CFB Zeitgeist Score
61
Solid starter in the position cohort. Carried by sacks at the 80th percentile.
Zach Johnson
Below the discourse floor — the honest stats-only state.
28 TACKLES · 2 SACKS
2026 Outlook
Returning to Stanford for 2026
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Linebacker · Stanford
Returning around him
- 19% of 2024 offensive production back (Heavy turnover)
- 2 Stanford players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: -6 net (6 in / 12 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Stanford · Last season: 4-8 · Talent rank #46 · 2026 recruiting class #56
LB · STANFORD · ACC
Zach Johnson
- 2
- #38
- 6-3 | 230 lb
- Coeur d'Alene, ID
Heisman Heat
Awaiting
Not on the live Heisman board this week.
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
—
TOP LB AWARD
Butkus
—
CONSENSUS
All-American
—
Player Standing · 17 rungs
Tier 1 · 2-deepR04 · Rotational
Rotational. Earning real snaps in the rotation.
Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career Arc
HS
Recruit
★★
CFB
College
Stanford
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Heisman futures · live sportsbook odds
#29 in market ▼ from #23 · 5 books
Identity & Role
The durable bio layer: position, size, hometown, and roster role.
Recruiting Pedigree
How big the prospect was before college, and whether the later career arc beat that expectation.
| Class | Profile | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 2-star | 0.7000 | No. 3455 recruit | HighSchool | North Dakota State |
Transfer Arc
Portal movement changes role, context, and perception. This keeps that path in one place.
| Season | Move | Context |
|---|---|---|
| No transfer portal moves on file for this player. | ||
Heisman Lens
Where the model places this player relative to the rest of the Heisman field.
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 North Dakota State
Composite
0.7000
#3455 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
PENDINGThe 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 Zach 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 Zach 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.
Season Pace · Projection
Where the defensive totals stand
Through 8g
28Tackles
3Tackles for loss
2Sacks
Per game
4Tackles
0.4Tackles for loss
0.2Sacks
Projected (13g)
46Tackles
4.9Tackles for loss
3.2Sacks
To hit 80-tackle season (currently 28): needs 10.4/game over remaining 5.
To hit 100-tackle season (currently 28): needs 14.4/game over remaining 5.
To hit 6-sack season (currently 2): needs 0.8/game over remaining 5.
To hit 10-sack season (currently 2): needs 1.6/game over remaining 5.
Why this is a rare defensive case
The fast read on the thing that makes this player more than a generic stat line.
Zach Johnson is trying to climb the steepest award hill in college football: a defensive candidacy. The hook is the disruption profile on Stanford's defense, with 2.0 sacks, 3.0 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.
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
Player identity What kind of player is this?
30-second read
What kind of player is this?
High-disruption defender against FBS defenders.
2025 Season · Final
2025 season snapshot | final
Tackling & Disruption
TOT
28 70th
SOLO
17 73rd
TFL
3.0 80th
SACK
2.0 90th
QBH
2 66th
Coverage & Takeaways
PD
1 43rd
Game Log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 8 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 2 | L 3-27@ BYU | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 30-20vs Boston College | 6 | 4 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 6 tackles |
| Wk 4 | L 20-48@ Virginia | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 30-29vs San José State | 4 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 10-34@ SMU | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 20-13vs Florida State | 6 | 4 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 7-42@ Miami | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | L 20-35vs Pittsburgh | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 28 | 17 | 3.0 | 2.0 | — | 1 |
Season-by-season tables Career rows + per-season box score
Traditional history
Traditional Stats
Season rows up top, career context at the bottom.
Season context · Team result + system
2025Stanford4-8HC: Frank Reich · Balanced
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Stanford | 28 | 17 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| Career | 1 loaded season | 28 | 17 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
Advanced layer Usage, value, and context
Advanced metrics second
Advanced Metrics
Usage, value, and opponent-adjusted context.
TFL, sacks, and QB hurries are grouped together because defensive Heisman cases are usually built on visible havoc, not on tackle counts alone.
Pass breakups, interceptions, and forced fumbles matter because national awards voters respond to plays that change possessions and highlight reels.
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.
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.
Open full stat explorer
| Group | Metric | Value | Rank | Pct | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Defense | Total tackles | 28 | #1469/4942 | 70th pct | Volumevs FBS DEF |
| Defense | TFL | 3.0 | #1006/4972 | 80th pct | Disruptionvs FBS DEF |
| Defense | Sacks | 2.0 | #491/4972 | 90th 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 | 17 | #1252/4584 | 73rd 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
Status—Awaiting 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 · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 4.2 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.2 |
| Road4g | 2.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Win vs Loss
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wins3g | 5.3 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.3 |
| Losses5g | 2.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-75g | 4.0 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+3g | 2.7 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
Pocket and defense-quality (clean vs. pressure) splits are coming soon.
Savant · Box-rate percentiles
Where this profile ranks vs the LB cohort
61Solid starter
Production sits in the middle of the position cohort across the board.
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.
Advanced Savant · LB · 2025
Percentile Card
Advanced opponent-adjusted percentile bars are coming soon for this player.
P4G5All FBS
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
Zach JohnsonStanfordJaxton EckNew Mexico· 72% simJohnny Chaney Jr.Florida International· 72% simMarsel McDuffieUNLV· 72% sim
Sacks
QB hurries
Tackles for loss
Solo tackles
Tackles
Passes defended
Forced fumbles
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 Matt Kingsbury’s 2025 season.
Matt Kingsbury
85%match
#2
Kobie McKinzie
78%
#3
Bo Calvert
76%
#4
Cole Sullivan
75%
#5
Trevin Wallace
NFL Rd 3 · Pk 8
74%
Matches Matt on
Class year
Sack rate
Tackle volume
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Ezra Odinjor's sophomore season at UAB (2025).
Ezra Odinjor
85%match
#2
David Afogho
83%
#3
David Santiago
80%
#4
Dejuan Lane
78%
#5
Dashawn Spears
78%
Matches Ezra on
Class year
Height
PD rate
Differs from Ezra on
Sack rate (higher)
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Frank Reich
Pass share
50.4%
391 pass / 385 run
Plays / game
64.7
12 games
OL sack rate (allowed)
12.5%
337 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Coaching Lineage · 2025
1 coach2025
Frank Reich
Stanford
Played his entire career under Frank Reich.
Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster
Off-field context — switch tabs to drill into recruit profile, transfer arc, or roster timeline.
HometownCoeur d'Alene, ID
Height6'3"
Weight230 lb
Class2
PositionLB
Jersey38
No fields populated yet.
No fields populated yet.
Current teamStanford
ConferenceACC
Joined2025
Career arc1 season(s)
Trophy Case · Detail
Every honor on the ledger, broken out by stream and selector.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This player hasn’t appeared on a Heisman ballot tracked by the model. | |||||||||
Roster Timeline
Team, conference, and class by season.
| Season | Team | Conference | Pos | Class | Bio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Stanford | ACC | LB | 2 | No. 38 | 6-3 | 230 lb | Coeur d'Alene, ID |