cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Chatavies Johnson /Sam Houston

Chatavies Johnson

LB · Sam Houston · Sr · #8

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

41 TACKLES · 0.5 SACKS

2026 RETURNINGReturning to Sam Houston for 2026

2026 Outlook

Returning to Sam Houston for 2026

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Linebacker · Sam Houston

Returning around him

  • 90% of 2024 offensive production back (Strong continuity)
  • Transfer portal: +5 net (20 in / 15 out)

2026 Award watch

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

Sam Houston · Last season: 2-10 · Talent rank #123 · 2026 recruiting class #122

LB · SAM HOUSTON · CONFERENCE USA

Chatavies Johnson

  • 4
  • #8
  • 6-0 | 230 lb
  • Little Elm, TX

CFB Zeitgeist Score

43

Mid-pack in the position cohort. Carried by sacks at the 51st percentile.

Heisman Heat

#11080

<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 1 · 2-deep

R04 · Rotational

Rotational. Earning real snaps in the rotation.

Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Career Arc

HS
Recruit
No recruit profile
CFB
College
Sam Houston
2025
NFL
NFL Draft
Not drafted (yet)

Heisman futures · live sportsbook odds

#29 in market ▼ from #23 · 5 books

+35002.8% implied▲ tightened from +6600

Identity & Role

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

PositionLB
Class4
Jersey8
Measurements6-0 | 230 lb
HometownLittle Elm, TX
Primary teamSam Houston

Recruiting Pedigree

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

Top pedigree Not on file No matched recruiting profile in the loaded archive
Composite rating -- Composite rating unavailable for this player
Signed with -- Commitment history unavailable
Origin -- Hometown and high school unavailable
Class Profile Context
No recruiting profile is on file for this player.

Transfer Arc

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

Portal moves 1 Programs changed on file
Latest destination Sam Houston 2024
Transfer stars 3-star CFBD transfer rating context
Eligibility Immediate Apr 24, 2024
Season Move Context
2024 Memphis -> Sam Houston 3-star | 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#11080Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#10907Where 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.

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 Chatavies Johnson

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 Chatavies Johnson

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 10g
41Tackles
0.5Tackles for loss
0.5Sacks
Per game
4Tackles
0.1Tackles for loss
0.1Sacks
Projected (13g)
53Tackles
0.7Tackles for loss
0.7Sacks

To hit 80-tackle season (currently 41): needs 13/game over remaining 3.

To hit 100-tackle season (currently 41): needs 19.7/game over remaining 3.

To hit 6-sack season (currently 0.5): needs 1.8/game over remaining 3.

To hit 10-sack season (currently 0.5): needs 3.2/game over remaining 3.

Why this is a rare defensive case

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

Chatavies Johnson is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on Sam Houston's defense, with 0.5 sacks, 0.5 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 #11080 0.0% win | 0.0% finalist
Role load -- Role share still loading
Profile quirk Transfer path 1 portal move

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 41 18 solo | #872/4942 (82nd pct)
TFL 0.5 Backfield disruption | #2658/4972 (47th pct)
Sacks 0.5 Pass-rush finish | #1501/4972 (70th pct)
Player identity What kind of player is this?

30-second read

What kind of player is this?

High-volume tackler against FBS defenders.

High-volume tackler

2025 Season · Final

2025 season snapshot | final

Tackling & Disruption

TOT
41 82nd
SOLO
18 74th
TFL
0.5 47th
SACK
0.5 70th

Coverage & Takeaways

PD
1 43rd

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 10 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppTKLSOLOTFLSACKINTPDNote
Wk 1L 24-41@ Western Kentucky840.00.00Season-high 8 tackles
Wk 1L 21-38vs UNLV110.00.00Season-high 8 tackles
Wk 2L 20-37@ Hawai'i810.00.00
Wk 4L 0-55@ Texas320.00.00
Wk 6L 10-37@ New Mexico State200.00.00
Wk 7L 27-29vs Jacksonville State110.00.00
Wk 8L 17-35vs UTEP610.00.00
Wk 11W 21-17@ Oregon State750.00.00
Wk 12W 26-23vs Delaware110.00.00
Wk 14L 16-56vs Florida International420.50.51
Total41180.50.51
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

2025Sam Houston2-10HC: Phil Longo · Balanced
SeasonTeam
2025Sam Houston41180.50.51----
Career1 loaded season41180.50.51----
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 1 Coverage disruption | #1241/2184 (43rd 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 41 #872/4942 82nd pct Volumevs FBS DEF
Defense TFL 0.5 #2658/4972 47th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Sacks 0.5 #1501/4972 70th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Pass breakups 1 #1241/2184 43rd pct Coveragevs FBS DEF
Defense Solo tackles 18 #1178/4584 74th pct Volumevs FBS DEF
Defense Fumbles recovered 1 #103/736 86th pct Takeawaysvs 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.

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 · 10 games

Home/Road · Win/Loss · Season halves

Home vs Road

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Home5g2.60.10.10.2
Road5g5.60.00.00.0

Win vs Loss

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Wins2g4.00.00.00.0
Losses8g4.10.10.10.1

First half vs Second half

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Weeks 1-76g3.80.00.00.0
Weeks 8+4g4.50.10.10.2

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

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the LB cohort

43Mid-pack
7 metrics · season cumulative

Concern: tackles for loss (18th).

Tackles#872 / 2975 · 70th pct
41defe
Solo tackles#1178 / 2975 · 59th pct
18defe
Sacks#1367 / 2975 · 51st pct
0.5defe
Passes defended#1191 / 2975 · 48th pct
1defe
Forced fumbles#36 / 687 · 47th pct
0fumb
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 · 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 · 7 metrics
Chatavies JohnsonSam HoustonTyler MartinMassachusetts· 74% simDalton JohnsonArizona· 72% simTahj Ra-ElPurdue· 70% sim
Tackles
70
Johnson
98
Martin
98
Johnson
99
Ra-El
Solo tackles
59
Johnson
87
Martin
97
Johnson
100
Ra-El
Sacks
51
Johnson
24
Martin
63
Johnson
24
Ra-El
Passes defended
48
Johnson
67
Martin
96
Johnson
91
Ra-El
Forced fumbles
47
Johnson
47
Martin
47
Johnson
47
Ra-El
QB hurries
22
Johnson
22
Martin
22
Johnson
22
Ra-El
Tackles for loss
18
Johnson
63
Martin
47
Johnson
56
Ra-El

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

Player DNA

The Balanced Linebacker

Solid in every phase without a signature dimension.

LB

His 2025 production profile sits closest to Kendrick Blackshire’s 2025 season.

Kendrick Blackshire

84%match

UTSA · 2025

#2

Calvin Pitcher

UAB · 2025

83%
#3

Jianni Woodson-Brooks

Navy · 2022

82%
#4

Jackson Barrow

Toledo · 2021

82%
#5

Ryan Meed

Illinois · 2024

81%

Matches Kendrick on

PD rate
Tackle volume
TFL rate

Differs from Kendrick on

Height (lower)

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Jackson Barrow's sophomore season at Toledo (2021).

Jackson Barrow

93%match

Toledo · 2021

#2

Eddie Smith

Arkansas State · 2023

86%
#3

Anthony Switzer

Arkansas State · 2021

86%
#4

Lakia Henry

Ole Miss · 2021

86%
#5

Jianni Woodson-Brooks

Navy · 2022

86%

Matches Jackson on

Class year
Height
Weight

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Phil Longo

Pass share

51.3%

388 pass / 368 run

Plays / game

63.0

12 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

11.1%

324 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Balanced.

Coaching Lineage · 2025

1 coach
2025
Phil Longo
Sam Houston

Played his entire career under Phil Longo.

Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster

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

HometownLittle Elm, TX
Height6'0"
Weight230 lb
Class4
PositionLB
Jersey8

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 Sam Houston LB4 #11080 #10907 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | Conference USA
2023 Memphis LB4 #12857 #12545 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W19 snapshot | American Athletic

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2025 Sam Houston Conference USA LB 4 No. 8 | 6-0 | 230 lb | Little Elm, TX
2024 Sam Houston Conference USA LB 4 No. 8 | 6-0 | 230 lb | Little Elm, TX
2023 Memphis American Athletic LB 4 No. 8 | 6-0 | 230 lb | Little Elm, TX