cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Demello Jones /Georgia

Demello Jones

DB · Georgia · So · #15

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

24 TACKLES · 0 SACKS

2026 RETURNINGReturning to Georgia for 2026

2026 Outlook

Returning to Georgia for 2026

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Defensive back · Georgia

Returning around him

  • 37% of 2024 offensive production back (Moderate turnover)
  • 8 Georgia players drafted to NFL
  • Transfer portal: -7 net (9 in / 16 out)

2026 Award watch

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

Georgia · Last season: 12-2 (AP #2) · Talent rank #1 · 2026 recruiting class #2

DB · GEORGIA · SEC

Demello Jones

  • 2
  • #15
  • 6-1 | 185 lb
  • Swainsboro, GA

CFB Zeitgeist Score

40

Mid-pack in the position cohort. Carried by passes defended at the 91st percentile.

Heisman Heat

#6416

<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 2 · Starter

R06 · Starter

Starter. A locked-in starting role.

Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Career Arc

HS
Recruit
★★★★
#50 national
CFB
College
Georgia
2024–2025
NFL
NFL Draft
Not drafted (yet)

Identity & Role

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

PositionDB
Class2
Jersey15
Measurements6-1 | 185 lb
HometownSwainsboro, GA
Primary teamGeorgia

Recruiting Pedigree

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

Top pedigree 4-star No. 50 recruit
Composite rating 0.9763 HighSchool
Signed with Georgia 2024
Origin Swainsboro Swainsboro, GA, USA
Class Profile Context
2024 4-star | 0.9763 No. 50 recruit | HighSchool | Georgia

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#6416Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#6202Where 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 Georgia

Composite

0.9763

#50 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 Demello Jones

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 Demello Jones

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
24Tackles
0.5Tackles for loss
0Sacks
Per game
2Tackles
0Tackles for loss
0Sacks
Projected (13g)
28Tackles
0.6Tackles for loss
0Sacks

To hit 80-tackle season (currently 24): needs 28/game over remaining 2.

To hit 100-tackle season (currently 24): needs 38/game over remaining 2.

To hit 6-sack season (currently 0): needs 3/game over remaining 2.

To hit 10-sack season (currently 0): needs 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.

Demello Jones is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on Georgia's defense, with 0.0 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 #6416 0.0% win | 0.0% finalist
Role load -- Role share still loading
Profile quirk Blue-chip pedigree No. 50 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 24 19 solo | #1737/4942 (65th pct)
TFL 0.5 Backfield disruption | #2658/4972 (47th pct)
Sacks 0.0 Pass-rush finish | #1762/4972 (65th pct)
Player identity What kind of player is this?

30-second read

What kind of player is this?

Coverage splash against FBS defenders.

Coverage splash

2025 Season · Final

2025 season snapshot | final

Tackling & Disruption

TOT
24 65th
SOLO
19 76th
TFL
0.5 47th
SACK
0.0 65th

Coverage & Takeaways

PD
5 90th

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 11 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppTKLSOLOTFLSACKINTPDNote
Wk 1W 45-7vs Marshall110.00.00
Wk 2W 28-6vs Austin Peay220.00.00
Wk 5L 21-24vs Alabama210.00.01
Wk 6W 35-14vs Kentucky220.00.00
Wk 7W 20-10@ Auburn420.00.00Season-high 4 tackles
Wk 8W 43-35vs Ole Miss330.00.02
Wk 10W 24-20@ Florida320.00.00
Wk 12W 35-10vs Texas430.50.01
Wk 13W 35-3vs Charlotte110.00.01
Wk 15W 28-7@ Alabama110.00.00
BowlL 34-39vs Ole Miss110.00.00
Total24190.50.05
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

2024Georgia11-3HC: Kirby Smart · Pass-leaning
2025Georgia12-2HC: Kirby Smart · Run-leaning
SeasonTeam
2025Georgia24190.50.05----
2024Georgia110.00.0------
Career2 loaded seasons25200.50.05----
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 5 Coverage disruption | #218/2184 (90th 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 24 #1737/4942 65th pct Volumevs FBS DEF
Defense TFL 0.5 #2658/4972 47th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Sacks 0.0 #1762/4972 65th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Pass breakups 5 #218/2184 90th pct Coveragevs FBS DEF
Defense Solo tackles 19 #1095/4584 76th 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 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 · 11 games

Home/Road · Win/Loss · Season halves

Home vs Road

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Home8g2.00.10.00.6
Road3g2.70.00.00.0

Win vs Loss

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Wins9g2.30.10.00.4
Losses2g1.50.00.00.5

First half vs Second half

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Weeks 1-76g2.00.00.00.2
Weeks 8+5g2.40.10.00.8

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

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the DB cohort

40Mid-pack
6 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: passes defended (90th). Concern: tackles for loss (18th).

Passes defended#218 / 2975 · 91st pct
5defe
Solo tackles#1095 / 2975 · 62nd pct
19defe
Tackles#1737 / 2975 · 40th pct
24defe
Sacks#1575 / 2975 · 24th pct
0.0defe
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 · DB · 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
Demello JonesGeorgiaTahj Ra-ElPurdue· 68% simTyler MartinMassachusetts· 67% simDalton JohnsonArizona· 66% sim
Passes defended
91
Jones
91
Ra-El
67
Martin
96
Johnson
Solo tackles
62
Jones
100
Ra-El
87
Martin
97
Johnson
Tackles
40
Jones
99
Ra-El
98
Martin
98
Johnson
Sacks
24
Jones
24
Ra-El
24
Martin
63
Johnson
QB hurries
22
Jones
22
Ra-El
22
Martin
22
Johnson
Tackles for loss
18
Jones
56
Ra-El
63
Martin
47
Johnson

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 Maxwell Hairston’s 2024 season.

Maxwell Hairston

86%match

Kentucky · 2024

NFL Rd 1 · Pk 30
#2

Vicari Swain

South Carolina · 2025

80%
#3

Jadon Rucker-Furlow

Miami (OH) · 2021

76%
#4

Jamare Glasker

Maryland · 2025

76%
#5

Kool-Aid McKinstry

Alabama · 2023

1st-team All-AmericanNFL Rd 2 · Pk 9
75%

Matches Maxwell on

Height
PD rate
Class year

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Dezz Ricks's sophomore season at Texas A&M (2025).

Dezz Ricks

90%match

Texas A&M · 2025

#2

Brandon Nicholson

Stanford · 2025

85%
#3

Smiley Bradford

Purdue · 2025

82%
#4

Ethan O'Connor

Miami · 2025

80%
#5

Leonard Moore

Notre Dame · 2025

Consensus All-American
79%

Matches Dezz on

Class year
Height
Weight

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Kirby Smart

Pass share

42.5%

417 pass / 565 run

Plays / game

70.1

14 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

6.2%

290 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Run-leaning.

Coaching Lineage · 2024–2025

1 coach
2024
Kirby Smart
Georgia
2025
Kirby Smart
Georgia

Played his entire career under Kirby Smart.

Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster

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

HometownSwainsboro, GA
Height6'1"
Weight185 lb
Class2
PositionDB
Jersey15

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 Georgia DB2 #6416 #6202 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | SEC

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2025 Georgia SEC DB 2 No. 15 | 6-1 | 185 lb | Swainsboro, GA
2024 Georgia SEC DB 2 No. 15 | 6-1 | 185 lb | Swainsboro, GA