CFB Zeitgeist Score
61
Solid starter in the position cohort. Carried by interceptions at the 90th percentile.
Will James
Below the discourse floor — the honest stats-only state.
39 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
2026 Outlook
Returning to Houston for 2026
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Defensive back · Houston
Returning around him
- 105% of 2024 offensive production back (Strong continuity)
- 1 Houston player drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: +2 net (18 in / 16 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Houston · Last season: 10-3 (AP #25) · Talent rank #66 · 2026 recruiting class #52
DB · HOUSTON · BIG 12
Will James
- 2
- #15
- 6-0 | 185 lb
- Grand Bay, AL
Heisman Heat
#15618
<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 1 · 2-deepR04 · Rotational
Rotational. Earning real snaps in the rotation.
Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career Arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
Houston
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 | 0.8437 | No. 1596 recruit | HighSchool | Mississippi State |
Transfer Arc
Portal movement changes role, context, and perception. This keeps that path in one place.
| 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 16Heisman Futures
Not yet listed on major futures markets.
No achievements unlocked yet this season.
Selector Grid · 2025
AP—
FWAA—
AFCA—
WCFF—
SN—
SI—
NIL · Recruiting · NFL Draft
Market value, pedigree & pro outcome
Recruit stars
★★★☆☆
to Mississippi State
Composite
0.8437
#1596 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 Will James
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 Will James
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
39Tackles
4Tackles for loss
0Sacks
Per game
3Tackles
0.3Tackles for loss
0Sacks
Projected (13g)
42Tackles
4.3Tackles for loss
0Sacks
To hit 80-tackle season (currently 39): needs 41/game over remaining 1.
To hit 100-tackle season (currently 39): needs 61/game over remaining 1.
To hit 6-sack season (currently 0): needs 6/game over remaining 1.
To hit 10-sack season (currently 0): needs 10/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.
Will James is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on Houston's defense, with 0.0 sacks, 4.0 tackles for loss, and 3 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
39 81st
SOLO
32 90th
TFL
4.0 85th
SACK
0.0 65th
Coverage & Takeaways
PD
5 90th
INT
3 94th
Game Log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 12 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 27-0vs Stephen F. Austin | 4 | 2 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 6 tackles |
| Wk 2 | W 35-9@ Rice | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 36-20vs Colorado | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 27-24@ Oregon State | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 11-35vs Texas Tech | 4 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 31-28vs Arizona | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 24-16@ Arizona State | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 10 | L 35-45vs West Virginia | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 30-27@ UCF | 4 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 13 | L 14-17vs TCU | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | W 31-24@ Baylor | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Bowl | W 38-35vs LSU | 6 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 39 | 32 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 3 | 5 |
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
2025Houston10-3HC: Willie Fritz · Run-leaning
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Houston | 39 | 32 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 5 | 3 | -- |
| Career | 1 loaded season | 39 | 32 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 5 | 3 | -- |
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 | 39 | #937/4942 | 81st pct | Volumevs FBS DEF |
| Defense | TFL | 4.0 | #738/4972 | 85th pct | Disruptionvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Sacks | 0.0 | #1762/4972 | 65th pct | Disruptionvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Interceptions | 3 | #56/869 | 94th pct | Takeawaysvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Pass breakups | 5 | #218/2184 | 90th pct | Coveragevs FBS DEF |
| Defense | INT return yards | 37 | #167/578 | 71st pct | Takeawaysvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Solo tackles | 32 | #448/4584 | 90th pct | Volumevs FBS DEF |
| Defense | INT return avg | 12.3 | #323/578 | 44th pct | Takeawaysvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Defensive TD | 1 | #23/200 | 89th pct | Scoringvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Fumbles recovered | 1 | #103/736 | 86th pct | Takeawaysvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Pick-six TD | 1 | #13/119 | 90th pct | Scoringvs 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.
ALL-CONF HM
On-team2-deepStartingRecognizedEliteApex
ALL-CONF HM · Rung 9 of 16
Why he’s here
All-Conference honorable mention / 2nd team — the recognition has started.
What moves him up
A best-at-position run lifts to 1st team.
What moves him down
A back-end conference finish drops out of the honor list.
Accolade streams
Status—Awaiting 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 · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 3.4 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Road5g | 3.0 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.8 |
Win vs Loss
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wins9g | 3.1 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.6 |
| Losses3g | 3.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 3.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 3.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.7 |
Pocket and defense-quality (clean vs. pressure) splits are coming soon.
Savant · Box-rate percentiles
Where this profile ranks vs the DB cohort
61Solid starter
Elite: passes defended (90th). Strength: interceptions (89th). Concern: qb hurries (22nd).
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.
Advanced Savant · DB · 2024
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
Will JamesHoustonTahj Ra-ElPurdue· 85% simAhmaad MosesSMU· 81% simTy BenefieldBoise State· 80% sim
Passes defended
Interceptions
Solo tackles
Tackles for loss
Tackles
Forced fumbles
Sacks
QB hurries
Closest peers by overall box-score percentile profile at the same position.
Player DNA
The Centerfielder
Single-high range who erases the deep middle of the field.
S
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Javion White’s 2025 season.
Javion White
87%match
#2
Jaden Mickey
84%
#3
Ennis Rakestraw Jr.
NFL Rd 2 · Pk 29
83%
#4
Caelen Carson
NFL Rd 5
80%
#5
Korey Johnson
79%
Matches Javion on
Class year
Height
PD rate
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Javion White's sophomore season at Tulane (2025).
Javion White
90%match
#2
Korey Johnson
84%
#3
Andrew Booth
80%
#4
Jordan Shaw
77%
#5
Jackson Vick
76%
Matches Javion on
Class year
Height
PD rate
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Willie Fritz
Pass share
41.4%
377 pass / 534 run
Plays / game
70.1
13 games
OL sack rate (allowed)
6.5%
262 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Coaching Lineage · 2025
1 coach2025
Willie Fritz
Houston
Played his entire career under Willie Fritz.
Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster
Off-field context — switch tabs to drill into recruit profile, transfer arc, or roster timeline.
HometownGrand Bay, AL
Height6'0"
Weight185 lb
Class2
PositionDB
Jersey15
No fields populated yet.
No fields populated yet.
Current teamHouston
ConferenceBig 12
Joined2025
Career arc3 season(s)
Trophy Case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
🎖
ALL-CONFERENCE
All-Conf mention (2025)
All-Big 12
Trophy Case · Detail
Every honor on the ledger, broken out by stream and selector.
1 all-conference honor
Conference-level recognition helps anchor whether a player is merely statistically loud or actually viewed as elite within his competitive lane.
Honors Timeline
Season-end distinction and week-by-week recognition on one timeline.
| Season | Honor | Scope | Team / Selector | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | All-Big 12 | all_conference | Houston | Big 12 | DB |
Heisman By Year
Modeled rank and official finish by season.
| Season | Team | Role | Latest Model | Forecast | Win | Finalist | Official Finish | Points | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Southern Miss | DB2 | #15618 | #15713 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W16 snapshot | Sun Belt |
| 2023 | Mississippi State | DB2 | #13123 | #12996 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W19 snapshot | SEC |
Roster Timeline
Team, conference, and class by season.
| Season | Team | Conference | Pos | Class | Bio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Houston | Big 12 | DB | 2 | No. 15 | 6-0 | 185 lb | Grand Bay, AL |
| 2024 | Southern Miss | Sun Belt | DB | 2 | No. 15 | 6-0 | 185 lb | Grand Bay, AL |
| 2023 | Mississippi State | SEC | DB | 2 | No. 15 | 6-0 | 185 lb | Grand Bay, AL |