | No. 7 | 6-3 | 240 lb | Troy, MO |
| 2024 | Georgia Southern | Sun Belt | DL | 4 | No. 7 | 6-3 | 240 lb | Troy, MO |
| 2023 | Georgia Southern | Sun Belt | DL | 4 | No. 7 | 6-3 | 240 lb | Troy, MO |