cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Bangally Kamara /Kansas

Bangally Kamara

LB · Kansas · Sr · #1

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

54 TACKLES · 1 SACKS

2026 RETURNINGReturning to Kansas for 2026

2026 Outlook

Returning to Kansas for 2026

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Linebacker · Kansas

Returning around him

  • 41% of 2024 offensive production back (Moderate turnover)
  • 2 Kansas players drafted to NFL
  • Transfer portal: +5 net (31 in / 26 out)

2026 Award watch

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

Kansas · Last season: 5-7 · Talent rank #48 · 2026 recruiting class #72

LB · KANSAS · BIG 12

Bangally Kamara

  • 4
  • #1
  • 6-2 | 235 lb
  • Akron, OH

CFB Zeitgeist Score

77

All-Conference in the position cohort. Carried by tackles for loss at the 94th percentile.

Heisman Heat

#8277

<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
★★★
#579 national
CFB
College
2 teams
2021–2025
NFL
NFL Draft
Not drafted (yet)

Identity & Role

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

PositionLB
Class4
Jersey1
Measurements6-2 | 235 lb
HometownAkron, OH
Primary teamKansas

Recruiting Pedigree

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

Top pedigree 3-star No. 579 recruit
Composite rating 0.8763 HighSchool
Signed with -- 2020
Origin East Akron, OH, USA
Class Profile Context
2020 3-star | 0.8763 No. 579 recruit | HighSchool

Transfer Arc

Portal movement changes role, context, and perception. This keeps that path in one place.

Portal moves 2 Programs changed on file
Latest destination Kansas 2025
Transfer stars 3-star CFBD transfer rating context
Eligibility Immediate Oct 8, 2024
Season Move Context
2025 South Carolina -> Kansas 3-star | 0.8700 | Immediate
2024 Pittsburgh -> South Carolina 3-star | 0.8900 | Immediate

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#8277Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#8042Where 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 —

Composite

0.8763

#579 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 Bangally Kamara

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 Bangally Kamara

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
54Tackles
8.5Tackles for loss
1Sacks
Per game
5Tackles
0.8Tackles for loss
0.1Sacks
Projected (13g)
64Tackles
10Tackles for loss
1.2Sacks

To hit 80-tackle season (currently 54): needs 13/game over remaining 2.

To hit 100-tackle season (currently 54): needs 23/game over remaining 2.

To hit 6-sack season (currently 1): needs 2.5/game over remaining 2.

To hit 10-sack season (currently 1): needs 4.5/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.

Bangally Kamara is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on Kansas's defense, with 1.0 sacks, 8.5 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 #8277 0.0% win | 0.0% finalist
Role load -- Role share still loading
Profile quirk Transfer path 2 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 54 35 solo | #500/4942 (90th pct)
TFL 8.5 Backfield disruption | #175/4972 (97th 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 | Coverage splash | High-volume tackler against FBS defenders.

High-disruption defenderCoverage splashHigh-volume tackler

2025 Season · Final

2025 season snapshot | final

Tackling & Disruption

TOT
54 90th
SOLO
35 92nd
TFL
8.5 97th
SACK
1.0 82nd
QBH
1 44th

Coverage & Takeaways

PD
4 84th

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 11 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppTKLSOLOTFLSACKINTPDNote
Wk 1W 31-7vs Fresno State442.01.00
Wk 2L 31-42@ Missouri942.00.01Season-high 9 tackles
Wk 4W 41-10vs West Virginia320.00.00
Wk 5L 34-37vs Cincinnati310.50.00
Wk 6W 27-20@ UCF430.00.00
Wk 7L 17-42@ Texas Tech443.00.013.0 TFL
Wk 9L 17-42vs Kansas State520.00.01
Wk 10W 38-21vs Oklahoma State871.00.00
Wk 11L 20-24@ Arizona220.00.00
Wk 13L 14-38@ Iowa State830.00.00
Wk 14L 21-31vs Utah430.00.01
Total54358.51.04
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

2021Pittsburgh11-2HC: Pat Narduzzi · Balanced, fast tempo
2022Pittsburgh9-4HC: Pat Narduzzi · Run-leaning
2023Pittsburgh3-9HC: Pat Narduzzi · Balanced, slow tempo
2025Kansas5-7HC: Lance Leipold · Run-leaning
SeasonTeam
2025Kansas54358.51.04----
2023Pittsburgh53236.52.01----
2022Pittsburgh42251.51.081--
2021Pittsburgh1061.01.0------
Career4 loaded seasons1598917.55.0131--
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 4 Coverage disruption | #340/2184 (84th pct)
QB pressures 1 Quarterback hurries | #1051/1878 (44th pct)
Open full stat explorer
0 metrics visible Showing all metrics
Group Metric Value Rank Pct Why it matters
Defense Total tackles 54 #500/4942 90th pct Volumevs FBS DEF
Defense TFL 8.5 #175/4972 97th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Sacks 1.0 #872/4972 82nd pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Pass breakups 4 #340/2184 84th pct Coveragevs FBS DEF
Defense QB hurries 1 #1051/1878 44th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Solo tackles 35 #353/4584 92nd 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 · 11 games

Home/Road · Win/Loss · Season halves

Home vs Road

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Home6g4.50.60.20.3
Road5g5.41.00.00.4

Win vs Loss

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Wins4g4.80.80.20.0
Losses7g5.00.80.00.6

First half vs Second half

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Weeks 1-76g4.51.20.20.3
Weeks 8+5g5.40.20.00.4

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

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the LB cohort

77All-Conference
6 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: tackles for loss (93rd). Strength: solo tackles (87th).

Tackles for loss#175 / 2975 · 94th pct
8.5defe
Solo tackles#353 / 2975 · 88th pct
35defe
Passes defended#340 / 2975 · 86th pct
4defe
Tackles#500 / 2975 · 83rd pct
54defe
Sacks#847 / 2975 · 63rd pct
1.0defe
QB hurries#1007 / 2975 · 55th pct
1defe

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
Bangally KamaraKansasKeaton ThomasBaylor· 91% simJacob RodriguezTexas Tech· 91% simJordan StringerTroy· 88% sim
Tackles for loss
94
Kamara
90
Thomas
96
Rodriguez
98
Stringer
Solo tackles
88
Kamara
99
Thomas
99
Rodriguez
96
Stringer
Passes defended
86
Kamara
78
Thomas
94
Rodriguez
86
Stringer
Tackles
83
Kamara
98
Thomas
100
Rodriguez
100
Stringer
Sacks
63
Kamara
63
Thomas
63
Rodriguez
85
Stringer
QB hurries
55
Kamara
55
Thomas
55
Rodriguez
55
Stringer

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

Player DNA

The Thumper

Downhill striker who fills the run lane and blitzes off the edge.

LB

His 2025 production profile sits closest to Riley Wilson’s 2025 season.

Riley Wilson

81%match

Arizona · 2025

#2

Lance Dixon

Toledo · 2024

76%
#3

Elijah Herring

Memphis · 2024

73%
#4

Jamal Ligon

UTSA · 2024

72%
#5

Jontrey Hunter

Georgia State · 2021

72%

Matches Riley on

TFL rate
Tackle volume
PD rate

Differs from Riley on

Sack rate (lower)

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Lance Leipold

Pass share

45.1%

344 pass / 419 run

Plays / game

63.6

12 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

6.1%

293 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Run-leaning.

Coaching Lineage · 2021–2025

1 coach
2021
Lance Leipold
Kansas
2022
Lance Leipold
Kansas
2023
Lance Leipold
Kansas
2025
Lance Leipold
Kansas

Played his entire career under Lance Leipold.

Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster

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

HometownAkron, OH
Height6'2"
Weight235 lb
Class4
PositionLB
Jersey1

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 South Carolina LB4 #8277 #8042 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | SEC
2023 Pittsburgh LB4 #7502 #8600 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W19 snapshot | ACC
2022 Pittsburgh LB4 #6563 #6952 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | ACC
2021 Pittsburgh LB4 #6418 #6552 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | ACC

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2025 Kansas Big 12 LB 4 No. 1 | 6-2 | 235 lb | Akron, OH
2024 South Carolina SEC LB 4 No. 1 | 6-2 | 235 lb | Akron, OH
2023 Pittsburgh ACC LB 4 No. 1 | 6-2 | 235 lb | Akron, OH
2022 Pittsburgh ACC LB 4 No. 1 | 6-2 | 235 lb | Akron, OH
2021 Pittsburgh ACC LB 4 No. 1 | 6-2 | 235 lb | Akron, OH