cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Jaheim Lawson /Clemson

Jaheim Lawson

DE · Clemson · Jr · #15

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

19 TACKLES · 4 SACKS

2026 RETURNINGReturning to Clemson for 2026

2026 Outlook

Returning to Clemson for 2026

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Defensive end · Clemson

Returning around him

  • 83% of 2024 offensive production back (Strong continuity)
  • 9 Clemson players drafted to NFL
  • Transfer portal: -4 net (11 in / 15 out)

2026 Award watch

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

Clemson · Last season: 7-6 (AP #12) · Talent rank #7 · 2026 recruiting class #26

DE · CLEMSON · ACC

Jaheim Lawson

  • 3
  • #15
  • 6-2 | 250 lb
  • Central, SC

CFB Zeitgeist Score

74

Solid starter in the position cohort. Carried by sacks at the 93rd percentile.

Heisman Heat

#5746

<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
★★★
#1385 national
CFB
College
Clemson
2023–2025
NFL
NFL Draft
Not drafted (yet)

Identity & Role

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

PositionDE
Class3
Jersey15
Measurements6-2 | 250 lb
HometownCentral, SC
Primary teamClemson

Recruiting Pedigree

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

Top pedigree 3-star No. 1385 recruit
Composite rating 0.8456 HighSchool
Signed with Clemson 2022
Origin D.W. Daniel Central, SC, USA
Class Profile Context
2022 3-star | 0.8456 No. 1385 recruit | HighSchool | Clemson

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#5746Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#6366Where 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 Clemson

Composite

0.8456

#1385 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 Jaheim Lawson

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 Jaheim Lawson

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 9g
19Tackles
6.5Tackles for loss
4Sacks
Per game
2Tackles
0.7Tackles for loss
0.4Sacks
Projected (13g)
27Tackles
9.4Tackles for loss
5.8Sacks

To hit 80-tackle season (currently 19): needs 15.2/game over remaining 4.

To hit 100-tackle season (currently 19): needs 20.2/game over remaining 4.

To hit 6-sack season (currently 4): needs 0.5/game over remaining 4.

To hit 10-sack season (currently 4): needs 1.5/game over remaining 4.

Why this is a rare defensive case

The fast read on the thing that makes this player more than a generic stat line.

Jaheim Lawson is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on Clemson's defense, with 4.0 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 #5746 0.0% win | 0.0% finalist
Role load -- Role share still loading
Profile quirk Defensive rarity 4.0 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 19 12 solo | #2072/4942 (58th pct)
TFL 6.5 Backfield disruption | #340/4972 (93rd pct)
Sacks 4.0 Pass-rush finish | #169/4972 (97th 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
19 58th
SOLO
12 62nd
TFL
6.5 93rd
SACK
4.0 97th
QBH
4 85th

Coverage & Takeaways

PD
3 76th

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 9 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppTKLSOLOTFLSACKINTPDNote
Wk 1L 10-17vs LSU200.50.00
Wk 3L 21-24@ Georgia Tech210.00.01
Wk 4L 21-34vs Syracuse442.01.00Season-high 4 tackles
Wk 6W 38-10@ North Carolina210.00.00
Wk 7W 41-10@ Boston College432.02.012 sacks
Wk 8L 24-35vs SMU221.00.00
Wk 10L 45-46vs Duke211.01.00
Wk 12W 20-19@ Louisville100.00.01
Wk 13W 45-10vs Furman000.00.00
Total19126.54.03
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

2023Clemson9-4HC: Dabo Swinney · Balanced, fast tempo
2024Clemson10-4HC: Dabo Swinney · Balanced, fast tempo
2025Clemson7-6HC: Dabo Swinney · Balanced
SeasonTeam
2025Clemson19126.54.03----
2024Clemson2163.51.02----
2023Clemson211.00.0------
Career3 loaded seasons421911.05.05----
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 3 Coverage disruption | #521/2184 (76th pct)
QB pressures 4 Quarterback hurries | #291/1878 (85th pct)
Open full stat explorer
0 metrics visible Showing all metrics
Group Metric Value Rank Pct Why it matters
Defense Total tackles 19 #2072/4942 58th pct Volumevs FBS DEF
Defense TFL 6.5 #340/4972 93rd pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Sacks 4.0 #169/4972 97th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Pass breakups 3 #521/2184 76th pct Coveragevs FBS DEF
Defense QB hurries 4 #291/1878 85th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Solo tackles 12 #1735/4584 62nd 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 · 9 games

Home/Road · Win/Loss · Season halves

Home vs Road

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Home5g2.00.90.40.0
Road4g2.20.50.50.8

Win vs Loss

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Wins4g1.80.50.50.5
Losses5g2.40.90.40.2

First half vs Second half

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Weeks 1-75g2.80.90.60.4
Weeks 8+4g1.20.50.20.2

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

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the DE cohort

74Solid starter
6 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: sacks (93rd). Strength: qb hurries (87th). Concern: tackles (28th).

Sacks#169 / 2975 · 93rd pct
4.0defe
QB hurries#288 / 2975 · 88th pct
4defe
Tackles for loss#340 / 2975 · 87th pct
6.5defe
Passes defended#517 / 2975 · 78th pct
3defe
Solo tackles#1735 / 2975 · 40th pct
12defe
Tackles#2072 / 2975 · 29th pct
19defe

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
Jaheim LawsonClemsonRasheem BilesPittsburgh· 64% simCade UluaveCalifornia· 64% simJohn MillerUtah State· 64% sim
Sacks
93
Lawson
95
Biles
89
Uluave
99
Miller
QB hurries
88
Lawson
88
Biles
88
Uluave
98
Miller
Tackles for loss
87
Lawson
100
Biles
98
Uluave
96
Miller
Passes defended
78
Lawson
86
Biles
86
Uluave
78
Miller
Solo tackles
40
Lawson
91
Biles
94
Uluave
92
Miller
Tackles
29
Lawson
98
Biles
98
Uluave
99
Miller

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 Joe Evans’s 2023 season.

Joe Evans

87%match

Iowa · 2023

All-AAC
#2

Bryton Thompson

UTEP · 2022

81%
#3

Buddha Peleti

Washington State · 2025

79%
#4

Tre'Mon Morris-Brash

UCF · 2023

All-Big 12
78%
#5

Jadrian Taylor

UTEP · 2022

All-Conference USA
78%

Matches Joe on

Sack rate
Weight
TFL rate

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Grayson Murphy's junior season at UCLA (2022).

Grayson Murphy

81%match

UCLA · 2022

#2

Nick Herbig

Wisconsin · 2022

All-Big TenNFL Rd 4
78%
#3

PJ Ramsey

Air Force · 2023

All-Mountain West
74%
#4

Will Anderson Jr.

Alabama · 2022

NagurskiBednarikLombardiNFL Rd 1 · Pk 3
73%
#5

Jose Ramirez

Eastern Michigan · 2022

All-MACNFL Rd 6
73%

Matches Grayson on

Class year
TFL rate
Weight

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Dabo Swinney

Pass share

53.8%

474 pass / 407 run

Plays / game

67.8

13 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

4.5%

337 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Balanced.

Coaching Lineage · 2023–2025

1 coach
2023
Dabo Swinney
Clemson
2024
Dabo Swinney
Clemson
2025
Dabo Swinney
Clemson

Played his entire career under Dabo Swinney.

Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster

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

HometownCentral, SC
Height6'2"
Weight250 lb
Class3
PositionDE
Jersey15

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 Clemson DE3 #5746 #6366 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | ACC
2023 Clemson DE3 #9145 #8778 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W19 snapshot | ACC
2022 Clemson DE3 #5275 #4978 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | ACC

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2025 Clemson ACC DE 3 No. 15 | 6-2 | 250 lb | Central, SC
2024 Clemson ACC DE 3 No. 15 | 6-2 | 250 lb | Central, SC
2023 Clemson ACC DE 3 No. 15 | 6-2 | 250 lb | Central, SC
2022 Clemson ACC DE 3 No. 15 | 6-2 | 250 lb | Central, SC