CFB Zeitgeist Score
66
Solid starter in the position cohort. Carried by sacks at the 99th percentile.
Damon Wilson Jr.
Below the discourse floor — the honest stats-only state.
22 TACKLES · 8.5 SACKS
2026 Outlook
Returning to Missouri for 2026
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Defensive end · Missouri
Returning around him
- 20% of 2024 offensive production back (Heavy turnover)
- 6 Missouri players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: +3 net (30 in / 27 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Missouri · Last season: 8-5 (AP #25) · Talent rank #22 · 2026 recruiting class #20
DE · MISSOURI · SEC
Damon Wilson Jr.
- 3
- #8
- 6-4 | 250 lb
- Venice, FL
Heisman Heat
#1940
<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 · StarterR06 · Starter
Starter. A locked-in starting role.
Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career Arc
HS
Recruit
★★★★★
CFB
College
2 teams
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 5-star | 0.9869 | No. 17 recruit | HighSchool | Georgia |
Transfer Arc
Portal movement changes role, context, and perception. This keeps that path in one place.
| 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 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.
NIL · Recruiting · NFL Draft
Market value, pedigree & pro outcome
Recruit stars
★★★★★
to Georgia
Composite
0.9869
#17 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
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 Damon Wilson Jr.
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 Damon Wilson Jr.
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 13g
22Tackles
9Tackles for loss
8.5Sacks
Per game
2Tackles
0.7Tackles for loss
0.7Sacks
Final
22Tackles
9Tackles for loss
8.5Sacks
✓ Hit 6-sack season · finished with 8.5.
Why this is a rare defensive case
The fast read on the thing that makes this player more than a generic stat line.
Damon Wilson Jr. is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on Missouri's defense, with 8.5 sacks, 9.0 tackles for loss, and 1 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 against FBS defenders.
2025 Season · Final
2025 season snapshot | final
Tackling & Disruption
TOT
22 62nd
SOLO
9 54th
TFL
9.0 97th
SACK
8.5 100th
QBH
13 100th
Coverage & Takeaways
PD
2 64th
INT
1 65th
Game Log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 13 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 61-6vs Central Arkansas | 2 | 2 | 2.0 | 2.0 | — | 0 | 2 sacks |
| Wk 2 | W 42-31vs Kansas | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 52-10vs Louisiana | 4 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 4 tackles |
| Wk 4 | W 29-20vs South Carolina | 1 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 42-6vs Massachusetts | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 24-27vs Alabama | 3 | 2 | 2.0 | 2.0 | — | 0 | 2 sacks |
| Wk 8 | W 23-17@ Auburn | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 10-17@ Vanderbilt | 1 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | L 17-38vs Texas A&M | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 49-27vs Mississippi State | 2 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 13 | L 6-17@ Oklahoma | 2 | 1 | 1.5 | 1.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 14 | W 31-17@ Arkansas | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Bowl | L 7-13vs Virginia | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 22 | 9 | 9.0 | 8.5 | 1 | 2 |
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
2023Georgia13-1HC: Kirby Smart · Balanced
2024Georgia11-3HC: Kirby Smart · Pass-leaning
2025Missouri8-5HC: Eli Drinkwitz · Run-heavy
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 | 22 | #1869/4942 | 62nd pct | Volumevs FBS DEF |
| Defense | TFL | 9.0 | #142/4972 | 97th pct | Disruptionvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Sacks | 8.5 | #25/4972 | 100th pct | Disruptionvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Interceptions | 1 | #308/869 | 65th pct | Takeawaysvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Pass breakups | 2 | #792/2184 | 64th pct | Coveragevs FBS DEF |
| Defense | QB hurries | 13 | #7/1878 | 100th pct | Disruptionvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Solo tackles | 9 | #2127/4584 | 54th pct | Volumevs FBS DEF |
| Defense | INT return avg | 3.0 | #493/578 | 15th pct | Takeawaysvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | INT return yards | 3 | #511/578 | 12th pct | Takeawaysvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Fumbles recovered | 1 | #103/736 | 86th pct | Takeawaysvs FBS DEF |
| Ball Security | Fumbles lost | 0 | #1/773 | 100th pct | Turnoversvs 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 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 · 13 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home9g | 1.9 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.1 |
| Road4g | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.2 |
Win vs Loss
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wins8g | 1.5 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.1 |
| Losses5g | 2.0 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 2.0 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.3 |
Pocket and defense-quality (clean vs. pressure) splits are coming soon.
Savant · Box-rate percentiles
Where this profile ranks vs the DE cohort
66Solid starter
Elite: qb hurries (99th). Strength: sacks (99th). Concern: solo tackles (25th).
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
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
Damon Wilson Jr.MissouriSammy BrownClemson· 65% simJhalyn ShulerSouth Florida· 64% simTrey FieldsNorth Texas· 64% sim
QB hurries
Sacks
Tackles for loss
Passes defended
Forced fumbles
Tackles
Interceptions
Solo tackles
Closest peers by overall box-score percentile profile at the same position.
Player DNA
The Speed Rusher
Bends the edge and wins with first-step quickness. Lighter frame, relentless motor.
EDGE
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Malachi Lawrence’s 2024 season.
Malachi Lawrence
77%match
NFL Rd 1 · Pk 23
#2
Nyjalik Kelly
73%
#3
Cashius Howell
All-MACNFL Rd 2 · Pk 9
71%
#4
Nathan Latu
70%
#5
Ryan Henderson
66%
Matches Malachi on
TFL rate
Height
Weight
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Eli Hall's junior season at Liberty (2025).
Eli Hall
78%match
#2
Ryan Henderson
59%
#3
Darris Smith
58%
#4
Cashius Howell
Consensus All-AmericanNFL Rd 2 · Pk 9
58%
#5
Malachi Lawrence
All-Big 12NFL Rd 1 · Pk 23
56%
Matches Eli on
Class year
TFL rate
Weight
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Eli Drinkwitz
Pass share
39.6%
360 pass / 550 run
Plays / game
70.0
13 games
OL sack rate (allowed)
8.4%
308 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy.
Coaching Lineage · 2023–2025
1 coach2023
Eli Drinkwitz
Missouri
2024
Eli Drinkwitz
Missouri
2025
Eli Drinkwitz
Missouri
Played his entire career under Eli Drinkwitz.
Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster
Off-field context — switch tabs to drill into recruit profile, transfer arc, or roster timeline.
HometownVenice, FL
Height6'4"
Weight250 lb
Class3
PositionDE
Jersey8
No fields populated yet.
No fields populated yet.
Current teamMissouri
ConferenceSEC
Joined2025
Career arc3 season(s)
Trophy Case · Detail
Every honor on the ledger, broken out by stream and selector.
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.
Roster Timeline
Team, conference, and class by season.