INDIANAPOLIS – College football fans had to wait 11 years − or 4,028 days − to play a new video game representing their favorite athletes and collegiate programs. While many held on to the memories of NCAA Football 14 as long as they could, these same people were certainly ready for a fresh experience.
They wanted current day players, conferences, graphics, rules and more. They got it all July 19, with the release of EA Sports College Football 25.
The biggest difference is that all players (who grant EA Sports permission) will have their name, image and likeness included in the video game. Perhaps no one on Day 1 of Big Ten Football Media Days at Lucas Oil Stadium felt that impact more than Rutgers Linebacker Mohamed Toure.
Hailing from Pleasantville, New Jersey, Toure graduated from a high school with less than 1,000 students in a town with slightly more than 20,000 residents. More than that, the high school has produced just one NFL player in its history.
Dino Hall played 64 games for the Cleveland Browns between 1979 and 1983, and his college football days at Rowan University came almost 20 years before the first college football video game was released in 1993 on the Sega Genesis.
Even for the 21 major college football video games to be distributed before College Football 25, none of them showcased the name, image or likeness of its student-athletes. As Toure’s ‘MT’ chain glistened, he expanded what it means to be a part of the first college sports video game in 11 years.
“I don’t think people understand how much that means to me,” Toure told IndyStar. “Coming from where I come from, there’s not a lot of Division I football players that play on the level that I play on. For kids in my community to be able to play with me, somebody that’s from their same community, somebody that they watched go to the school they go to, it’s amazing.
“I have people reach out to me all the time like, ‘Yo, I wanna be just like you.’ Who knows how many lives I’ve changed, with just kids seeing me on the game.”
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Here’s how other Big Ten football players and personnel feel about the game’s release:
Ryan Walters (Purdue, Head Coach)
“When I was in college (at Colorado from 2004-08) we played it all the time, and our names weren’t on the player but our number was,” Walters told IndyStar. “The gameplay is a lot better now than it was back then, and I have to remind my 10-year-old that it’s not real life. Sometimes we gotta remind our players too, and if they wanted a higher rating then they gotta perform well on Saturdays.”
Kydran Jenkins (Purdue, Linebacker)
“My whole life I’ve wanted to be in a video game. I feel like it’s a dream come true,” Jenkins said.
“Seeing yourself on a video game is different from anything that I’ve experienced,” Beck told IndyStar. ” … Especially when it first came out, the next day when we got in the locker room everyone was talking about it.”
Gus Hartwig (Purdue, Center)
“I’ve been playing sometimes a little bit too much probably,” Hartwig told IndyStar with a laugh. ” … In high school I bought the XBOX 360 just to be able to play (NCAA Football 14) again because you couldn’t get it on the new consoles.”
Defensive tackle Cole Brevard said he had played the game for more than 24 hours in less than a week.
Denzel Burke (Ohio State, Defensive Back)
“I didn’t play yesterday, but I played every day before that all night,” Burke told IndyStar. “I didn’t play NCAA 14, so I’m kind of new to this scene. It’s honestly a blessing to see myself in the Scarlet and Gray and see my last name on the jersey.”
Burke is the 51st ranked player in the game. He is the second-highest ranked cornerback in the Big Ten and fifth in the entire position group.
Emeka Egbuka (Ohio State, Wide Receiver)
“The anitcipation for it was crazy, and they met all expectations,” Egbuka told IndyStar. “That much is evident because me and none of my teammates can get off of it.”
Egbuka is the 19th ranked player in the game. He is the highest ranked wide receiver in the Big Ten and fourth in the entire position group.
Jack Sawyer (Ohio State, Defensive Lineman)
“I was dying for it to come back, and it’s surreal to be a part of the game its first year back,” Sawyer said. “I know my overall is a 92, that’s the first thing I looked at … 85 strength? I need to get in contact with some of those guys at EA.”
Sawyer is the 29th ranked player in the game. He is the second highest rated defensive lineman in the Big Ten and fifth highest rated in the entire position group.
Pat Bryant (Illinois, Wide Receiver)
Before Bryant took his seat for questions, he said he had just been playing against one of Northwestern’s players.
“I feel like they could have threw me a little extra. They gave me an 81. I feel like I could’ve got an 83 or 84. Everything else was pretty accurate,” Bryant told IndyStar. “A lot of my friends, especially my nephews, them having the chance to play with me can motivate them to get to the level I’m at now.”
Gabe Jacas (Illinois, Outside Linebacker)
“Loading up the game and seeing myself was crazy,” Jacas told IndyStar.
Seth Coleman (Illinois, Outside Linebacker)
“Gabe, he’s a stick hog. Him and Pat have been hogging the sticks all day,” Coleman told IndyStar. “But it’s cool to see the feature of you in the game. You take pride in your name. One thing people can’t take from you is your name.”
A.J. Henning (Northwestern, Wide Receiver)
“It’s…
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