cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Jalen Todd /Kansas

Jalen Todd

DB · Kansas · So · #26

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

44 TACKLES · 2 SACKS

2026 RETURNINGReturning to Kansas for 2026

2026 Outlook

Returning to Kansas for 2026

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Defensive back · Kansas

Returning around him

  • 41% of 2024 offensive production back (Moderate turnover)
  • 2 Kansas players drafted to NFL
  • Transfer portal: +5 net (31 in / 26 out)

2026 Award watch

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

Kansas · Last season: 5-7 · Talent rank #48 · 2026 recruiting class #72

DB · KANSAS · BIG 12

Jalen Todd

  • 2
  • #26
  • 6-1 | 195 lb
  • Southfield, MI

CFB Zeitgeist Score

70

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

Heisman Heat

#12446

<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 DB AWARD

Jim Thorpe

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
★★★
#516 national
CFB
College
Kansas
2024–2025
NFL
NFL Draft
Not drafted (yet)

Identity & Role

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

PositionDB
Class2
Jersey26
Measurements6-1 | 195 lb
HometownSouthfield, MI
Primary teamKansas

Recruiting Pedigree

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

Top pedigree 3-star No. 516 recruit
Composite rating 0.8875 HighSchool
Signed with Kansas 2024
Origin Southfield Southfield, MI, USA
Class Profile Context
2024 3-star | 0.8875 No. 516 recruit | HighSchool | Kansas

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#12446Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#12731Where 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 Kansas

Composite

0.8875

#516 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 Jalen Todd

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 Jalen Todd

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 10g
44Tackles
2Tackles for loss
2Sacks
Per game
4Tackles
0.2Tackles for loss
0.2Sacks
Projected (13g)
57Tackles
2.6Tackles for loss
2.6Sacks

To hit 80-tackle season (currently 44): needs 12/game over remaining 3.

To hit 100-tackle season (currently 44): needs 18.7/game over remaining 3.

To hit 6-sack season (currently 2): needs 1.3/game over remaining 3.

To hit 10-sack season (currently 2): needs 2.7/game over remaining 3.

Why this is a rare defensive case

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

Jalen Todd is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on Kansas's defense, with 2.0 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 #12446 0.0% win | 0.0% finalist
Role load -- Role share still loading
Profile quirk Defensive rarity 2.0 sacks | 2.0 TFL

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 44 30 solo | #756/4942 (85th pct)
TFL 2.0 Backfield disruption | #1443/4972 (71st 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 | Coverage splash | High-volume tackler against FBS defenders.

High-disruption defenderCoverage splashHigh-volume tackler

2025 Season · Final

2025 season snapshot | final

Tackling & Disruption

TOT
44 85th
SOLO
30 89th
TFL
2.0 71st
SACK
2.0 90th
QBH
1 44th

Coverage & Takeaways

PD
4 84th

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 10 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppTKLSOLOTFLSACKINTPDNote
Wk 1W 31-7vs Fresno State330.00.00
Wk 2L 31-42@ Missouri740.00.01
Wk 4W 41-10vs West Virginia310.00.01
Wk 5L 34-37vs Cincinnati840.00.00Season-high 8 tackles
Wk 6W 27-20@ UCF650.00.00
Wk 7L 17-42@ Texas Tech750.00.01
Wk 9L 17-42vs Kansas State110.00.00
Wk 10W 38-21vs Oklahoma State220.00.00
Wk 11L 20-24@ Arizona542.02.012 sacks
Wk 13L 14-38@ Iowa State210.00.00
Total44302.02.04
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

2024Kansas5-7HC: Lance Leipold · Run-leaning
2025Kansas5-7HC: Lance Leipold · Run-leaning
SeasonTeam
2025Kansas44302.02.04----
2024Kansas950.00.02----
Career2 loaded seasons53352.02.06----
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 4 Coverage disruption | #340/2184 (84th 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 44 #756/4942 85th pct Volumevs FBS DEF
Defense TFL 2.0 #1443/4972 71st pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Sacks 2.0 #491/4972 90th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Pass breakups 4 #340/2184 84th pct Coveragevs FBS DEF
Defense QB hurries 1 #1051/1878 44th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Solo tackles 30 #515/4584 89th 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 Thorpe 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 · 10 games

Home/Road · Win/Loss · Season halves

Home vs Road

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Home5g3.40.00.00.2
Road5g5.40.40.40.6

Win vs Loss

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Wins4g3.50.00.00.2
Losses6g5.00.30.30.5

First half vs Second half

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Weeks 1-76g5.70.00.00.5
Weeks 8+4g2.50.50.50.2

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

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the DB cohort

70Solid starter
6 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: passes defended (85th). Strength: solo tackles (81st).

Passes defended#340 / 2975 · 86th pct
4defe
Solo tackles#515 / 2975 · 82nd pct
30defe
Sacks#487 / 2975 · 80th pct
2.0defe
Tackles#756 / 2975 · 74th pct
44defe
QB hurries#1007 / 2975 · 55th pct
1defe
Tackles for loss#1424 / 2975 · 47th pct
2.0defe

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.

Advanced Savant · DB · 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
Jalen ToddKansasBrevin HamblinUtah State· 81% simDalton JohnsonArizona· 80% simDevin LafayetteTroy· 80% sim
Passes defended
86
Todd
98
Hamblin
96
Johnson
91
Lafayette
Solo tackles
82
Todd
99
Hamblin
97
Johnson
98
Lafayette
Sacks
80
Todd
74
Hamblin
63
Johnson
63
Lafayette
Tackles
74
Todd
99
Hamblin
98
Johnson
99
Lafayette
QB hurries
55
Todd
22
Hamblin
22
Johnson
22
Lafayette
Tackles for loss
47
Todd
56
Hamblin
47
Johnson
56
Lafayette

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

Player DNA

The Hybrid Nickel

Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.

S

His 2025 production profile sits closest to Keon Sabb’s 2024 season.

Keon Sabb

82%match

Alabama · 2024

#2

Wesley Fair

Kansas State · 2025

81%
#3

Ricardo Jones

Clemson · 2025

All-ACC
81%
#4

Emory Floyd

App State · 2025

81%
#5

Tayon Holloway

Louisville · 2025

81%

Matches Keon on

Height
Class year
PD rate

Differs from Keon on

Weight (lower)

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Jones Thomas's sophomore season at Wyoming (2025).

Jones Thomas

87%match

Wyoming · 2025

#2

DJ James

Oregon · 2021

85%
#3

Ricardo Jones

Clemson · 2025

All-ACC
83%
#4

Isaac Taylor-Stuart

USC · 2021

83%
#5

Kai Kaneshiro

Hawai'i · 2021

83%

Matches Jones on

Class year
PD rate
Tackle volume

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Lance Leipold

Pass share

45.1%

344 pass / 419 run

Plays / game

63.6

12 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

6.1%

293 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Run-leaning.

Coaching Lineage · 2024–2025

1 coach
2024
Lance Leipold
Kansas
2025
Lance Leipold
Kansas

Played his entire career under Lance Leipold.

Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster

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

HometownSouthfield, MI
Height6'1"
Weight195 lb
Class2
PositionDB
Jersey26

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 Kansas DB2 #12446 #12731 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | Big 12

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2025 Kansas Big 12 DB 2 No. 26 | 6-1 | 195 lb | Southfield, MI
2024 Kansas Big 12 DB 2 No. 26 | 6-1 | 195 lb | Southfield, MI