cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Jaiden Ausberry /Notre Dame

Jaiden Ausberry

LB · Notre Dame · So · #4

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

51 TACKLES · 2 SACKS

2026 RETURNINGReturning to Notre Dame for 2026

2026 Outlook

Returning to Notre Dame for 2026

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Linebacker · Notre Dame

Returning around him

  • 37% of 2024 offensive production back (Moderate turnover)
  • 6 Notre Dame players drafted to NFL
  • Transfer portal: -8 net (7 in / 15 out)

2026 Award watch

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

Notre Dame · Last season: 10-2 (AP #9) · Talent rank #9 · 2026 recruiting class #12

LB · NOTRE DAME · FBS INDEPENDENTS

Jaiden Ausberry

  • 2
  • #4
  • 6-2 | 228 lb
  • Baton Rouge, LA

CFB Zeitgeist Score

68

Solid starter in the position cohort. Carried by sacks at the 80th percentile.

Heisman Heat

#5412

<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

R06 · Starter

Starter. A locked-in starting role.

Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Career Arc

HS
Recruit
★★★★
#162 national
CFB
College
Notre Dame
2023–2025
NFL
NFL Draft
Not drafted (yet)

Identity & Role

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

PositionLB
Class2
Jersey4
Measurements6-2 | 228 lb
HometownBaton Rouge, LA
Primary teamNotre Dame

Recruiting Pedigree

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

Top pedigree 4-star No. 162 recruit
Composite rating 0.9339 HighSchool
Signed with Notre Dame 2023
Origin University Lab Baton Rouge, LA, USA
Class Profile Context
2023 4-star | 0.9339 No. 162 recruit | HighSchool | Notre Dame

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#5412Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#4888Where 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 Notre Dame

Composite

0.9339

#162 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 Jaiden Ausberry

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 Jaiden Ausberry

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 12g
51Tackles
4Tackles for loss
2Sacks
Per game
4Tackles
0.3Tackles for loss
0.2Sacks
Projected (13g)
55Tackles
4.3Tackles for loss
2.2Sacks

To hit 80-tackle season (currently 51): needs 29/game over remaining 1.

To hit 100-tackle season (currently 51): needs 49/game over remaining 1.

To hit 6-sack season (currently 2): needs 4/game over remaining 1.

To hit 10-sack season (currently 2): needs 8/game over remaining 1.

Why this is a rare defensive case

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

Jaiden Ausberry is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on Notre Dame's defense, with 2.0 sacks, 4.0 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 #5412 0.0% win | 0.0% finalist
Role load -- Role share still loading
Profile quirk Blue-chip pedigree No. 162 recruit

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 51 20 solo | #579/4942 (88th pct)
TFL 4.0 Backfield disruption | #738/4972 (85th pct)
Sacks 2.0 Pass-rush finish | #491/4972 (90th pct)
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.

High-disruption defenderHigh-volume tackler

2025 Season · Final

2025 season snapshot | final

Tackling & Disruption

TOT
51 88th
SOLO
20 78th
TFL
4.0 85th
SACK
2.0 90th
QBH
5 90th

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 12 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppTKLSOLOTFLSACKINTPDNote
Wk 1L 24-27@ Miami520.00.00
Wk 3L 40-41vs Texas A&M300.00.00
Wk 4W 56-30vs Purdue530.00.00
Wk 5W 56-13@ Arkansas100.00.00
Wk 6W 28-7vs Boise State811.01.00Season-high 8 tackles
Wk 7W 36-7vs NC State410.00.00
Wk 8W 34-24vs USC210.00.00
Wk 10W 25-10@ Boston College541.00.00
Wk 11W 49-10vs Navy832.01.00
Wk 12W 37-15@ Pittsburgh410.00.00
Wk 13W 70-7vs Syracuse220.00.00
Wk 14W 49-20@ Stanford420.00.00
Total51204.02.00
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

2023Notre Dame10-3HC: Marcus Freeman · Run-leaning, slow tempo
2025Notre Dame10-2HC: Marcus Freeman · Run-leaning, slow tempo
SeasonTeam
2025Notre Dame51204.02.0------
2023Notre Dame320.00.0------
Career2 loaded seasons54224.02.0------
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 51 #579/4942 88th pct Volumevs FBS DEF
Defense TFL 4.0 #738/4972 85th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Sacks 2.0 #491/4972 90th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense QB hurries 5 #188/1878 90th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Solo tackles 20 #1029/4584 78th 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 · 12 games

Home/Road · Win/Loss · Season halves

Home vs Road

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Home7g4.60.40.30.0
Road5g3.80.20.00.0

Win vs Loss

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Wins10g4.30.40.20.0
Losses2g4.00.00.00.0

First half vs Second half

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Weeks 1-76g4.30.20.20.0
Weeks 8+6g4.20.50.20.0

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

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the LB cohort

68Solid starter
6 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: qb hurries (92nd). Strength: tackles (80th). Concern: passes defended (17th).

QB hurries#188 / 2975 · 92nd pct
5defe
Tackles#579 / 2975 · 80th pct
51defe
Sacks#487 / 2975 · 80th pct
2.0defe
Tackles for loss#736 / 2975 · 73rd pct
4.0defe
Solo tackles#1029 / 2975 · 64th pct
20defe
Passes defended#1916 / 2975 · 18th 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
Jaiden AusberryNotre DameMarcAnthony ParkerNavy· 84% simEthan WesloskiNorth Texas· 81% simMicah DaveyUTEP· 80% sim
QB hurries
92
Ausberry
88
Parker
95
Wesloski
82
Davey
Tackles
80
Ausberry
98
Parker
99
Wesloski
99
Davey
Sacks
80
Ausberry
80
Parker
74
Wesloski
63
Davey
Tackles for loss
73
Ausberry
87
Parker
95
Wesloski
91
Davey
Solo tackles
64
Ausberry
96
Parker
99
Wesloski
99
Davey
Passes defended
18
Ausberry
18
Parker
18
Wesloski
18
Davey

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 Isaiah Jones’s 2024 season.

Isaiah Jones

83%match

Indiana · 2024

#2

Rashad Henry

Massachusetts · 2025

80%
#3

Jeffrey Bassa

Oregon · 2022

NFL Rd 5
79%
#4

Jack Kiser

Notre Dame · 2022

NFL Rd 4
79%
#5

Whit Weeks

LSU · 2023

79%

Matches Isaiah on

Weight
Height
Class year

Differs from Isaiah on

Sack rate (higher)

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Siale Esera's junior season at BYU (2025).

Siale Esera

78%match

BYU · 2025

#2

Blesyng Alualu-Tuiolemotu

UNLV · 2025

76%
#3

Noah Sewell

Oregon · 2022

NFL Rd 5
75%
#4

Jalen Smith

Mississippi State · 2025

74%
#5

Sherrod Greene

South Carolina · 2022

72%

Matches Siale on

TFL rate
Tackle volume
PD rate

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Marcus Freeman

Pass share

44.0%

321 pass / 409 run

Plays / game

60.8

12 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

4.7%

257 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Run-leaning, slow tempo.

Coaching Lineage · 2023–2025

1 coach
2023
Marcus Freeman
Notre Dame
2025
Marcus Freeman
Notre Dame

Played his entire career under Marcus Freeman.

Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster

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

HometownBaton Rouge, LA
Height6'2"
Weight228 lb
Class2
PositionLB
Jersey4

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 Notre Dame LB2 #5412 #4888 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | FBS Independents
2023 Notre Dame LB2 #7562 #7319 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W19 snapshot | FBS Independents

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2025 Notre Dame FBS Independents LB 2 No. 4 | 6-2 | 228 lb | Baton Rouge, LA
2024 Notre Dame FBS Independents LB 2 No. 4 | 6-2 | 228 lb | Baton Rouge, LA
2023 Notre Dame FBS Independents LB 2 No. 4 | 6-2 | 228 lb | Baton Rouge, LA