cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Immanuel Bush /James Madison

Immanuel Bush

DL · James Madison · Sr

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

26 TACKLES · 3 SACKS

2026 RETURNINGReturning to James Madison for 2026

2026 Outlook

Returning to James Madison for 2026

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Defensive line · James Madison

Returning around him

  • 78% of 2024 offensive production back (Strong continuity)
  • Transfer portal: +7 net (37 in / 30 out)

2026 Award watch

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

James Madison · Last season: 12-2 (AP #19) · Talent rank #127 · 2026 recruiting class #108

DL · JAMES MADISON · SUN BELT

Immanuel Bush

  • 4
  • 6-1 | 348 lb
  • Lancaster, SC

CFB Zeitgeist Score

68

Solid starter in the position cohort. Carried by sacks at the 89th percentile.

Heisman Heat

#9111

<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 DEFENSE AWARD

Nagurski

CONSENSUS

All-American

Player Standing · 17 rungs

Tier 1 · 2-deep

R03 · Backup

Backup. On the two-deep, pushing for snaps.

Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Career arc · Season-by-season Standing

4 seasons on the ladder

Peak: R09 All-Conference HM / 2nd team · 2025

2020

Marshall · DL

2022

Marshall · DL

2023

James Madison · DL

2025

James Madison · DL

R09 · All-Conference HM / 2nd team

Recognized

Career Arc

HS
Recruit
★★★
#2355 national
CFB
College
2 teams
2020–2025
NFL
NFL Draft
Not drafted (yet)

Identity & Role

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

PositionDL
Class4
Jersey--
Measurements6-1 | 348 lb
HometownLancaster, SC
Primary teamJames Madison

Recruiting Pedigree

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

Top pedigree 3-star No. 2355 recruit
Composite rating 0.8148 HighSchool
Signed with Marshall 2020
Origin Lancaster Lancaster, SC, USA
Class Profile Context
2020 3-star | 0.8148 No. 2355 recruit | HighSchool | Marshall

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 -- 2023
Transfer stars 3-star CFBD transfer rating context
Eligibility Immediate Dec 20, 2022
Season Move Context
2023 Marshall -> -- 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#9111Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#8694Where 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

NIL · Recruiting · NFL Draft

Market value, pedigree & pro outcome

Recruit stars

★★★☆☆

to Marshall

Composite

0.8148

#2355 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 Immanuel Bush

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 Immanuel Bush

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
26Tackles
7Tackles for loss
3Sacks
Per game
3Tackles
0.7Tackles for loss
0.3Sacks
Projected (13g)
34Tackles
9.1Tackles for loss
3.9Sacks

To hit 80-tackle season (currently 26): needs 18/game over remaining 3.

To hit 100-tackle season (currently 26): needs 24.7/game over remaining 3.

To hit 6-sack season (currently 3): needs 1/game over remaining 3.

To hit 10-sack season (currently 3): needs 2.3/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.

Immanuel Bush is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on James Madison's defense, with 3.0 sacks, 7.0 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 #9111 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 26 12 solo | #1609/4942 (67th pct)
TFL 7.0 Backfield disruption | #277/4972 (94th pct)
Sacks 3.0 Pass-rush finish | #292/4972 (94th pct)
Player identity What kind of player is this?

30-second read

What kind of player is this?

High-disruption defender against FBS defenders.

High-disruption defender

2025 Season · Final

2025 season snapshot | final

Tackling & Disruption

TOT
26 67th
SOLO
12 62nd
TFL
7.0 94th
SACK
3.0 94th
QBH
2 66th

Coverage & Takeaways

PD
1 43rd

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 10 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppTKLSOLOTFLSACKINTPDNote
Wk 1W 45-10vs Weber State200.00.00
Wk 2L 14-28@ Louisville422.01.00Season-high 4 tackles
Wk 4W 31-13@ Liberty200.00.00
Wk 5W 35-10vs Georgia Southern211.51.00
Wk 6W 14-7@ Georgia State200.00.00
Wk 7W 24-14vs Louisiana220.00.00
Wk 8W 63-27vs Old Dominion330.00.00
Wk 10W 52-20@ Texas State322.01.01
Wk 11W 35-23@ Marshall211.00.00
Wk 13W 24-20vs Washington State410.50.00
Total26127.03.01
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

2020Marshall7-2HC: Doc Holliday · Run-leaning
2022Marshall9-4HC: Charles Huff · Run-heavy
2023James Madison11-2HC: Damian Wroblewski · Balanced
2025James Madison12-2HC: Bob Chesney · Run-heavy
SeasonTeam
2025James Madison26127.03.01----
2023James Madison1774.50.0------
2022Marshall1532.51.51----
2020Marshall1832.52.0------
Career4 loaded seasons762516.56.52----
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 2 Quarterback hurries | #647/1878 (66th pct)
Open full stat explorer
0 metrics visible Showing all metrics
Group Metric Value Rank Pct Why it matters
Defense Total tackles 26 #1609/4942 67th pct Volumevs FBS DEF
Defense TFL 7.0 #277/4972 94th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Sacks 3.0 #292/4972 94th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Pass breakups 1 #1241/2184 43rd pct Coveragevs FBS DEF
Defense QB hurries 2 #647/1878 66th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Solo tackles 12 #1735/4584 62nd pct Volumevs 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

StatusAwaiting tracker

The Lombardi 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
Home5g2.60.40.20.0
Road5g2.61.00.40.2

Win vs Loss

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Wins9g2.40.60.20.1
Losses1g4.02.01.00.0

First half vs Second half

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Weeks 1-76g2.30.60.30.0
Weeks 8+4g3.00.90.20.2

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

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the DL cohort

68Solid starter
6 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: tackles for loss (89th). Strength: sacks (88th).

Tackles for loss#277 / 2975 · 90th pct
7.0defe
Sacks#291 / 2975 · 89th pct
3.0defe
QB hurries#634 / 2975 · 72nd pct
2defe
Passes defended#1191 / 2975 · 48th pct
1defe
Tackles#1609 / 2975 · 45th pct
26defe
Solo tackles#1735 / 2975 · 40th pct
12defe

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

Advanced Savant · DL · 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
Immanuel BushJames MadisonJackson KuwatchMiami (OH)· 68% simMaverick BaranowskiMinnesota· 68% simTreylin PayneTexas State· 67% sim
Tackles for loss
90
Bush
96
Kuwatch
95
Baranowski
87
Payne
Sacks
89
Bush
96
Kuwatch
89
Baranowski
80
Payne
QB hurries
72
Bush
55
Kuwatch
82
Baranowski
82
Payne
Passes defended
48
Bush
48
Kuwatch
48
Baranowski
67
Payne
Tackles
45
Bush
98
Kuwatch
98
Baranowski
98
Payne
Solo tackles
40
Bush
95
Kuwatch
98
Baranowski
95
Payne

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

Player DNA

The Two-Gap Base

Stout at the point of attack; controls his gap and stacks blocks.

IDL

His 2025 production profile sits closest to Julien Laventure’s 2025 season.

Julien Laventure

72%match

Akron · 2025

All-MAC
#2

Cole Brevard

Purdue · 2024

68%
#3

Simonte Pepa

Utah · 2022

64%
#4

Immanuel Bush

James Madison · 2023

55%
#5

Joseph Evans

UTSA · 2022

55%

Matches Julien on

Height
TFL rate
Sack rate

Differs from Julien on

Class year (higher)

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a graduate, his production profile tracks closest to Brandon Brown's graduate season at UTSA (2024).

Brandon Brown

67%match

UTSA · 2024

All-AAC
#2

Jalen Hunt

Cincinnati · 2025

61%
#3

Tre Williams

Clemson · 2024

60%
#4

Bryson Eason

Tennessee · 2024

54%
#5

Omari Thomas

Tennessee · 2024

52%

Matches Brandon on

Class year
TFL rate
Sack rate

Differs from Brandon on

Weight (higher)

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Bob Chesney

Pass share

39.7%

385 pass / 584 run

Plays / game

69.2

14 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

7.8%

269 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Run-heavy.

Coaching Lineage · 2020–2025

3 coaches
2022
Curt Cignetti
James Madison
2023
Damian Wroblewski
James Madison
era →
2025
Bob Chesney
James Madison
era →

Played under 3 different head coaches: Curt Cignetti, Damian Wroblewski, and Bob Chesney. Multi-era developmental context.

Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster

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

HometownLancaster, SC
Height6'1"
Weight348 lb
Class4
PositionDL

Trophy Case · Confirmed honors

What the selectors said

1 entries
🎖

ALL-CONFERENCE

All-Conf mention (2025)

All-Sun Belt

Trophy Case · Detail

Every honor on the ledger, broken out by stream and selector.

All-Conference

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-Sun Belt all_conference James Madison | Sun Belt DL

Heisman By Year

Modeled rank and official finish by season.

Season Team Role Latest Model Forecast Win Finalist Official Finish Points Context
2024 James Madison DL4 #9111 #8694 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | Sun Belt
2023 James Madison DL4 #7064 #7382 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W19 snapshot | Sun Belt
2022 Marshall DL4 #6218 #6656 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | Sun Belt
2021 Marshall DL4 #10293 #10059 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W20 snapshot | Conference USA
2020 Marshall DL4 #587 #588 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | Conference USA

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2025 James Madison Sun Belt DL 4 6-1 | 348 lb | Lancaster, SC
2024 James Madison Sun Belt DL 4 6-1 | 348 lb | Lancaster, SC
2023 James Madison Sun Belt DL 4 6-1 | 348 lb | Lancaster, SC
2022 Marshall Sun Belt DL 4 6-1 | 348 lb | Lancaster, SC
2021 Marshall Conference USA DL 4 6-1 | 348 lb | Lancaster, SC
2020 Marshall Conference USA DL 4 6-1 | 348 lb | Lancaster, SC