CFB Zeitgeist Score
74
Solid starter in the position cohort. Carried by sacks at the 89th percentile.
Michael Montgomery
Below the discourse floor — the honest stats-only state.
106 TACKLES · 3 SACKS
Where He Ended Up · Transfer
Transferred to Memphis
2025Southern Miss
2026Memphis
LB · SOUTHERN MISS · SUN BELT
Michael Montgomery
- 3
- #17
- 6-4 | 250 lb
- Seattle, WA
Heisman Heat
Awaiting
Not on the live Heisman board this week.
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
—
TOP LB AWARD
Butkus
—
CONSENSUS
All-American
—
Player Standing · 17 rungs
Tier 2 · StarterR06 · Starter
Starter. A locked-in starting role.
Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career Arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
Southern Miss
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Identity & Role
The durable bio layer: position, size, hometown, and roster role.
Recruiting Pedigree
How big the prospect was before college, and whether the later career arc beat that expectation.
| Class | Profile | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 3-star | 0.8317 | No. 1838 recruit | HighSchool | Portland State |
Transfer Arc
Portal movement changes role, context, and perception. This keeps that path in one place.
| Season | Move | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Southern Miss -> Memphis | 3-star | 0.8500 | Immediate |
| 2025 | Portland State -> Southern Miss | 3-star | 0.8300 | Immediate |
Heisman Lens
Where the model places this player relative to the rest of the Heisman field.
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 Portland State
Composite
0.8317
#1838 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
PENDINGThe 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 Michael Montgomery
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 Michael Montgomery
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.
Season Pace · Projection
Where the defensive totals stand
Through 12g
106Tackles
6Tackles for loss
3Sacks
Per game
9Tackles
0.5Tackles for loss
0.2Sacks
Projected (13g)
115Tackles
6.5Tackles for loss
3.2Sacks
✓ Hit 80-tackle season · finished with 106.
✓ Hit 100-tackle season · finished with 106.
To hit 6-sack season (currently 3): needs 3/game over remaining 1.
To hit 10-sack season (currently 3): needs 7/game over remaining 1.
Why this is a rare defensive case
The fast read on the thing that makes this player more than a generic stat line.
Michael Montgomery is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on Southern Miss's defense, with 3.0 sacks, 6.0 tackles for loss, and 2 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.
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
Player identity What kind of player is this?
30-second read
What kind of player is this?
High-disruption defender | Coverage splash | High-volume tackler against FBS defenders.
2025 Season · Final
2025 season snapshot | final
Tackling & Disruption
TOT
106 99th
SOLO
30 89th
TFL
6.0 92nd
SACK
3.0 94th
Coverage & Takeaways
PD
2 64th
INT
2 87th
Game Log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 12 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 17-34vs Mississippi State | 6 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 2.5 TFL |
| Wk 2 | W 38-20vs Jackson State | 8 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 38-22vs App State | 13 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 13 tackles |
| Wk 4 | L 20-30@ Louisiana Tech | 13 | 3 | 1.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 42-25vs Jacksonville State | 9 | 3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 38-35@ Georgia Southern | 9 | 5 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 22-10@ Louisiana | 7 | 4 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 49-21vs UL Monroe | 9 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 27-21@ Arkansas State | 13 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 12 | L 14-41vs Texas State | 10 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | L 18-28vs Troy | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Bowl | L 16-27vs Western Kentucky | 5 | 4 | 2.5 | 1.5 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 106 | 30 | 6.0 | 3.0 | 2 | 2 |
Season-by-season tables Career rows + per-season box score
Traditional history
Traditional Stats
Season rows up top, career context at the bottom.
Season context · Team result + system
2025Southern Miss7-6HC: Charles Huff · Balanced
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Southern Miss | 106 | 30 | 6.0 | 3.0 | 2 | 2 | -- |
| Career | 1 loaded season | 106 | 30 | 6.0 | 3.0 | 2 | 2 | -- |
Advanced layer Usage, value, and context
Advanced metrics second
Advanced Metrics
Usage, value, and opponent-adjusted context.
TFL, sacks, and QB hurries are grouped together because defensive Heisman cases are usually built on visible havoc, not on tackle counts alone.
Pass breakups, interceptions, and forced fumbles matter because national awards voters respond to plays that change possessions and highlight reels.
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.
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.
Open full stat explorer
| Group | Metric | Value | Rank | Pct | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Defense | Total tackles | 106 | #35/4942 | 99th pct | Volumevs FBS DEF |
| Defense | TFL | 6.0 | #406/4972 | 92nd pct | Disruptionvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Sacks | 3.0 | #292/4972 | 94th pct | Disruptionvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Interceptions | 2 | #114/869 | 87th pct | Takeawaysvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Pass breakups | 2 | #792/2184 | 64th pct | Coveragevs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Solo tackles | 30 | #515/4584 | 89th pct | Volumevs FBS DEF |
| Defense | INT return yards | 21 | #301/578 | 48th pct | Takeawaysvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | INT return avg | 10.5 | #354/578 | 39th pct | Takeawaysvs 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
Status—Awaiting tracker
The Butkus 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 · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home8g | 8.0 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| Road4g | 10.5 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.2 |
Win vs Loss
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wins7g | 9.7 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
| Losses5g | 7.6 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 9.0 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.1 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 8.6 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
Pocket and defense-quality (clean vs. pressure) splits are coming soon.
Savant · Box-rate percentiles
Where this profile ranks vs the LB cohort
74Solid starter
Elite: tackles (98th). Strength: sacks (88th). Concern: qb hurries (22nd).
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.
Advanced Savant · LB · 2025
Percentile Card
Advanced opponent-adjusted percentile bars are coming soon for this player.
P4G5All FBS
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
Michael MontgomerySouthern MissOwen LongColorado State· 87% simJonJon VaughnsUCLA· 86% simNick AndersenWake Forest· 85% sim
Tackles
Sacks
Tackles for loss
Solo tackles
Interceptions
Passes defended
QB hurries
Closest peers by overall box-score percentile profile at the same position.
Player DNA
The Every-Down Linebacker
Leads the team in tackles and rarely leaves the field.
LB
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Jaheim Thomas’s 2023 season.
Jaheim Thomas
74%match
#2
Kendal Daniels
All-Big 12NFL Rd 4
73%
#3
Jack Campbell
72%
#4
Danny Stutsman
Consensus All-AmericanNFL Rd 4
69%
#5
Jake Golday
NFL Rd 2 · Pk 19
68%
Matches Jaheim on
Sack rate
PD rate
Class year
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Daniel Wingate's junior season at Maryland (2025).
Daniel Wingate
81%match
#2
David Ugwoegbu
74%
#3
Easton Gibbs
72%
#4
Maverick Baranowski
72%
#5
Jihaad Campbell
NFL Rd 1 · Pk 31
72%
Matches Daniel on
TFL rate
Tackle volume
Sack rate
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Charles Huff
Pass share
49.9%
454 pass / 456 run
Plays / game
70.0
13 games
OL sack rate (allowed)
6.3%
315 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Coaching Lineage · 2025
1 coach2025
Charles Huff
Southern Miss
Played his entire career under Charles Huff.
Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster
Off-field context — switch tabs to drill into recruit profile, transfer arc, or roster timeline.
HometownSeattle, WA
Height6'4"
Weight250 lb
Class3
PositionLB
Jersey17
No fields populated yet.
No fields populated yet.
Current teamSouthern Miss
ConferenceSun Belt
Joined2025
Career arc1 season(s)
Trophy Case · Detail
Every honor on the ledger, broken out by stream and selector.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This player hasn’t appeared on a Heisman ballot tracked by the model. | |||||||||
Roster Timeline
Team, conference, and class by season.
| Season | Team | Conference | Pos | Class | Bio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Southern Miss | Sun Belt | LB | 3 | No. 17 | 6-4 | 250 lb | Seattle, WA |