It’s been more than one decade since EA Sports released its NCAA Football 14 video game in the summer of 2013, but college football fans finally have a brand new gaming experience to get excited about.
This past week, EA Sports officially began the marketing hype for “College Football 25,” which will revive the long-dormant series. As of the teaser released this week, the game is set to be first revealed this May with a target release of this summer.
However, when it comes to the run-up to any sports game, there is always one question that hangs over most of the discussion: who do you put on the game’s cover? The series began in 1994 and, for the first two editions, Bill Walsh headlined the covers. In fact, he was initially the namesake of the series itself. A trend eventually would emerge as the best players in the NCAA who completed their final collegiate seasons, oftentimes as the Heisman winners, would grace the cover.
Such cover stars and Heisman recipients included Charles Woodson, Reggie Bush, Mark Ingram II, and Robert Griffin III.
That leaves one question: who should be honored as the cover star when the game returns to circulation this summer? Here are five appealing options, including players, coaches, and other football legends.
Nick Saban
Saban officially called it a career after Alabama’s Rose Bowl loss to the eventual champion Michigan Wolverines. The undeniable future Hall of Famer has seen one of his past players, Ingram, featured on the cover of NCAA Football 12.
Saban gracing the cover would truly mark the intent of “College Football 25” to revive the series by harkening back to its roots as Bill Walsh College Football with a coach gracing the cover. Furthermore, honoring Saban like this would be an encapsulation of what truly was a Hall of Fame career, and it would also allow Saban to join Walsh and John Madden as coaches to have graced the covers of both of EA’s football properties.
Mascots
Yes, really.
Only once before did a mascot ever grace the cover of an NCAA Football game, and of all things, it would be for the Wii edition of NCAA Football 09. Even so, many who played the games during their original run would always point to the Mascot Mashup mode as a fun escape from the rest of the game, in the same vein as other alternate modes from sports games of the past.
The possible return of Mascot Mashup in “College Football 25” alone would be an excellent reason to place a team’s mascot on the cover of the game.
Jayden Daniels
Recall the trend of EA often going with the previous season’s Heisman winner for covers of the NCAA series in previous decades. Daniels, who could become a top-three selection in April’s NFL Draft, fits this description incredibly well. He completed a fabulous 2023 season for LSU, taking home the Heisman hardware in December.
Daniels gracing the cover would be a good place to resume the trend after the 11-year wait for a brand-new game in the series.
Lee Corso
Corso is as synonymous with college football as he is to the initial run of this series. He was present in pre-game introductions of nearly every single game in the past of the “College Football” series, always there to give his picks for the user-controlled games.
Corso has remained an icon of ESPN’s College Football Gameday telecasts, and to secure his return as one of the many potential commentators for “College Football 25” would only further incentivize potential buyers with a familiar face grace the cover.
Caleb Williams
For the same reasons as Daniels, Williams should be actively considered as the cover star for “College Football 25.” The 2022 Heisman is the presumptive No. 1 overall selection in this year’s draft and concluded an excellent collegiate career in the 2023 season. Williams will be viewed as the most likely candidate among the players and coaches listed here.
Much like Carson Palmer and Reggie Bush before him, Williams would be another excellent choice to hail from USC and has already experienced the bright lights of stardom, all before stepping onto an NFL field.
A past cover athlete
This is a broad-brush selection, but a genius way to present the return of the series would be to have a legacy cover athlete return to grace the cover for a second time. To date, no past cover athletes ever returned for a second appearance. However, to drive home how this game should be viewed as a revival, this option should absolutely be considered.
Immediate options for a potential returning athlete would include Desmond Howard, whose Heisman pose created a legendary cover for NCAA Football 06, among a host of other former legends and current NFL players, a list that is simply too large to list all at once.
This Throwback Thursday takes a look at NCAA Football 06. Featuring Desmond Howard on the cover, the game included Race for the Heisman mode, the addition of Impact Players, and licensed songs in the menus.
Who else spent a lot of time playing #NCAA06? #TBT pic.twitter.com/ADSS84qAec
— The Gaming Tailgate (@gamingtailgate) July 27, 2023
Other “College Football 25” Cover Star Candidates
- Shedeur Sanders, University of Colorado Boulder quarterback
- Deion Sanders, NFL legend and University of Colorado Boulder head coach
- Blake Corum, University of Michigan running back (click here for scouting report)
- Quinn Ewers, University of Texas quarterback
- Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State University wide receiver (click here for scouting report)
Main Image Credit:
Background image via LSU Athletics
Nick Saban cover via On3 Sports
Reggie Bush cover via Tyler Hunt
Jayden Daniels cover via PFF College
