cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Kelby Collins /Alabama

Kelby Collins

DL · Alabama · Jr · #17

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

10 TACKLES · 2 SACKS

2026 TRANSFERTransferred Alabama → South Carolina for 2026

Where He Ended Up · Transfer

Transferred to South Carolina

2025Alabama
2026South Carolina

DL · ALABAMA · SEC

Kelby Collins

  • 3
  • #17
  • 6-4 | 275 lb
  • Gardendale, AL

CFB Zeitgeist Score

38

Mid-pack in the position cohort. Carried by sacks at the 80th percentile.

Heisman Heat

#11238

<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

R05 · Part-time starter

Part-time starter. Splitting first-team reps.

Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Career Arc

HS
Recruit
★★★★
#45 national
CFB
College
2 teams
2023–2025
NFL
NFL Draft
Not drafted (yet)

Identity & Role

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

PositionDL
Class3
Jersey17
Measurements6-4 | 275 lb
HometownGardendale, AL
Primary teamAlabama

Recruiting Pedigree

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

Top pedigree 4-star No. 45 recruit
Composite rating 0.9764 HighSchool
Signed with Florida 2023
Origin Gardendale Gardendale, AL, USA
Class Profile Context
2023 4-star | 0.9764 No. 45 recruit | HighSchool | Florida

Transfer Arc

Portal movement changes role, context, and perception. This keeps that path in one place.

Portal moves 2 Programs changed on file
Latest destination South Carolina 2026
Transfer stars 3-star CFBD transfer rating context
Eligibility Immediate Jan 11, 2026
Season Move Context
2026 Alabama -> South Carolina 3-star | 0.8800 | Immediate
2025 Florida -> Alabama 4-star | 0.9000 | Immediate

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#11238Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#11377Where 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 Florida

Composite

0.9764

#45 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 Kelby Collins

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 Kelby Collins

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
10Tackles
3Tackles for loss
2Sacks
Per game
1Tackles
0.4Tackles for loss
0.2Sacks
Projected (13g)
16Tackles
4.9Tackles for loss
3.2Sacks

To hit 80-tackle season (currently 10): needs 14/game over remaining 5.

To hit 100-tackle season (currently 10): needs 18/game over remaining 5.

To hit 6-sack season (currently 2): needs 0.8/game over remaining 5.

To hit 10-sack season (currently 2): needs 1.6/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.

Kelby Collins is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on Alabama's defense, with 2.0 sacks, 3.0 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 #11238 0.0% win | 0.0% finalist
Role load -- Role share still loading
Profile quirk Blue-chip pedigree No. 45 recruit

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 10 3 solo | #2859/4942 (42nd pct)
TFL 3.0 Backfield disruption | #1006/4972 (80th pct)
Sacks 2.0 Pass-rush finish | #491/4972 (90th 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
10 42nd
SOLO
3 28th
TFL
3.0 80th
SACK
2.0 90th

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 8 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppTKLSOLOTFLSACKINTPDNote
Wk 1L 17-31@ Florida State100.00.00
Wk 2W 73-0vs UL Monroe100.50.00
Wk 5W 24-21@ Georgia100.00.00
Wk 6W 30-14vs Vanderbilt100.00.00
Wk 7W 27-24@ Missouri100.00.00
Wk 12L 21-23vs Oklahoma221.01.00Season-high 2 tackles
Wk 13W 56-0vs Eastern Illinois200.50.00
BowlW 34-24@ Oklahoma111.01.00
Total1033.02.00
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

2023Florida5-7HC: Billy Napier · Balanced
2024Florida8-5HC: Billy Napier · Run-leaning
2025Alabama11-4HC: Kalen DeBoer · Balanced
SeasonTeam
2025Alabama1033.02.0------
2024Florida710.50.5------
2023Florida2462.02.01----
Career3 loaded seasons41105.54.51----
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 0 Quarterback hurries
Open full stat explorer
0 metrics visible Showing all metrics
Group Metric Value Rank Pct Why it matters
Defense Total tackles 10 #2859/4942 42nd pct Volumevs FBS DEF
Defense TFL 3.0 #1006/4972 80th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Sacks 2.0 #491/4972 90th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Solo tackles 3 #3280/4584 28th 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 · 8 games

Home/Road · Win/Loss · Season halves

Home vs Road

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Home4g1.50.50.20.0
Road4g1.00.20.20.0

Win vs Loss

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Wins6g1.20.30.20.0
Losses2g1.50.50.50.0

First half vs Second half

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Weeks 1-76g1.00.20.20.0
Weeks 8+2g2.00.80.50.0

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

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the DL cohort

38Mid-pack
6 metrics · season cumulative

Concern: solo tackles (1st).

Sacks#487 / 2975 · 80th pct
2.0defe
Tackles for loss#1001 / 2975 · 63rd pct
3.0defe
QB hurries#1662 / 2975 · 22nd pct
0defe
Passes defended#1916 / 2975 · 18th pct
0defe
Tackles#2859 / 2975 · 2nd pct
10defe
Solo tackles#2892 / 2975 · 2nd pct
3defe

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

Advanced Savant · DL · 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
Kelby CollinsAlabamaMichael MontgomerySouthern Miss· 44% simJonJon VaughnsUCLA· 42% simJackson KuwatchMiami (OH)· 40% sim
Sacks
80
Collins
89
Montgomery
63
Vaughns
96
Kuwatch
Tackles for loss
63
Collins
85
Montgomery
85
Vaughns
96
Kuwatch
QB hurries
22
Collins
22
Montgomery
22
Vaughns
55
Kuwatch
Passes defended
18
Collins
67
Montgomery
48
Vaughns
48
Kuwatch
Tackles
2
Collins
99
Montgomery
99
Vaughns
98
Kuwatch
Solo tackles
2
Collins
82
Montgomery
96
Vaughns
95
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 Ramon Puryear’s 2023 season.

Ramon Puryear

86%match

Louisville · 2023

#2

Rueben Bain Jr.

Miami · 2025

HendricksConsensus All-AmericanNFL Rd 1 · Pk 15
84%
#3

Isaiah McGuire

Missouri · 2022

All-SECNFL Rd 4
84%
#4

Jamree Kromah

James Madison · 2022

83%
#5

Dylan Horton

TCU · 2022

NFL Rd 4
82%

Matches Ramon on

TFL rate
Sack rate
Weight

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

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

Myles Murphy

86%match

Clemson · 2022

All-ACCNFL Rd 1 · Pk 29
#2

Rueben Bain Jr.

Miami · 2025

HendricksConsensus All-AmericanNFL Rd 1 · Pk 15
85%
#3

Matayo Uiagalelei

Oregon · 2025

All-Big Ten
84%
#4

Jared Verse

Florida State · 2023

1st-team All-AmericanNFL Rd 1 · Pk 19
83%
#5

Isaiah Foskey

Notre Dame · 2022

Consensus All-AmericanNFL Rd 2 · Pk 9
78%

Matches Myles on

Class year
Weight
TFL rate

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Kalen DeBoer

Pass share

53.4%

523 pass / 456 run

Plays / game

65.3

15 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

6.8%

384 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Balanced.

Coaching Lineage · 2023–2025

2 coaches
2023
Nick Saban
Alabama
2024
Kalen DeBoer
Alabama
era →
2025
Kalen DeBoer
Alabama

Coaching transition mid-career: Nick Saban → Kalen DeBoer. Worth noting in scheme + development context.

Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster

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

HometownGardendale, AL
Height6'4"
Weight275 lb
Class3
PositionDL
Jersey17

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 Florida DL3 #11238 #11377 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | SEC
2023 Florida DL3 #10163 #10605 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W19 snapshot | SEC

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2025 Alabama SEC DL 3 No. 17 | 6-4 | 275 lb | Gardendale, AL
2024 Florida SEC DL 3 No. 17 | 6-4 | 275 lb | Gardendale, AL
2023 Florida SEC DL 3 No. 17 | 6-4 | 275 lb | Gardendale, AL