cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Jimari Butler /LSU

Jimari Butler

DE · LSU · Sr · #12

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

25 TACKLES · 2 SACKS

2026 RETURNINGReturning to LSU for 2026

2026 Outlook

Returning to LSU for 2026

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Defensive end · LSU

Returning around him

  • 66% of 2024 offensive production back (Solid continuity)
  • 7 LSU players drafted to NFL
  • Transfer portal: +0 net (41 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 #6 · 2026 recruiting class #10

DE · LSU · SEC

Jimari Butler

  • 4
  • #12
  • 6-5 | 265 lb
  • Mobile, AL

CFB Zeitgeist Score

68

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

Heisman Heat

#6418

<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

R07 · Impact starter

Impact starter. Producing measurable value above replacement.

Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Career Arc

HS
Recruit
★★★
#794 national
CFB
College
2 teams
2022–2025
NFL
NFL Draft
Not drafted (yet)

Identity & Role

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

PositionDE
Class4
Jersey12
Measurements6-5 | 265 lb
HometownMobile, AL
Primary teamLSU

Recruiting Pedigree

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

Top pedigree 3-star No. 794 recruit
Composite rating 0.8659 HighSchool
Signed with -- 2020
Origin Murphy Mobile, AL, USA
Class Profile Context
2020 3-star | 0.8659 No. 794 recruit | HighSchool

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#6418Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#7246Where 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

0.8659

#794 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 Jimari Butler

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 Jimari Butler

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
25Tackles
4.5Tackles for loss
2Sacks
Per game
2Tackles
0.4Tackles for loss
0.2Sacks
Projected (13g)
27Tackles
4.9Tackles for loss
2.2Sacks

To hit 80-tackle season (currently 25): needs 55/game over remaining 1.

To hit 100-tackle season (currently 25): needs 75/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.

Jimari Butler is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on LSU's defense, with 2.0 sacks, 4.5 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.

Current place #6418 0.0% win | 0.0% finalist
Role load -- Role share still loading
Profile quirk Transfer path 0 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 25 9 solo | #1667/4942 (66th pct)
TFL 4.5 Backfield disruption | #648/4972 (87th 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 against FBS defenders.

High-disruption defender

2025 Season · Final

2025 season snapshot | final

Tackling & Disruption

TOT
25 66th
SOLO
9 54th
TFL
4.5 87th
SACK
2.0 90th
QBH
5 90th

Coverage & Takeaways

PD
2 64th

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 12 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppTKLSOLOTFLSACKINTPDNote
Wk 1W 17-10@ Clemson100.50.01
Wk 2W 23-7vs Louisiana Tech311.00.00
Wk 3W 20-10vs Florida000.00.00
Wk 4W 56-10vs SE Louisiana210.50.01
Wk 5L 19-24@ Ole Miss110.00.00
Wk 7W 20-10vs South Carolina000.00.00
Wk 9L 25-49vs Texas A&M210.00.00
Wk 11L 9-20@ Alabama410.00.00Season-high 4 tackles
Wk 12W 23-22vs Arkansas100.00.00
Wk 13W 13-10vs Western Kentucky322.02.002 sacks
Wk 14L 13-17@ Oklahoma410.50.00
BowlL 35-38@ Houston410.00.00
Total2594.52.02
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

2022Nebraska4-8HC: Mickey Joseph · Run-leaning
2023Nebraska5-7HC: Matt Rhule · Run-heavy, slow tempo
2024Nebraska7-6HC: Matt Rhule · Balanced
2025LSU7-6HC: Brian Kelly · Balanced, slow tempo
SeasonTeam
2025LSU2594.52.02----
2024Nebraska22127.02.0------
2023Nebraska34178.55.52----
2022Nebraska951.50.01----
Career4 loaded seasons904321.59.55----
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 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 25 #1667/4942 66th pct Volumevs FBS DEF
Defense TFL 4.5 #648/4972 87th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Sacks 2.0 #491/4972 90th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Pass breakups 2 #792/2184 64th pct Coveragevs FBS DEF
Defense QB hurries 5 #188/1878 90th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Solo tackles 9 #2127/4584 54th 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 · 12 games

Home/Road · Win/Loss · Season halves

Home vs Road

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Home7g1.60.50.30.1
Road5g2.80.20.00.2

Win vs Loss

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Wins7g1.40.60.30.3
Losses5g3.00.10.00.0

First half vs Second half

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Weeks 1-77g1.60.30.00.3
Weeks 8+5g2.80.50.40.0

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

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the DE cohort

68Solid starter
6 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: qb hurries (92nd). Concern: solo tackles (25th).

QB hurries#188 / 2975 · 92nd pct
5defe
Sacks#487 / 2975 · 80th pct
2.0defe
Tackles for loss#648 / 2975 · 77th pct
4.5defe
Passes defended#777 / 2975 · 67th pct
2defe
Tackles#1667 / 2975 · 43rd pct
25defe
Solo tackles#2127 / 2975 · 26th pct
9defe

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

Advanced Savant · DE · 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
Jimari ButlerLSURay ConeyTulsa· 64% simTreylin PayneTexas State· 63% simTrey FieldsNorth Texas· 62% sim
QB hurries
92
Butler
88
Coney
82
Payne
95
Fields
Sacks
80
Butler
80
Coney
80
Payne
63
Fields
Tackles for loss
77
Butler
90
Coney
87
Payne
87
Fields
Passes defended
67
Butler
67
Coney
67
Payne
67
Fields
Tackles
43
Butler
100
Coney
98
Payne
98
Fields
Solo tackles
26
Butler
93
Coney
95
Payne
96
Fields

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

Player DNA

The Versatile End

Holds up against run and pass without a single dominant trait.

EDGE

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

Brayden Wilson

90%match

Wyoming · 2025

#2

Da'Shawn Womack

Ole Miss · 2025

85%
#3

Kendall Johnson

UAB · 2024

85%
#4

Tyler Batty

BYU · 2021

84%
#5

Marcus Bragg

Auburn · 2022

84%

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

#2

Keith Cooper Jr.

Houston · 2024

91%
#3

Ethan Burke

Texas · 2025

87%
#4

Anthony Goodlow

Oklahoma State · 2023

All-AAC
87%
#5

Myles Cole

Texas Tech · 2023

NFL Rd 7
85%

Matches Brayden on

Class year
Height
TFL rate

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Brian Kelly

Pass share

55.0%

443 pass / 363 run

Plays / game

62.0

13 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

6.8%

365 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Balanced, slow tempo.

Coaching Lineage · 2022–2025

1 coach
2022
Brian Kelly
LSU
2023
Brian Kelly
LSU
2024
Brian Kelly
LSU
2025
Brian Kelly
LSU

Played his entire career under Brian Kelly.

Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster

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

HometownMobile, AL
Height6'5"
Weight265 lb
Class4
PositionDE
Jersey12

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 Nebraska DE4 #6418 #7246 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | Big Ten
2023 Nebraska DE4 #6644 #7388 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W19 snapshot | Big Ten
2022 Nebraska DE4 #12410 #12463 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | Big Ten
2021 Nebraska DE4 #11202 #11075 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | Big Ten

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2025 LSU SEC DE 4 No. 12 | 6-5 | 265 lb | Mobile, AL
2024 Nebraska Big Ten DE 4 No. 12 | 6-5 | 265 lb | Mobile, AL
2023 Nebraska Big Ten DE 4 No. 12 | 6-5 | 265 lb | Mobile, AL
2022 Nebraska Big Ten DE 4 No. 12 | 6-5 | 265 lb | Mobile, AL
2021 Nebraska Big Ten DE 4 No. 12 | 6-5 | 265 lb | Mobile, AL