cfb zeitgeistZeitgeist
OFFSEASON · SUMMER 2026 · COMMITMENT SEASON
Heisman / Players / James Chenault /South Florida

James Chenault

CB · South Florida · So · #9

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

32 TACKLES · 0 SACKS

2026 TRANSFERTransferred South Florida → Utah for 2026

Where He Ended Up · Transfer

Transferred to Utah

2025South Florida
2026Utah

CB · SOUTH FLORIDA · AMERICAN ATHLETIC

James Chenault

  • 2
  • #9
  • 6-0 | 180 lb
  • Orlando, FL

CFB Zeitgeist Score

49

Mid-pack in the position cohort. Carried by interceptions at the 75th percentile.

Heisman Heat

#14240

<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 1 · 2-deep

R03 · Backup

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

Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Career Arc

HS
Recruit
★★★
#1794 national
CFB
College
South Florida
2025
NFL
NFL Draft
Not drafted (yet)

Identity & Role

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

PositionCB
Class2
Jersey9
Measurements6-0 | 180 lb
HometownOrlando, FL
Primary teamSouth Florida

Recruiting Pedigree

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

Top pedigree 3-star No. 1794 recruit
Composite rating 0.8417 HighSchool
Signed with South Florida 2024
Origin Jones Orlando, FL, USA
Class Profile Context
2024 3-star | 0.8417 No. 1794 recruit | HighSchool | South Florida

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 Utah 2026
Transfer stars 3-star CFBD transfer rating context
Eligibility Immediate Jan 13, 2026
Season Move Context
2026 South Florida -> Utah 3-star | 0.8600 | 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#14240Latest modeled ballot order
Season forecast#14270Where 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 South Florida

Composite

0.8417

#1794 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 James Chenault

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 James Chenault

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 9g
32Tackles
1Tackles for loss
0Sacks
Per game
4Tackles
0.1Tackles for loss
0Sacks
Projected (13g)
46Tackles
1.4Tackles for loss
0Sacks

To hit 80-tackle season (currently 32): needs 12/game over remaining 4.

To hit 100-tackle season (currently 32): needs 17/game over remaining 4.

To hit 6-sack season (currently 0): needs 1.5/game over remaining 4.

To hit 10-sack season (currently 0): needs 2.5/game over remaining 4.

Why this is a rare defensive case

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

James Chenault is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on South Florida's defense, with 0.0 sacks, 1.0 tackles for loss, and 2 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 #14240 0.0% win | 0.0% finalist
Role load -- Role share still loading
Profile quirk Defensive rarity 0.0 sacks | 1.0 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 32 20 solo | #1250/4942 (75th pct)
TFL 1.0 Backfield disruption | #2051/4972 (59th 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
32 75th
SOLO
20 78th
TFL
1.0 59th
SACK
0.0 65th

Coverage & Takeaways

PD
4 84th
INT
2 87th

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 9 games

Box score · CFBD
WkOppTKLSOLOTFLSACKINTPDNote
Wk 1W 34-7vs Boise State640.00.00
Wk 2W 18-16@ Florida320.00.010
Wk 3L 12-49@ Miami320.00.010
Wk 4W 63-14vs South Carolina State420.50.00
Wk 6W 54-26vs Charlotte320.00.00
Wk 7W 63-36@ North Texas200.50.01
Wk 8W 48-13vs Florida Atlantic970.00.01Season-high 9 tackles
Wk 9L 31-34@ Memphis110.00.01
Wk 11W 55-23vs UTSA100.00.01
Total32201.00.024
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

2025South Florida9-4HC: Alex Golesh · Run-leaning
SeasonTeam
2025South Florida32201.00.042--
Career1 loaded season32201.00.042--
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 2 0 pick-six TD | #114/869 (87th pct)
Pass breakups 4 Coverage disruption | #340/2184 (84th 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 32 #1250/4942 75th pct Volumevs FBS DEF
Defense TFL 1.0 #2051/4972 59th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Sacks 0.0 #1762/4972 65th pct Disruptionvs FBS DEF
Defense Interceptions 2 #114/869 87th pct Takeawaysvs FBS DEF
Defense Pass breakups 4 #340/2184 84th pct Coveragevs FBS DEF
Defense Solo tackles 20 #1029/4584 78th 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 · 9 games

Home/Road · Win/Loss · Season halves

Home vs Road

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Home5g4.60.10.00.4
Road4g2.20.10.00.5

Win vs Loss

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Wins7g4.00.10.00.4
Losses2g2.00.00.00.5

First half vs Second half

TKL/gTFL/gSACK/gPD/g
Weeks 1-76g3.50.20.00.2
Weeks 8+3g3.70.00.01.0

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

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the CB cohort

49Mid-pack
7 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: passes defended (85th). Concern: qb hurries (22nd).

Passes defended#340 / 2975 · 86th pct
4defe
Interceptions#114 / 817 · 75th pct
2inte
Solo tackles#1029 / 2975 · 64th pct
20defe
Tackles#1250 / 2975 · 57th pct
32defe
Tackles for loss#1936 / 2975 · 28th pct
1.0defe
Sacks#1575 / 2975 · 24th pct
0.0defe
QB hurries#1662 / 2975 · 22nd pct
0defe

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

Advanced Savant · CB · 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
James ChenaultSouth FloridaTahj Ra-ElPurdue· 75% simDalton JohnsonArizona· 73% simDevin LafayetteTroy· 73% sim
Passes defended
86
Chenault
91
Ra-El
96
Johnson
91
Lafayette
Interceptions
75
Chenault
95
Johnson
75
Lafayette
Solo tackles
64
Chenault
100
Ra-El
97
Johnson
98
Lafayette
Tackles
57
Chenault
99
Ra-El
98
Johnson
99
Lafayette
Tackles for loss
28
Chenault
56
Ra-El
47
Johnson
56
Lafayette
Sacks
24
Chenault
24
Ra-El
63
Johnson
63
Lafayette
QB hurries
22
Chenault
22
Ra-El
22
Johnson
22
Lafayette

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

Player DNA

The Cover Corner

Steady in coverage; doesn't get beat deep and rarely gives up the big play.

CB

His 2025 production profile sits closest to Martel Hight’s 2024 season.

Martel Hight

87%match

Vanderbilt · 2024

#2

Chris Graves

Ole Miss · 2025

82%
#3

Ar'mani Johnson

SMU · 2022

81%
#4

Antonio Kite

Ole Miss · 2025

80%
#5

Jackson Vick

NC State · 2025

80%

Matches Martel on

Height
Weight
PD rate

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Korey Johnson's sophomore season at Air Force (2025).

Korey Johnson

84%match

Air Force · 2025

#2

Ja'Von Kimpson

Miami (OH) · 2022

83%
#3

Martel Hight

Vanderbilt · 2024

All-SEC
83%
#4

Boo Carter

Tennessee · 2025

80%
#5

Chris Bracy

UAB · 2024

79%

Matches Korey on

Class year
Tackle volume
PD rate

Supporting Cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Alex Golesh

Pass share

44.8%

404 pass / 498 run

Plays / game

69.4

13 games

OL sack rate (allowed)

5.8%

291 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Run-leaning.

Coaching Lineage · 2025

1 coach
2025
Alex Golesh
South Florida

Played his entire career under Alex Golesh.

Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster

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

HometownOrlando, FL
Height6'0"
Weight180 lb
Class2
PositionCB
Jersey9

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 Florida CB2 #14240 #14270 0.0% 0.0% -- -- W16 snapshot | American Athletic

Roster Timeline

Team, conference, and class by season.

Season Team Conference Pos Class Bio
2025 South Florida American Athletic CB 2 No. 9 | 6-0 | 180 lb | Orlando, FL
2024 South Florida American Athletic CB 2 No. 9 | 6-0 | 180 lb | Orlando, FL