cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Langston Hardy /Wake Forest

Langston Hardy

DL · Wake Forest · Jr · #11

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

65 TACKLES · 6.5 SACKS

2026 RETURNINGReturning to Wake Forest for 2026

2026 Outlook

Returning to Wake Forest for 2026

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Defensive line · Wake Forest

Returning around him

  • 26% of 2024 offensive production back (Heavy turnover)
  • 2 Wake Forest players drafted to NFL
  • Transfer portal: +1 net (24 in / 23 out)

2026 Award watch

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

Wake Forest · Last season: 9-4 · Talent rank #74 · 2026 recruiting class #63

DL · WAKE FOREST · ACC

Langston Hardy

  • 3
  • #11
  • 6-4 | 250 lb
  • Jacksonville, FL

CFB Zeitgeist Score

76

All-Conference in the position cohort. Carried by sacks at the 98th percentile.

Heisman Heat

#5366

<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
★★★
#1811 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
Jersey11
Measurements6-4 | 250 lb
HometownJacksonville, FL
Primary teamWake Forest

Recruiting Pedigree

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

Top pedigree 3-star No. 1811 recruit
Composite rating 0.8278 HighSchool
Signed with UConn 2021
Origin Sandalwood Jacksonville, FL, USA
Class Profile Context
2021 3-star | 0.8278 No. 1811 recruit | HighSchool | UConn

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#5366Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#6588Where 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 UConn

Composite

0.8278

#1811 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 Langston Hardy

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 Langston Hardy

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
65Tackles
14.5Tackles for loss
6.5Sacks
Per game
5Tackles
1.1Tackles for loss
0.5Sacks
Final
65Tackles
14.5Tackles for loss
6.5Sacks

✓ Hit 6-sack season · finished with 6.5.

Why this is a rare defensive case

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

Langston Hardy is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on Wake Forest's defense, with 6.5 sacks, 14.5 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 #5366 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 65 25 solo | #331/4942 (93rd pct)
TFL 14.5 Backfield disruption | #25/4972 (100th pct)
Sacks 6.5 Pass-rush finish | #55/4972 (99th pct)
Player identity What kind of player is this?

30-second read

What kind of player is this?

High-disruption defender | High-volume tackler against FBS defenders.

High-disruption defenderHigh-volume tackler

2025 Season · Final

2025 season snapshot | final

Tackling & Disruption

TOT
65 93rd
SOLO
25 84th
TFL
14.5 100th
SACK
6.5 99th
QBH
9 99th

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 13 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppTKLSOLOTFLSACKINTPDNote
Wk 1W 10-9vs Kennesaw State420.00.00
Wk 2W 42-10vs Western Carolina422.52.502.5 sacks
Wk 3L 24-34vs NC State722.00.00
Wk 5L 29-30vs Georgia Tech720.50.00
Wk 6W 30-23@ Virginia Tech411.01.00
Wk 7W 39-14@ Oregon State721.01.00
Wk 9W 13-12vs SMU521.50.00
Wk 10L 7-42@ Florida State421.00.00
Wk 11W 16-9@ Virginia730.50.00
Wk 12W 28-12vs North Carolina311.01.00
Wk 13W 52-14vs Delaware531.50.50
Wk 14L 32-49@ Duke832.00.50Season-high 8 tackles
BowlW 43-29@ Mississippi State000.00.00
Total652514.56.50
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

2023UConn3-9HC: Jim Mora · Balanced
2024UConn9-4HC: Jim Mora · Run-leaning
2025Wake Forest9-4HC: Jake Dickert · Balanced
SeasonTeam
2025Wake Forest652514.56.5------
2024UConn44197.03.5--1--
2023UConn420.00.0------
Career3 loaded seasons1134621.510.0--1--
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 9 Quarterback hurries | #27/1878 (99th pct)
Open full stat explorer
0 metrics visible Showing all metrics
Group Metric Value Rank Pct Why it matters
Defense Total tackles 65 #331/4942 93rd pct Volumevs FBS DEF
Defense TFL 14.5 #25/4972 100th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Sacks 6.5 #55/4972 99th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense QB hurries 9 #27/1878 99th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Solo tackles 25 #744/4584 84th pct Volumevs 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 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 · 13 games

Home/Road · Win/Loss · Season halves

Home vs Road

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Home7g5.01.30.60.0
Road6g5.00.90.40.0

Win vs Loss

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Wins9g4.31.00.70.0
Losses4g6.51.40.10.0

First half vs Second half

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Weeks 1-77g4.71.00.60.0
Weeks 8+6g5.31.20.30.0

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

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the DL cohort

76All-Conference
7 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: tackles for loss (99th). Strength: qb hurries (98th). Concern: passes defended (17th).

Tackles for loss#25 / 2975 · 99th pct
14.5defe
QB hurries#27 / 2975 · 99th pct
9defe
Sacks#55 / 2975 · 98th pct
6.5defe
Tackles#331 / 2975 · 89th pct
65defe
Solo tackles#744 / 2975 · 74th pct
25defe
Forced fumbles#36 / 687 · 47th pct
0fumb
Passes defended#1916 / 2975 · 18th pct
0defe

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 · 7 metrics
Langston HardyWake ForestMarcAnthony ParkerNavy· 87% simEthan WesloskiNorth Texas· 86% simAmare CampbellPenn State· 84% sim
Tackles for loss
99
Hardy
87
Parker
95
Wesloski
96
Campbell
QB hurries
99
Hardy
88
Parker
95
Wesloski
88
Campbell
Sacks
98
Hardy
80
Parker
74
Wesloski
89
Campbell
Tackles
89
Hardy
98
Parker
99
Wesloski
99
Campbell
Solo tackles
74
Hardy
96
Parker
99
Wesloski
100
Campbell
Forced fumbles
47
Hardy
47
Parker
47
Wesloski
47
Campbell
Passes defended
18
Hardy
18
Parker
18
Wesloski
48
Campbell

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 Victor Jones’s 2022 season.

Victor Jones

91%match

Akron · 2022

#2

Mi'Quise Grace

Kentucky · 2025

91%
#3

Quindarius Dunnigan

Middle Tennessee · 2022

90%
#4

Javontae Jean-Baptiste

Notre Dame · 2023

NFL Rd 7
88%
#5

Keshawn Banks

San Diego State · 2022

All-Mountain West
87%

Matches Victor on

Weight
Sack rate
Height

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Mi'Quise Grace's junior season at Kentucky (2025).

Mi'Quise Grace

92%match

Kentucky · 2025

#2

Jayden Virgin

Boise State · 2025

89%
#3

Omar Darame

New Mexico · 2022

84%
#4

Jacob Lane

Washington · 2025

83%
#5

Ryan McCulloch

California · 2025

81%

Matches Mi'Quise on

Class year
Height
TFL rate

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Jake Dickert

Pass share

48.0%

405 pass / 439 run

Plays / game

64.9

13 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

5.1%

293 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Balanced.

Coaching Lineage · 2023–2025

2 coaches
2023
Dave Clawson
Wake Forest
2024
Dave Clawson
Wake Forest
2025
Jake Dickert
Wake Forest
era →

Coaching transition mid-career: Dave Clawson → Jake Dickert. 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.

HometownJacksonville, FL
Height6'4"
Weight250 lb
Class3
PositionDL
Jersey11

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 UConn DL3 #5366 #6588 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | FBS Independents
2023 UConn DL3 #13706 #13866 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W19 snapshot | FBS Independents
2022 UConn DL3 #12892 #12782 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | FBS Independents
2021 UConn DL3 #13691 #13750 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | FBS Independents

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2025 Wake Forest ACC DL 3 No. 11 | 6-4 | 250 lb | Jacksonville, FL
2024 UConn FBS Independents DL 3 No. 11 | 6-4 | 250 lb | Jacksonville, FL
2023 UConn FBS Independents DL 3 No. 11 | 6-4 | 250 lb | Jacksonville, FL
2022 UConn FBS Independents DL 3 No. 11 | 6-4 | 250 lb | Jacksonville, FL
2021 UConn FBS Independents DL 3 No. 11 | 6-4 | 250 lb | Jacksonville, FL