cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Levar Thornton Jr. /Baylor

Levar Thornton Jr.

CB · Baylor · So · #25

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

27 TACKLES · 0 SACKS

2026 RETURNINGReturning to Baylor for 2026

2026 Outlook

Returning to Baylor for 2026

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Cornerback · Baylor

Returning around him

  • 82% of 2024 offensive production back (Strong continuity)
  • 2 Baylor players drafted to NFL
  • Transfer portal: -1 net (31 in / 32 out)

2026 Award watch

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

Baylor · Last season: 5-7 · Talent rank #35 · 2026 recruiting class #36

CB · BAYLOR · BIG 12

Levar Thornton Jr.

  • 2
  • #25
  • 6-3 | 182 lb
  • Fort Worth, TX

CFB Zeitgeist Score

41

Mid-pack in the position cohort. Carried by passes defended at the 96th percentile.

Heisman Heat

#11587

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

Identity & Role

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

PositionCB
Class2
Jersey25
Measurements6-3 | 182 lb
HometownFort Worth, TX
Primary teamBaylor

Recruiting Pedigree

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

Top pedigree 4-star No. 335 recruit
Composite rating 0.8997 HighSchool
Signed with Baylor 2023
Origin Timber Creek Keller, TX, USA
Class Profile Context
2023 4-star | 0.8997 No. 335 recruit | HighSchool | Baylor

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#11587Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#11723Where 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 Baylor

Composite

0.8997

#335 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 Levar Thornton Jr.

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 Levar Thornton Jr.

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 11g
27Tackles
0.5Tackles for loss
0Sacks
Per game
2Tackles
0Tackles for loss
0Sacks
Projected (13g)
32Tackles
0.6Tackles for loss
0Sacks

To hit 80-tackle season (currently 27): needs 26.5/game over remaining 2.

To hit 100-tackle season (currently 27): needs 36.5/game over remaining 2.

To hit 6-sack season (currently 0): needs 3/game over remaining 2.

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

Why this is a rare defensive case

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

Levar Thornton Jr. is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on Baylor's defense, with 0.0 sacks, 0.5 tackles for loss, and 1 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 #11587 0.0% win | 0.0% finalist
Role load -- Role share still loading
Profile quirk Blue-chip pedigree No. 335 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 27 20 solo | #1543/4942 (69th pct)
TFL 0.5 Backfield disruption | #2658/4972 (47th 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 against FBS defenders.

Coverage splash

2025 Season · Final

2025 season snapshot | final

Tackling & Disruption

TOT
27 69th
SOLO
20 78th
TFL
0.5 47th
SACK
0.0 65th

Coverage & Takeaways

PD
7 96th
INT
1 65th

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 11 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppTKLSOLOTFLSACKINTPDNote
Wk 1L 24-38vs Auburn220.00.00
Wk 2W 48-45@ SMU110.00.00
Wk 3W 42-7vs Samford110.00.011
Wk 4L 24-27vs Arizona State220.00.00
Wk 6W 35-34vs Kansas State320.50.01
Wk 8L 36-42@ TCU330.00.01
Wk 9L 20-41@ Cincinnati950.00.01Season-high 9 tackles
Wk 10W 30-3vs UCF220.00.01
Wk 12L 28-55vs Utah000.00.01
Wk 13L 17-41@ Arizona310.00.01
Wk 14L 24-31vs Houston110.00.00
Total27200.50.017
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

2023Baylor3-9HC: Dave Aranda · Balanced
2024Baylor8-5HC: Dave Aranda · Run-leaning
2025Baylor5-7HC: Dave Aranda · Pass-leaning, fast tempo
SeasonTeam
2025Baylor27200.50.071--
2024Baylor850.00.0--1--
2023Baylor420.00.0------
Career3 loaded seasons39270.50.072--
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 1 0 pick-six TD | #308/869 (65th pct)
Pass breakups 7 Coverage disruption | #85/2184 (96th 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 27 #1543/4942 69th pct Volumevs FBS DEF
Defense TFL 0.5 #2658/4972 47th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Sacks 0.0 #1762/4972 65th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Interceptions 1 #308/869 65th pct Takeawaysvs FBS DEF
Defense Pass breakups 7 #85/2184 96th pct Coveragevs FBS DEF
Defense Solo tackles 20 #1029/4584 78th 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 · 11 games

Home/Road · Win/Loss · Season halves

Home vs Road

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Home7g1.60.10.00.6
Road4g4.00.00.00.8

Win vs Loss

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Wins4g1.80.10.00.8
Losses7g2.90.00.00.6

First half vs Second half

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Weeks 1-75g1.80.10.00.4
Weeks 8+6g3.00.00.00.8

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

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the CB cohort

41Mid-pack
7 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: passes defended (96th). Concern: tackles for loss (18th).

Passes defended#85 / 2975 · 96th pct
7defe
Solo tackles#1029 / 2975 · 64th pct
20defe
Tackles#1543 / 2975 · 47th pct
27defe
Interceptions#304 / 817 · 31st pct
1inte
Sacks#1575 / 2975 · 24th pct
0.0defe
QB hurries#1662 / 2975 · 22nd pct
0defe
Tackles for loss#2332 / 2975 · 18th pct
0.5defe

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 · 7 metrics
Levar Thornton Jr.BaylorTyler MartinMassachusetts· 71% simTahj Ra-ElPurdue· 70% simBrevin HamblinUtah State· 66% sim
Passes defended
96
Jr.
67
Martin
91
Ra-El
98
Hamblin
Solo tackles
64
Jr.
87
Martin
100
Ra-El
99
Hamblin
Tackles
47
Jr.
98
Martin
99
Ra-El
99
Hamblin
Interceptions
31
Jr.
31
Martin
31
Hamblin
Sacks
24
Jr.
24
Martin
24
Ra-El
74
Hamblin
QB hurries
22
Jr.
22
Martin
22
Ra-El
22
Hamblin
Tackles for loss
18
Jr.
63
Martin
56
Ra-El
56
Hamblin

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

Player DNA

The Ball Hawk

Reads the quarterback's eyes and takes the ball away.

CB

His 2025 production profile sits closest to Emmanuel Karnley’s 2025 season.

Emmanuel Karnley

74%match

Virginia · 2025

#2

Emmanuel Karnley

Arizona · 2024

67%
#3

Noah Tumblin

San Diego State · 2021

67%
#4

Ronald Williams Jr.

Michigan State · 2021

70%
#5

Torey Richardson

UTEP · 2021

70%

Matches Emmanuel on

Height
Tackle volume
Weight

Differs from Emmanuel on

Class year (lower)

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Branden Strozier's junior season at Clemson (2025).

Branden Strozier

67%match

Clemson · 2025

#2

Jai Eugene Jr.

Western Kentucky · 2025

65%
#3

DJ Bell

UCF · 2025

65%
#4

Tre'Quon Fegans

Jacksonville State · 2025

65%
#5

Joey Porter Jr.

Penn State · 2022

All-Big TenNFL Rd 2 · Pk 1
59%

Matches Branden on

Class year
Weight
Tackle volume

Differs from Branden on

Height (higher)

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Dave Aranda

Pass share

55.5%

510 pass / 409 run

Plays / game

76.6

12 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

5.0%

417 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Pass-leaning, fast tempo.

Coaching Lineage · 2023–2025

1 coach
2023
Dave Aranda
Baylor
2024
Dave Aranda
Baylor
2025
Dave Aranda
Baylor

Played his entire career under Dave Aranda.

Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster

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

HometownFort Worth, TX
Height6'3"
Weight182 lb
Class2
PositionCB
Jersey25

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 Baylor CB2 #11587 #11723 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | Big 12
2023 Baylor CB2 #15010 #15089 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W19 snapshot | Big 12

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2025 Baylor Big 12 CB 2 No. 25 | 6-3 | 182 lb | Fort Worth, TX
2024 Baylor Big 12 CB 2 No. 25 | 6-3 | 182 lb | Fort Worth, TX
2023 Baylor Big 12 CB 2 No. 25 | 6-3 | 182 lb | Fort Worth, TX