cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / Jacob Fields /Louisiana Tech

Jacob Fields

DB · Louisiana Tech · Jr · #8

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

90 TACKLES · 0 SACKS

2026 RETURNINGReturning to Louisiana Tech for 2026

2026 Outlook

Returning to Louisiana Tech for 2026

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Defensive back · Louisiana Tech

Returning around him

  • 54% of 2024 offensive production back (Solid continuity)
  • Transfer portal: -13 net (11 in / 24 out)

2026 Award watch

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

Louisiana Tech · Last season: 8-5 · Talent rank #116 · 2026 recruiting class #111

DB · LOUISIANA TECH · CONFERENCE USA

Jacob Fields

  • 3
  • #8
  • 5-11 | 188 lb
  • Melissa, TX

CFB Zeitgeist Score

69

Solid starter in the position cohort. Carried by interceptions at the 90th percentile.

Heisman Heat

#12671

<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

R07 · Impact starter

Impact starter. Producing measurable value above replacement.

Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Career Arc

HS
Recruit
★★★
#1526 national
CFB
College
Louisiana Tech
2023–2025
NFL
NFL Draft
Not drafted (yet)

Identity & Role

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

PositionDB
Class3
Jersey8
Measurements5-11 | 188 lb
HometownMelissa, TX
Primary teamLouisiana Tech

Recruiting Pedigree

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

Top pedigree 3-star No. 1526 recruit
Composite rating 0.8467 HighSchool
Signed with Louisiana Tech 2023
Origin Melissa Melissa, TX, USA
Class Profile Context
2023 3-star | 0.8467 No. 1526 recruit | HighSchool | Louisiana Tech

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#12671Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#12696Where 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 Louisiana Tech

Composite

0.8467

#1526 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 Jacob Fields

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 Jacob Fields

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 12g
90Tackles
2.5Tackles for loss
0Sacks
Per game
8Tackles
0.2Tackles for loss
0Sacks
Projected (13g)
98Tackles
2.7Tackles for loss
0Sacks

✓ Hit 80-tackle season · finished with 90.

To hit 100-tackle season (currently 90): needs 10/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.

Jacob Fields is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on Louisiana Tech's defense, with 0.0 sacks, 2.5 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.

Current place #12671 0.0% win | 0.0% finalist
Role load -- Role share still loading
Profile quirk Defensive rarity 0.0 sacks | 2.5 TFL

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 90 50 solo | #86/4942 (98th pct)
TFL 2.5 Backfield disruption | #1236/4972 (75th 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 | High-volume tackler against FBS defenders.

Coverage splashHigh-volume tackler

2025 Season · Final

2025 season snapshot | final

Tackling & Disruption

TOT
90 98th
SOLO
50 98th
TFL
2.5 75th
SACK
0.0 65th
QBH
1 44th

Coverage & Takeaways

PD
5 90th
INT
3 94th

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 12 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppTKLSOLOTFLSACKINTPDNote
Wk 1W 24-0vs SE Louisiana430.00.00
Wk 2L 7-23@ LSU951.00.01
Wk 3W 49-14vs New Mexico State320.00.02
Wk 4W 30-20vs Southern Miss400.50.00
Wk 5W 30-11@ UTEP850.50.00
Wk 7L 7-35@ Kennesaw State960.00.00
Wk 9L 27-28vs Western Kentucky1170.00.00
Wk 10W 55-14vs Sam Houston740.00.010
Wk 11L 24-25@ Delaware850.00.010
Wk 12L 3-28@ Washington State740.00.01
Wk 13W 34-28vs Liberty1470.50.010Season-high 14 tackles
Wk 14W 42-30@ Missouri State620.00.01
Total90502.50.035
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

2023Louisiana Tech3-9HC: Sonny Cumbie · Balanced
2025Louisiana Tech8-5HC: Sonny Cumbie · Run-heavy
SeasonTeam
2025Louisiana Tech90502.50.053--
2023Louisiana Tech--------------
Career2 loaded seasons90502.50.053--
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 3 2 pick-six TD | #56/869 (94th pct)
Pass breakups 5 Coverage disruption | #218/2184 (90th 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 90 #86/4942 98th pct Volumevs FBS DEF
Defense TFL 2.5 #1236/4972 75th 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 QB hurries 1 #1051/1878 44th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense INT return yards 123 #7/578 99th pct Takeawaysvs FBS DEF
Defense Solo tackles 50 #77/4584 98th pct Volumevs FBS DEF
Defense INT return avg 41.0 #49/578 92nd pct Takeawaysvs FBS DEF
Defense Defensive TD 2 #4/200 98th pct Scoringvs FBS DEF
Defense Pick-six TD 2 #1/119 100th pct Scoringvs 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 · 12 games

Home/Road · Win/Loss · Season halves

Home vs Road

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Home6g7.20.20.00.3
Road6g7.80.20.00.5

Win vs Loss

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Wins7g6.60.20.00.4
Losses5g8.80.20.00.4

First half vs Second half

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Weeks 1-76g6.20.30.00.5
Weeks 8+6g8.80.10.00.3

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

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the DB cohort

69Solid starter
7 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: solo tackles (97th). Strength: tackles (97th). Concern: sacks (23rd).

Solo tackles#77 / 2975 · 97th pct
50defe
Tackles#86 / 2975 · 97th pct
90defe
Passes defended#218 / 2975 · 91st pct
5defe
Interceptions#56 / 817 · 90th pct
3inte
Tackles for loss#1222 / 2975 · 56th pct
2.5defe
QB hurries#1007 / 2975 · 55th pct
1defe
Sacks#1575 / 2975 · 24th pct
0.0defe

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 · 7 metrics
Jacob FieldsLouisiana TechBryce LlewellynEastern Michigan· 87% simTahj Ra-ElPurdue· 86% simTy BenefieldBoise State· 84% sim
Solo tackles
97
Fields
95
Llewellyn
100
Ra-El
100
Benefield
Tackles
97
Fields
99
Llewellyn
99
Ra-El
99
Benefield
Passes defended
91
Fields
86
Llewellyn
91
Ra-El
78
Benefield
Interceptions
90
Fields
75
Llewellyn
75
Benefield
Tackles for loss
56
Fields
80
Llewellyn
56
Ra-El
94
Benefield
QB hurries
55
Fields
72
Llewellyn
22
Ra-El
55
Benefield
Sacks
24
Fields
24
Llewellyn
24
Ra-El
24
Benefield

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

Player DNA

The Box Safety

Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.

S

His 2025 production profile sits closest to Greg Grate Jr’s 2021 season.

Greg Grate Jr

85%match

Middle Tennessee · 2021

#2

Tywan Francis

Colorado State · 2021

83%
#3

Christian Izien

Rutgers · 2022

76%
#4

Myles Heard

Louisiana Tech · 2023

76%
#5

Kaleb Culp

Texas State · 2023

75%

Matches Greg on

Tackle volume
Interceptions
PD rate

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Drake Thomas's junior season at NC State (2022).

Drake Thomas

72%match

NC State · 2022

All-ACC
#2

Jaylen Lewis

Western Kentucky · 2025

74%
#3

Ayden Jackson

Georgia Southern · 2025

74%
#4

Christian Izien

Rutgers · 2022

68%
#5

Colin Ramos

Navy · 2023

All-AAC
68%

Matches Drake on

Class year
Tackle volume
PD rate

Differs from Drake on

Weight (lower)

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Sonny Cumbie

Pass share

37.1%

311 pass / 527 run

Plays / game

64.5

13 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

9.4%

234 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Run-heavy.

Coaching Lineage · 2023–2025

1 coach
2023
Sonny Cumbie
Louisiana Tech
2025
Sonny Cumbie
Louisiana Tech

Played his entire career under Sonny Cumbie.

Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster

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

HometownMelissa, TX
Height5'11"
Weight188 lb
Class3
PositionDB
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 Louisiana Tech DB3 #12671 #12696 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | Conference USA
2023 Louisiana Tech DB3 #14961 #15077 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W19 snapshot | Conference USA

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2025 Louisiana Tech Conference USA DB 3 No. 8 | 5-11 | 188 lb | Melissa, TX
2024 Louisiana Tech Conference USA DB 3 No. 8 | 5-11 | 188 lb | Melissa, TX
2023 Louisiana Tech Conference USA DB 3 No. 8 | 5-11 | 188 lb | Melissa, TX