cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Jaylin Lackey /Vanderbilt

Jaylin Lackey

CB · Vanderbilt · So · #27

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

11 TACKLES · 0 SACKS

2026 RETURNINGReturning to Vanderbilt for 2026

2026 Outlook

Returning to Vanderbilt for 2026

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Cornerback · Vanderbilt

Returning around him

  • 86% of 2024 offensive production back (Strong continuity)
  • 1 Vanderbilt player drafted to NFL
  • Transfer portal: -1 net (18 in / 19 out)

2026 Award watch

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

Vanderbilt · Last season: 10-3 (AP #13) · Talent rank #55 · 2026 recruiting class #76

CB · VANDERBILT · SEC

Jaylin Lackey

  • 2
  • #27
  • 6-0 | 198 lb
  • Atlanta, GA

CFB Zeitgeist Score

22

Below cohort in the position cohort. Carried by qb hurries at the 55th percentile.

Heisman Heat

#11924

<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 1 · 2-deep

R04 · Rotational

Rotational. Earning real snaps in the rotation.

Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Career Arc

HS
Recruit
★★★
#752 national
CFB
College
Vanderbilt
2024–2025
NFL
NFL Draft
Not drafted (yet)

Identity & Role

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

PositionCB
Class2
Jersey27
Measurements6-0 | 198 lb
HometownAtlanta, GA
Primary teamVanderbilt

Recruiting Pedigree

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

Top pedigree 3-star No. 752 recruit
Composite rating 0.8756 HighSchool
Signed with Vanderbilt 2024
Origin South Gwinnett Snellville, GA, USA
Class Profile Context
2024 3-star | 0.8756 No. 752 recruit | HighSchool | Vanderbilt

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#11924Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#12138Where 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 Vanderbilt

Composite

0.8756

#752 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 Jaylin Lackey

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 Jaylin Lackey

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 8g
11Tackles
0Tackles for loss
0Sacks
Per game
1Tackles
0Tackles for loss
0Sacks
Projected (13g)
18Tackles
0Tackles for loss
0Sacks

To hit 80-tackle season (currently 11): needs 13.8/game over remaining 5.

To hit 100-tackle season (currently 11): needs 17.8/game over remaining 5.

To hit 6-sack season (currently 0): needs 1.2/game over remaining 5.

To hit 10-sack season (currently 0): needs 2/game over remaining 5.

Why this is a rare defensive case

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

Jaylin Lackey is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on Vanderbilt's defense, with 0.0 sacks, 0.0 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 #11924 0.0% win | 0.0% finalist
Role load -- Role share still loading
Profile quirk Defensive rarity 0.0 sacks | 0.0 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 11 9 solo | #2749/4942 (44th pct)
TFL 0.0 Backfield disruption | #3020/4972 (39th 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?

Defensive contributor against FBS defenders.

Balanced profile

2025 Season · Final

2025 season snapshot | final

Tackling & Disruption

TOT
11 44th
SOLO
9 54th
TFL
0.0 39th
SACK
0.0 65th
QBH
1 44th

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 8 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppTKLSOLOTFLSACKINTPDNote
Wk 2W 44-20@ Virginia Tech110.00.00
Wk 3W 31-7@ South Carolina110.00.00
Wk 6L 14-30@ Alabama110.00.00
Wk 8W 31-24vs LSU100.00.00
Wk 9W 17-10vs Missouri210.00.00
Wk 10L 31-34@ Texas330.00.00Season-high 3 tackles
Wk 13W 45-17vs Kentucky110.00.00
BowlL 27-34vs Iowa110.00.00
Total1190.00.00
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

2024Vanderbilt7-6HC: Clark Lea · Run-heavy
2025Vanderbilt10-3HC: Clark Lea · Balanced, slow tempo
SeasonTeam
2025Vanderbilt1190.00.0------
2024Vanderbilt14120.00.02----
Career2 loaded seasons25210.00.02----
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 0 Coverage disruption
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 11 #2749/4942 44th pct Volumevs FBS DEF
Defense TFL 0.0 #3020/4972 39th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Sacks 0.0 #1762/4972 65th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense QB hurries 1 #1051/1878 44th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Solo tackles 9 #2127/4584 54th 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 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 · 8 games

Home/Road · Win/Loss · Season halves

Home vs Road

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Home4g1.20.00.00.0
Road4g1.50.00.00.0

Win vs Loss

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Wins5g1.20.00.00.0
Losses3g1.70.00.00.0

First half vs Second half

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Weeks 1-74g1.00.00.00.0
Weeks 8+4g1.80.00.00.0

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

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the CB cohort

22Below cohort
6 metrics · season cumulative

Concern: tackles (5th).

QB hurries#1007 / 2975 · 55th pct
1defe
Solo tackles#2127 / 2975 · 26th pct
9defe
Sacks#1575 / 2975 · 24th pct
0.0defe
Passes defended#1916 / 2975 · 18th pct
0defe
Tackles for loss#2548 / 2975 · 7th pct
0.0defe
Tackles#2749 / 2975 · 6th pct
11defe

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

Advanced Savant · CB · 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
Jaylin LackeyVanderbiltBlake FletcherAir Force· 46% simTyler MartinMassachusetts· 44% simTahj Ra-ElPurdue· 38% sim
QB hurries
55
Lackey
92
Fletcher
22
Martin
22
Ra-El
Solo tackles
26
Lackey
91
Fletcher
87
Martin
100
Ra-El
Sacks
24
Lackey
24
Fletcher
24
Martin
24
Ra-El
Passes defended
18
Lackey
67
Fletcher
67
Martin
91
Ra-El
Tackles for loss
7
Lackey
28
Fletcher
63
Martin
56
Ra-El
Tackles
6
Lackey
99
Fletcher
98
Martin
99
Ra-El

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

Player DNA

The Cover Corner

Steady in coverage; doesn't get beat deep and rarely gives up the big play.

CB

His 2025 production profile sits closest to Alex Graham’s 2025 season.

Alex Graham

85%match

USC · 2025

#2

Jayvon Thomas

Texas A&M · 2023

82%
#3

Moussa Kane

Duke · 2025

80%
#4

Willie Collins V

Navy · 2022

78%
#5

Kalon Gervin

Michigan State · 2021

75%

Matches Alex on

Height
PD rate
Weight

Differs from Alex on

Class year (higher)

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Joe Perkins's sophomore season at Florida International (2022).

Joe Perkins

99%match

Florida International · 2022

#2

Jelani McLaughlin

San Diego State · 2025

98%
#3

David Bucey

South Carolina · 2025

98%
#4

John Keough

Buffalo · 2025

97%
#5

Marcus Robitaille

Charlotte · 2023

97%

Matches Joe on

Class year
Height
PD rate

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Clark Lea

Pass share

50.4%

400 pass / 394 run

Plays / game

61.1

13 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

7.3%

274 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Balanced, slow tempo.

Coaching Lineage · 2024–2025

1 coach
2024
Clark Lea
Vanderbilt
2025
Clark Lea
Vanderbilt

Played his entire career under Clark Lea.

Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster

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

HometownAtlanta, GA
Height6'0"
Weight198 lb
Class2
PositionCB
Jersey27

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 Vanderbilt CB2 #11924 #12138 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | SEC

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2025 Vanderbilt SEC CB 2 No. 27 | 6-0 | 198 lb | Atlanta, GA
2024 Vanderbilt SEC CB 2 No. 27 | 6-0 | 198 lb | Atlanta, GA