cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Devan Thompkins /USC

Devan Thompkins

DT · USC · Jr · #8

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

30 TACKLES · 3 SACKS

2026 RETURNINGReturning to USC for 2026

2026 Outlook

Returning to USC for 2026

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Defensive tackle · USC

Returning around him

  • 37% of 2024 offensive production back (Moderate turnover)
  • 3 USC players drafted to NFL
  • Transfer portal: -13 net (9 in / 22 out)

2026 Award watch

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

USC · Last season: 9-4 (AP #16) · Talent rank #17 · 2026 recruiting class #14

DT · USC · BIG TEN

Devan Thompkins

  • 3
  • #8
  • 6-5 | 290 lb
  • Stockton, CA

CFB Zeitgeist Score

71

Solid starter in the position cohort. Carried by sacks at the 89th percentile.

Heisman Heat

#9080

<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
★★★
#635 national
CFB
College
USC
2024–2025
NFL
NFL Draft
Not drafted (yet)

Identity & Role

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

PositionDT
Class3
Jersey8
Measurements6-5 | 290 lb
HometownStockton, CA
Primary teamUSC

Recruiting Pedigree

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

Top pedigree 3-star No. 635 recruit
Composite rating 0.8759 HighSchool
Signed with USC 2022
Origin Edison Stockton, CA, USA
Class Profile Context
2022 3-star | 0.8759 No. 635 recruit | HighSchool | USC

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#9080Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#9227Where 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 USC

Composite

0.8759

#635 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 Devan Thompkins

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 Devan Thompkins

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 11g
30Tackles
6.5Tackles for loss
3Sacks
Per game
3Tackles
0.6Tackles for loss
0.3Sacks
Projected (13g)
35Tackles
7.7Tackles for loss
3.5Sacks

To hit 80-tackle season (currently 30): needs 25/game over remaining 2.

To hit 100-tackle season (currently 30): needs 35/game over remaining 2.

To hit 6-sack season (currently 3): needs 1.5/game over remaining 2.

To hit 10-sack season (currently 3): needs 3.5/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.

Devan Thompkins is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on USC's defense, with 3.0 sacks, 6.5 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 #9080 0.0% win | 0.0% finalist
Role load -- Role share still loading
Profile quirk Defensive rarity 3.0 sacks | 6.5 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 30 17 solo | #1362/4942 (72nd pct)
TFL 6.5 Backfield disruption | #340/4972 (93rd pct)
Sacks 3.0 Pass-rush finish | #292/4972 (94th 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
30 72nd
SOLO
17 73rd
TFL
6.5 93rd
SACK
3.0 94th
QBH
1 44th

Coverage & Takeaways

PD
2 64th

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 11 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppTKLSOLOTFLSACKINTPDNote
Wk 1W 73-13vs Missouri State211.00.00
Wk 2W 59-20vs Georgia Southern110.00.00
Wk 3W 33-17@ Purdue200.50.51
Wk 4W 45-31vs Michigan State610.50.50Season-high 6 tackles
Wk 5L 32-34@ Illinois430.00.00
Wk 7W 31-13vs Michigan442.02.002 sacks
Wk 8L 24-34@ Notre Dame111.00.00
Wk 10W 21-17@ Nebraska320.50.01
Wk 12W 26-21vs Iowa200.00.00
Wk 13L 27-42@ Oregon431.00.00
Wk 14W 29-10vs UCLA110.00.00
Total30176.53.02
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

2024USC7-6HC: Lincoln Riley · Pass-leaning
2025USC9-4HC: Lincoln Riley · Balanced
SeasonTeam
2025USC30176.53.02----
2024USC24142.51.53----
Career2 loaded seasons54319.04.55----
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 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 30 #1362/4942 72nd pct Volumevs FBS DEF
Defense TFL 6.5 #340/4972 93rd pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Sacks 3.0 #292/4972 94th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Pass breakups 2 #792/2184 64th pct Coveragevs FBS DEF
Defense QB hurries 1 #1051/1878 44th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Solo tackles 17 #1252/4584 73rd 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 · 11 games

Home/Road · Win/Loss · Season halves

Home vs Road

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Home6g2.70.60.40.0
Road5g2.80.60.10.4

Win vs Loss

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Wins8g2.60.60.40.2
Losses3g3.00.70.00.0

First half vs Second half

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Weeks 1-76g3.20.70.50.2
Weeks 8+5g2.20.50.00.2

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

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the DT cohort

71Solid starter
6 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: sacks (88th). Strength: tackles for loss (87th).

Sacks#291 / 2975 · 89th pct
3.0defe
Tackles for loss#340 / 2975 · 87th pct
6.5defe
Passes defended#777 / 2975 · 67th pct
2defe
Solo tackles#1252 / 2975 · 56th pct
17defe
QB hurries#1007 / 2975 · 55th pct
1defe
Tackles#1362 / 2975 · 53rd pct
30defe

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

Advanced Savant · DT · 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
Devan ThompkinsUSCMichael MontgomerySouthern Miss· 75% simTJ DotteryOle Miss· 75% simJackson KuwatchMiami (OH)· 74% sim
Sacks
89
Thompkins
89
Montgomery
74
Dottery
96
Kuwatch
Tackles for loss
87
Thompkins
85
Montgomery
83
Dottery
96
Kuwatch
Passes defended
67
Thompkins
67
Montgomery
67
Dottery
48
Kuwatch
Solo tackles
56
Thompkins
82
Montgomery
97
Dottery
95
Kuwatch
QB hurries
55
Thompkins
22
Montgomery
55
Dottery
55
Kuwatch
Tackles
53
Thompkins
99
Montgomery
98
Dottery
98
Kuwatch

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

Player DNA

The 3-Tech Penetrator

Disruptive interior rusher who lives in the backfield.

IDL

His 2025 production profile sits closest to Sean Martin’s 2022 season.

Sean Martin

93%match

West Virginia · 2022

#2

Rylie Mills

Notre Dame · 2022

NFL Rd 5
91%
#3

Jonah Laulu

Hawai'i · 2021

NFL Rd 7
89%
#4

Kahlil Saunders

Kentucky · 2023

89%
#5

Darius Robinson

Missouri · 2022

NFL Rd 1 · Pk 27
86%

Matches Sean on

TFL rate
Weight
Height

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Walter Nolen's sophomore season at Texas A&M (2023).

Walter Nolen

90%match

Texas A&M · 2023

Consensus All-AmericanNFL Rd 1 · Pk 16
#2

Keanu Tanuvasa

Utah · 2023

82%
#3

Sean Martin

West Virginia · 2022

80%
#4

Keyshon Camp

Pittsburgh · 2021

79%
#5

Jack Latore

Army · 2023

79%

Matches Walter on

Class year
Weight
Sack rate

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Lincoln Riley

Pass share

50.4%

420 pass / 414 run

Plays / game

64.2

13 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

3.8%

313 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Balanced.

Coaching Lineage · 2024–2025

1 coach
2024
Lincoln Riley
USC
2025
Lincoln Riley
USC

Played his entire career under Lincoln Riley.

Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster

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

HometownStockton, CA
Height6'5"
Weight290 lb
Class3
PositionDT
Jersey8

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 USC DT3 #9080 #9227 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | Big Ten
2023 USC DT3 #12630 #12465 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W19 snapshot | Pac-12
2022 USC DT3 #8369 #7897 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | Pac-12

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2025 USC Big Ten DT 3 No. 8 | 6-5 | 290 lb | Stockton, CA
2024 USC Big Ten DT 3 No. 8 | 6-5 | 290 lb | Stockton, CA
2023 USC Pac-12 DT 3 No. 8 | 6-5 | 290 lb | Stockton, CA
2022 USC Pac-12 DT 3 No. 8 | 6-5 | 290 lb | Stockton, CA