cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Stephen Dix Jr. /Arkansas

Stephen Dix Jr.

LB · Arkansas · Sr · #14

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

79 TACKLES · 1 SACKS

2026 RETURNINGReturning to Arkansas for 2026

2026 Outlook

Returning to Arkansas for 2026

Updated May 27

2026 Depth chart

Returning starter

Linebacker · Arkansas

Returning around him

  • 36% of 2024 offensive production back (Moderate turnover)
  • 4 Arkansas players drafted to NFL
  • Transfer portal: -2 net (41 in / 43 out)

2026 Award watch

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

Arkansas · Last season: 2-10 · Talent rank #23 · 2026 recruiting class #32

LB · ARKANSAS · SEC

Stephen Dix Jr.

  • 4
  • #14
  • 6-1 | 240 lb
  • Orlando, FL

CFB Zeitgeist Score

57

Solid starter in the position cohort. Carried by tackles for loss at the 73rd percentile.

Heisman Heat

#8053

<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 LB AWARD

Butkus

CONSENSUS

All-American

Player Standing · 17 rungs

Tier 2 · Starter

R06 · Starter

Starter. A locked-in starting role.

Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Career Arc

HS
Recruit
★★★★
#244 national
CFB
College
3 teams
2021–2025
NFL
NFL Draft
Not drafted (yet)

Identity & Role

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

PositionLB
Class4
Jersey14
Measurements6-1 | 240 lb
HometownOrlando, FL
Primary teamArkansas

Recruiting Pedigree

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

Top pedigree 4-star No. 244 recruit
Composite rating 0.9124 HighSchool
Signed with Florida State 2020
Origin Dr. Phillips Orlando, FL, USA
Class Profile Context
2020 4-star | 0.9124 No. 244 recruit | HighSchool | Florida State

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#8053Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#8449Where 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 State

Composite

0.9124

#244 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 Stephen Dix 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 Stephen Dix 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 12g
79Tackles
4Tackles for loss
1Sacks
Per game
7Tackles
0.3Tackles for loss
0.1Sacks
Projected (13g)
86Tackles
4.3Tackles for loss
1.1Sacks

To hit 80-tackle season (currently 79): needs 1/game over remaining 1.

To hit 100-tackle season (currently 79): needs 21/game over remaining 1.

To hit 6-sack season (currently 1): needs 5/game over remaining 1.

To hit 10-sack season (currently 1): needs 9/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.

Stephen Dix Jr. is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on Arkansas's defense, with 1.0 sacks, 4.0 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 #8053 0.0% win | 0.0% finalist
Role load -- Role share still loading
Profile quirk Blue-chip pedigree No. 244 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 79 29 solo | #157/4942 (97th pct)
TFL 4.0 Backfield disruption | #738/4972 (85th pct)
Sacks 1.0 Pass-rush finish | #872/4972 (82nd 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
79 97th
SOLO
29 88th
TFL
4.0 85th
SACK
1.0 82nd

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 12 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppTKLSOLOTFLSACKINTPDNote
Wk 1W 52-7vs Alabama A&M420.50.00
Wk 2W 56-14vs Arkansas State1050.00.00
Wk 3L 35-41@ Ole Miss940.50.00
Wk 4L 31-32@ Memphis330.00.00
Wk 5L 13-56vs Notre Dame700.00.00
Wk 7L 31-34@ Tennessee1111.00.00
Wk 8L 42-45vs Texas A&M311.00.00
Wk 9L 24-33vs Auburn1220.00.00Season-high 12 tackles
Wk 10L 35-38vs Mississippi State320.00.00
Wk 12L 22-23@ LSU751.01.00
Wk 13L 37-52@ Texas530.00.00
Wk 14L 17-31vs Missouri510.00.00
Total79294.01.00
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

2021Florida State5-7HC: Mike Norvell · Run-heavy, slow tempo
2023Marshall6-7HC: Charles Huff · Balanced
2024Arkansas7-6HC: Sam Pittman · Run-leaning
2025Arkansas2-10HC: Sam Pittman · Balanced
SeasonTeam
2025Arkansas79294.01.0------
2024Arkansas70242.52.01----
2023Marshall62287.02.01--1
2021Florida State1450.00.01----
Career4 loaded seasons2258613.55.03--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 0 Quarterback hurries
Open full stat explorer
0 metrics visible Showing all metrics
Group Metric Value Rank Pct Why it matters
Defense Total tackles 79 #157/4942 97th pct Volumevs FBS DEF
Defense TFL 4.0 #738/4972 85th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Sacks 1.0 #872/4972 82nd pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Solo tackles 29 #559/4584 88th 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 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/Road · Win/Loss · Season halves

Home vs Road

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Home7g6.30.20.00.0
Road5g7.00.50.20.0

Win vs Loss

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Wins2g7.00.20.00.0
Losses10g6.50.30.10.0

First half vs Second half

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Weeks 1-76g7.30.30.00.0
Weeks 8+6g5.80.30.20.0

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

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the LB cohort

57Solid starter
6 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: tackles (94th). Strength: solo tackles (80th). Concern: passes defended (17th).

Tackles#157 / 2975 · 95th pct
79defe
Solo tackles#559 / 2975 · 80th pct
29defe
Tackles for loss#736 / 2975 · 73rd pct
4.0defe
Sacks#847 / 2975 · 63rd pct
1.0defe
QB hurries#1662 / 2975 · 22nd pct
0defe
Passes defended#1916 / 2975 · 18th pct
0defe

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

Advanced Savant · LB · 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
Stephen Dix Jr.ArkansasJonJon VaughnsUCLA· 85% simMichael MontgomerySouthern Miss· 77% simJohnny Chaney Jr.Florida International· 76% sim
Tackles
95
Jr.
99
Vaughns
99
Montgomery
99
Jr.
Solo tackles
80
Jr.
96
Vaughns
82
Montgomery
100
Jr.
Tackles for loss
73
Jr.
85
Vaughns
85
Montgomery
91
Jr.
Sacks
63
Jr.
63
Vaughns
89
Montgomery
89
Jr.
QB hurries
22
Jr.
22
Vaughns
22
Montgomery
55
Jr.
Passes defended
18
Jr.
48
Vaughns
67
Montgomery
48
Jr.

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 Malachi Langley’s 2023 season.

Malachi Langley

84%match

Fresno State · 2023

#2

Jerry Roberts

Arizona · 2022

84%
#3

Jordan Brown

North Texas · 2023

83%
#4

TJ Quinn

Louisville · 2024

82%
#5

Landyn Watson

Marshall · 2024

81%

Matches Malachi on

Height
TFL rate
PD rate

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a graduate, his production profile tracks closest to Corey Flagg Jr.'s graduate season at Missouri (2024).

Corey Flagg Jr.

87%match

Missouri · 2024

#2

Nic Mitchell

Mississippi State · 2025

85%
#3

Wayne Matthews III

Michigan State · 2025

All-Sun Belt
84%
#4

Parker McKenna

Washington State · 2025

84%
#5

Alphonzo Tuputala

Washington · 2024

83%

Matches Corey on

Sack rate
TFL rate
Tackle volume

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Sam Pittman

Pass share

48.8%

381 pass / 400 run

Plays / game

65.1

12 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

8.3%

324 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Balanced.

Coaching Lineage · 2021–2025

1 coach
2021
Sam Pittman
Arkansas
2023
Sam Pittman
Arkansas
2024
Sam Pittman
Arkansas
2025
Sam Pittman
Arkansas

Played his entire career under Sam Pittman.

Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster

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

HometownOrlando, FL
Height6'1"
Weight240 lb
Class4
PositionLB
Jersey14

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 Arkansas LB4 #8053 #8449 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | SEC
2023 Marshall LB4 #9066 #9826 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W19 snapshot | Sun Belt
2022 Florida State LB4 #8725 #8195 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | ACC
2021 Florida State LB4 #11462 #11642 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | ACC

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2025 Arkansas SEC LB 4 No. 14 | 6-1 | 240 lb | Orlando, FL
2024 Arkansas SEC LB 4 No. 14 | 6-1 | 240 lb | Orlando, FL
2023 Marshall Sun Belt LB 4 No. 14 | 6-1 | 240 lb | Orlando, FL
2022 Florida State ACC LB 4 No. 14 | 6-1 | 240 lb | Orlando, FL
2021 Florida State ACC LB 4 No. 14 | 6-1 | 240 lb | Orlando, FL