cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Jaylen Lewis /Western Kentucky

Jaylen Lewis

DB · Western Kentucky · Jr · #7

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

74 TACKLES · 0 SACKS

2026 RETURNINGReturning to Western Kentucky for 2026

2026 Outlook

Returning to Western Kentucky for 2026

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Defensive back · Western Kentucky

Returning around him

  • 33% of 2024 offensive production back (Moderate turnover)
  • Transfer portal: -3 net (19 in / 22 out)

2026 Award watch

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

Western Kentucky · Last season: 9-4 · Talent rank #100 · 2026 recruiting class #96

DB · WESTERN KENTUCKY · CONFERENCE USA

Jaylen Lewis

  • 3
  • #7
  • 5-11 | 190 lb
  • Brownsville, TN

CFB Zeitgeist Score

64

Solid starter in the position cohort. Carried by interceptions at the 90th percentile.

Heisman Heat

#13319

<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 DB AWARD

Jim Thorpe

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
No recruit profile
CFB
College
3 teams
2023–2025
NFL
NFL Draft
Not drafted (yet)

Identity & Role

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

PositionDB
Class3
Jersey7
Measurements5-11 | 190 lb
HometownBrownsville, TN
Primary teamWestern Kentucky

Recruiting Pedigree

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

Top pedigree Not on file No matched recruiting profile in the loaded archive
Composite rating -- Composite rating unavailable for this player
Signed with -- Commitment history unavailable
Origin -- Hometown and high school unavailable
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.

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#13319Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#13886Where 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.

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 Jaylen Lewis

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 Jaylen Lewis

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

final
Through 13g
74Tackles
3.5Tackles for loss
0Sacks
Per game
6Tackles
0.3Tackles for loss
0Sacks
Final
74Tackles
3.5Tackles for loss
0Sacks

Why this is a rare defensive case

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

Jaylen Lewis is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on Western Kentucky's defense, with 0.0 sacks, 3.5 tackles for loss, and 3 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 #13319 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 74 48 solo | #216/4942 (96th pct)
TFL 3.5 Backfield disruption | #869/4972 (83rd pct)
Sacks 0.0 Pass-rush finish | #1762/4972 (65th pct)
Player identity What kind of player is this?

30-second read

What kind of player is this?

Coverage splash | High-volume tackler against FBS defenders.

Coverage splashHigh-volume tackler

2025 Season · Final

2025 season snapshot | final

Tackling & Disruption

TOT
74 96th
SOLO
48 98th
TFL
3.5 83rd
SACK
0.0 65th

Coverage & Takeaways

PD
5 90th
INT
3 94th

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 13 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppTKLSOLOTFLSACKINTPDNote
Wk 1W 41-24vs Sam Houston420.00.010
Wk 1W 55-6vs North Alabama650.00.01
Wk 2L 21-45@ Toledo330.00.00
Wk 4W 31-16vs Nevada540.00.010
Wk 5W 27-22@ Missouri State530.00.00
Wk 6W 27-24@ Delaware552.00.00
Wk 8L 6-25vs Florida International320.00.00
Wk 9W 28-27@ Louisiana Tech640.00.00
Wk 10W 35-16vs New Mexico State300.00.01
Wk 12W 42-26vs Middle Tennessee410.00.01
Wk 13L 10-13@ LSU15101.00.00Season-high 15 tackles
Wk 14L 34-37@ Jacksonville State960.00.00
BowlW 27-16@ Southern Miss630.50.012
Total74483.50.035
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

2023Arkansas4-8HC: Sam Pittman · Run-leaning
2024Temple3-9HC: Everett Withers · Balanced
2025Western Kentucky9-4HC: Tyson Helton · Balanced
SeasonTeam
2025Western Kentucky74483.50.053--
2024Temple43312.00.051--
2023Arkansas2--0.00.0------
Career3 loaded seasons119795.50.0104--
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 3 0 pick-six TD | #56/869 (94th pct)
Pass breakups 5 Coverage disruption | #218/2184 (90th pct)
QB pressures 0 Quarterback hurries
Open full stat explorer
0 metrics visible Showing all metrics
Group Metric Value Rank Pct Why it matters
Defense Total tackles 74 #216/4942 96th pct Volumevs FBS DEF
Defense TFL 3.5 #869/4972 83rd pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Sacks 0.0 #1762/4972 65th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Interceptions 3 #56/869 94th pct Takeawaysvs FBS DEF
Defense Pass breakups 5 #218/2184 90th pct Coveragevs FBS DEF
Defense Solo tackles 48 #90/4584 98th pct Volumevs FBS DEF
Defense INT return yards 34 #189/578 67th pct Takeawaysvs FBS DEF
Defense INT return avg 11.3 #335/578 42nd 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

StatusAwaiting tracker

The Thorpe 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/Road · Win/Loss · Season halves

Home vs Road

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Home6g4.20.00.00.5
Road7g7.00.50.00.3

Win vs Loss

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Wins9g4.90.30.00.6
Losses4g7.50.20.00.0

First half vs Second half

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Weeks 1-77g4.90.40.00.4
Weeks 8+6g6.70.20.00.3

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

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the DB cohort

64Solid starter
8 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: solo tackles (96th). Strength: tackles (92nd). Concern: qb hurries (22nd).

Solo tackles#90 / 2975 · 97th pct
48defe
Tackles#216 / 2975 · 93rd pct
74defe
Passes defended#218 / 2975 · 91st pct
5defe
Interceptions#56 / 817 · 90th pct
3inte
Tackles for loss#866 / 2975 · 69th pct
3.5defe
Forced fumbles#36 / 687 · 47th pct
0fumb
Sacks#1575 / 2975 · 24th pct
0.0defe
QB hurries#1662 / 2975 · 22nd pct
0defe

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

Advanced Savant · DB · 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 · 8 metrics
Jaylen LewisWestern KentuckyTahj Ra-ElPurdue· 94% simAhmaad MosesSMU· 84% simDalton JohnsonArizona· 84% sim
Solo tackles
97
Lewis
100
Ra-El
98
Moses
97
Johnson
Tackles
93
Lewis
99
Ra-El
99
Moses
98
Johnson
Passes defended
91
Lewis
91
Ra-El
78
Moses
96
Johnson
Interceptions
90
Lewis
98
Moses
95
Johnson
Tackles for loss
69
Lewis
56
Ra-El
83
Moses
47
Johnson
Forced fumbles
47
Lewis
47
Ra-El
47
Moses
47
Johnson
Sacks
24
Lewis
24
Ra-El
63
Moses
63
Johnson
QB hurries
22
Lewis
22
Ra-El
22
Moses
22
Johnson

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

Player DNA

The Box Safety

Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.

S

His 2025 production profile sits closest to Jeremiah Lewis’s 2022 season.

Jeremiah Lewis

86%match

Northwestern · 2022

#2

Dadrion Taylor-Demerson

Texas Tech · 2022

NFL Rd 4
86%
#3

Rayuan Lane

Navy · 2022

84%
#4

Alonzo Addae

West Virginia · 2021

83%
#5

Marquel Broughton

Army · 2022

84%

Matches Jeremiah on

Tackle volume
Height
PD rate

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Jacquez Warren's junior season at Miami (OH) (2023).

Jacquez Warren

86%match

Miami (OH) · 2023

#2

Ayden Jackson

Georgia Southern · 2025

86%
#3

Brandon Hill

Pittsburgh · 2022

NFL Rd 7
75%
#4

Jacob Fields

Louisiana Tech · 2025

74%
#5

Taurean York

Texas A&M · 2025

All-SEC
71%

Matches Jacquez on

Class year
Weight
Tackle volume

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Tyson Helton

Pass share

54.9%

492 pass / 404 run

Plays / game

68.9

13 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

5.5%

366 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Balanced.

Coaching Lineage · 2023–2025

1 coach
2023
Tyson Helton
Western Kentucky
2024
Tyson Helton
Western Kentucky
2025
Tyson Helton
Western Kentucky

Played his entire career under Tyson Helton.

Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster

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

HometownBrownsville, TN
Height5'11"
Weight190 lb
Class3
PositionDB
Jersey7

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 Temple DB3 #13319 #13886 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | American Athletic
2023 Arkansas DB3 #12075 #12007 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W19 snapshot | SEC
2022 Arkansas DB3 #12324 #12188 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | SEC

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2025 Western Kentucky Conference USA DB 3 No. 7 | 5-11 | 190 lb | Brownsville, TN
2024 Temple American Athletic DB 3 No. 7 | 5-11 | 190 lb | Brownsville, TN
2023 Arkansas SEC DB 3 No. 7 | 5-11 | 190 lb | Brownsville, TN
2022 Arkansas SEC DB 3 No. 7 | 5-11 | 190 lb | Brownsville, TN