#12

Jimari Butler

Senior defensive end for LSU. 2025: 2 sacks, 4.5 tackles for loss, 25 tackles.

DE · LSU · Sr. · #12

6′5″ · 265 lb · Mobile, AL

CFB Index 56 · #177 of 420 edge rushersMedium confidenceReturning to LSU for 2026

How he plays

Holds up snap after snap without a weakness to attack.

QB hurries: 92nd percentile.

The full scouting read

The numbers

sacks · 2025

4.5 TFL · 25 tackles · 5 hurries

Best game: 2 sacks, 2 TFL, 3 tackles, vs Western Kentucky

His career numbers, season by season

The story

4 defensive end for LSU. 2025: 2 sacks, 4.5 tackles for loss, 25 tackles.

Signed as a 3-star recruit to Murphy in 2020.
Transferred from Nebraska to LSU in 2025.

His career, year by year

Jimari Butler

DE · LSU · Sr · #12

Holds up snap after snap without a weakness to attack. Three head coaches in four seasons, at two different programs. The receipt on tape: 4 tackles, 0.5 TFL against Oklahoma, Week 14, 2025.

Low coverage — composed from the verified record.

positional archetype classification
head-coach lineage
game log

2025 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2022Nebraska4-8HC: Mickey Joseph · Run-leaning

2023Nebraska5-7HC: Matt Rhule · Run-heavy, slow tempo

2024Nebraska7-6HC: Matt Rhule · Balanced

2025LSU7-6HC: Frank Wilson · Balanced, slow tempo

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

56Quality starter #177 of 420?

Medium confidence6 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: qb hurries (92nd percentile). Concern: solo tackles (26th percentile).

Box-score production (6)

QB hurries#188 / 2975 · 92nd pct

Sacks#487 / 2975 · 80th pct

2.0

Tackles for loss#648 / 2975 · 77th pct

4.5

Passes defended#777 / 2975 · 67th pct

Tackles#1667 / 2975 · 43rd pct

Solo tackles#2127 / 2975 · 26th pct

Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.

Splits & context

Splits · Per-game

2025 season · 12 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Home7g	1.6	0.5	0.3	0.1
Road5g	2.8	0.2	0.0	0.2

First half vs Second half

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Weeks 1-77g	1.6	0.3	0.0	0.3
Weeks 8+5g	2.8	0.5	0.4	0.0

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Lane Kiffin

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2025

Rotational

Tackle volume for the position in rotation-piece range.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

56 · #177 of 420 edge rushers

Three-star recruit. Now #177 at the position.

2026 outlook

In the mix for All-SEC

Based on 2025: #10 of 16 SEC DEs

How the All-SEC estimate is computed

35% estimated, 95% confidence interval 31–38%. Base rate measured from players who finished at a comparable rank in their conference and came back the next season. It is an estimate from a small sample, not a forecast of this player.

Career stats

Season	Team
2025	LSU	25	9	4.5	2.0	2	--	--
2024	Nebraska	22	12	7.0	2.0	--	--	--
2023	Nebraska	34	17	8.5	5.5	2	--	--
2022	Nebraska	9	5	1.5	0.0	1	--	--
Career		90	43	21.5	9.5	5	--	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2025

W 17–10

at Clemson

1 PD · 0 TFL · 1 TOT

A wire-to-wire battle — won by 7 on the road.

With G. Chadwick — 41 AVG · 1 IN 20 · 52 LONG · G. Nussmeier — 232 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · QBR -1.0 · 2 rush yds (4 car)

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 12 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	TKL	SOLO	TFL	SACK	INT	PD	Note
Wk 1	W 17-10@ Clemson	1	0	0.5	0.0	—	1
Wk 2	W 23-7vs Louisiana Tech	3	1	1.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 3	W 20-10vs Florida	0	0	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 4	W 56-10vs SE Louisiana	2	1	0.5	0.0	—	1
Wk 5	L 19-24@ Ole Miss	1	1	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 7	W 20-10vs South Carolina	0	0	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 9	L 25-49vs Texas A&M	2	1	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 11	L 9-20@ Alabama	4	1	0.0	0.0	—	0	Season-high 4 tackles
Wk 12	W 23-22vs Arkansas	1	0	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 13	W 13-10vs Western Kentucky	3	2	2.0	2.0	—	0	2 sacks
Wk 14	L 13-17@ Oklahoma	4	1	0.5	0.0	—	0
Bowl	L 35-38@ Houston	4	1	0.0	0.0	—	0
Total		25	9	4.5	2.0	—	2

How he plays

Play style

No single standout number, but nothing missing either — competent across the board.

CFB Index positional classification

Activity vs finishing · season enumeration

What the box score actually says

12 games

25Tackles

9Solo

4.5TFL

2Sacks

2Pass def.

0INT

25 tackles. 2 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 4.5 TFL.

Week 11 PD
Week 41 PD
Week 132 sacks

Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.

2026 Outlook

LSU

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Defensive end · LSU

Returning around him

7 LSU players drafted to NFL
Transfer portal: +3 net (44 in / 41 out)

2026 Award watch

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

LSU · Last season: 7-6 (AP #20) · Talent rank #8 · 2026 recruiting class #11

DNA match

Player DNA

Versatile End

No single standout number, but nothing missing either — competent across the board.

EDGE

His 2025 production profile sits closest to Brayden Wilson’s 2025 season.

Brayden Wilson

90%match

Wyoming · 2025

Marcus Bragg

Auburn · 2022

84%

Da'Shawn Womack

Ole Miss · 2025

83%

Christopher Herrera

Air Force · 2021

81%

Kenyatta Jackson

Ohio State · 2024

81%

Matches Brayden on

Class year

Height

TFL rate

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Brayden Wilson's senior season at Wyoming (2025).

Brayden Wilson

91%match

Wyoming · 2025

Keith Cooper Jr.

Houston · 2024

All-Big 12

87%

Chris Jones

Florida Atlantic · 2023

NFL Rd 2 · Pk 6

84%

Amorie Morrison

Old Dominion · 2024

83%

Desmond Evans

North Carolina · 2023

82%

Matches Brayden on

Class year

Height

TFL rate

Player DNA

Players who play like Jimari Butler

Brayden Wilson

Wyoming · 2025

90%

Da'Shawn Womack

Ole Miss · 2025

83%

Kameryn Fountain

USC · 2025

80%

Noah Arinze

New Mexico State · 2024

76%

Dominic Nichols

Michigan · 2025

74%

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology

Jimari Butler

2020

202310 games

202512 games

2025 snapshot

Splits & context

Awards

Rotational

Career stats

Signature game

Game log

How he plays

DNA match

Versatile End

Players who play like Jimari Butler