CFB Zeitgeist Score
74
Solid starter in the position cohort. Carried by sacks at the 93rd percentile.
Sam Howard
Below the discourse floor — the honest stats-only state.
50 TACKLES · 4 SACKS
2026 Outlook
Returning to Tulane for 2026
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Linebacker · Tulane
Returning around him
- 15% of 2024 offensive production back (Heavy turnover)
- Transfer portal: -7 net (20 in / 27 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Tulane · Last season: 11-3 (AP #17) · Talent rank #68 · 2026 recruiting class #74
LB · TULANE · AMERICAN ATHLETIC
Sam Howard
- 4
- #15
- 6-2 | 220 lb
- Birmingham, AL
Heisman Heat
#7826
<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 · StarterR07 · Impact starter
Impact starter. Producing measurable value above replacement.
Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career arc · Season-by-season Standing
2 seasons on the ladder
★
2024
Tulane · LB
R09 · All-Conference HM / 2nd team
Recognized
2025
Tulane · LB
—
Career Arc
HS
Recruit
—
CFB
College
Tulane
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 |
|---|---|---|
| No recruiting profile is on file for this player. | ||
Transfer Arc
Portal movement changes role, context, and perception. This keeps that path in one place.
| Season | Move | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Austin Peay -> Tulane | 3-star | 0.8800 | Immediate |
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.
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 Sam Howard
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 Sam Howard
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
50Tackles
8.5Tackles for loss
4Sacks
Per game
5Tackles
0.8Tackles for loss
0.4Sacks
Projected (13g)
59Tackles
10Tackles for loss
4.7Sacks
To hit 80-tackle season (currently 50): needs 15/game over remaining 2.
To hit 100-tackle season (currently 50): needs 25/game over remaining 2.
To hit 6-sack season (currently 4): needs 1/game over remaining 2.
To hit 10-sack season (currently 4): needs 3/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.
Sam Howard is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on Tulane's defense, with 4.0 sacks, 8.5 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
50 88th
SOLO
30 89th
TFL
8.5 97th
SACK
4.0 97th
QBH
2 66th
Game Log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 11 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 23-3vs Northwestern | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 33-31@ South Alabama | 5 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 34-27vs Duke | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 10-45@ Ole Miss | 5 | 3 | 1.5 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 31-14@ Tulsa | 7 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 7 tackles |
| Wk 7 | W 26-19vs East Carolina | 6 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 38-32@ Memphis | 5 | 4 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 37-13@ Temple | 2 | 2 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | W 27-0vs Charlotte | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 15 | W 34-21vs North Texas | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Bowl | L 10-41@ Ole Miss | 6 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 50 | 30 | 8.5 | 4.0 | — | 0 |
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
2024Tulane9-5HC: Jon Sumrall · Run-heavy
2025Tulane11-3HC: Jon Sumrall · Run-leaning
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 | 50 | #600/4942 | 88th pct | Volumevs FBS DEF |
| Defense | TFL | 8.5 | #175/4972 | 97th pct | Disruptionvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Sacks | 4.0 | #169/4972 | 97th pct | Disruptionvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | QB hurries | 2 | #647/1878 | 66th 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
Status—Awaiting 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 · 11 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 4.0 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Road6g | 5.0 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
Win vs Loss
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wins9g | 4.3 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| Losses2g | 5.5 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 5.3 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+4g | 3.2 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.0 |
Pocket and defense-quality (clean vs. pressure) splits are coming soon.
Savant · Box-rate percentiles
Where this profile ranks vs the LB cohort
74Solid starter
Elite: tackles for loss (93rd). Strength: sacks (93rd). Concern: passes defended (17th).
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
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
Sam HowardTulaneMarcAnthony ParkerNavy· 87% simEthan WesloskiNorth Texas· 84% simMaverick BaranowskiMinnesota· 84% sim
Tackles for loss
Sacks
Solo tackles
Tackles
QB hurries
Passes defended
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 Ryan Henry’s 2022 season.
Ryan Henry
84%match
#2
Luke Reimer
All-Big Ten
81%
#3
Jaylen Moody
76%
#4
Mani Powell
76%
#5
Gavin Graham
74%
Matches Ryan on
Tackle volume
Sack rate
Weight
Differs from Ryan on
Class year (higher)
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a graduate, his production profile tracks closest to D'Vion Harris's graduate season at Marshall (2024).
D'Vion Harris
88%match
#2
Marlowe Wax
79%
#3
D'Andre Ragin
76%
#4
Jamal Ligon
All-Conference USA
73%
#5
Josh Pearcy
73%
Matches D'Vion on
Tackle volume
Weight
TFL rate
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jon Sumrall
Pass share
45.8%
424 pass / 501 run
Plays / game
66.1
14 games
OL sack rate (allowed)
3.4%
294 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Coaching Lineage · 2024–2025
1 coach2024
Jon Sumrall
Tulane
2025
Jon Sumrall
Tulane
Played his entire career under Jon Sumrall.
Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster
Off-field context — switch tabs to drill into recruit profile, transfer arc, or roster timeline.
HometownBirmingham, AL
Height6'2"
Weight220 lb
Class4
PositionLB
Jersey15
No fields populated yet.
No fields populated yet.
Current teamTulane
ConferenceAmerican Athletic
Joined2025
Career arc2 season(s)
Trophy Case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
🎖
ALL-CONFERENCE
All-Conf mention (2024)
All-AAC
Trophy Case · Detail
Every honor on the ledger, broken out by stream and selector.
1 all-conference honor
Conference-level recognition helps anchor whether a player is merely statistically loud or actually viewed as elite within his competitive lane.
Honors Timeline
Season-end distinction and week-by-week recognition on one timeline.
| Season | Honor | Scope | Team / Selector | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | All-AAC | all_conference | Tulane | AAC | LB |
Heisman By Year
Modeled rank and official finish by season.
| Season | Team | Role | Latest Model | Forecast | Win | Finalist | Official Finish | Points | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Tulane | LB4 | #7826 | #8266 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W16 snapshot | American Athletic |
Roster Timeline
Team, conference, and class by season.