There's a lot of hype around what's expected to be the video game of the year, EA Sports College Football 25.
The video game franchise returns after an 11-year hiatus, with Michigan's Denard Robinson being the last cover athlete in 2013.
So, we did it ourselves. Who would've been a cover athlete had the NCAA Football video game franchise continued past NCAA Football 14? The selections are based on how the players performed the previous season so NCAA Football 15 would be based on the 2013 season, NCAA Football 16 on the 2014 season, and so on.
NCAA Football 15
Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M QB
The 2012 Heisman Trophy winner would've been a prime candidate to be on the cover. His animated personality captivated many young viewers across the country, giving him the nickname "Johnny Football". He and the Aggies crashed the SEC in their first two seasons, as Manziel threw for a combined 7,820 yards and 63 touchdowns while rushing for 2,169 yards and 30 touchdowns. Texas A&M went 20-6 with Manziel under center.
A.J. McCarron, Alabama QB
McCarron's senior season was awfully close to finishing with a national championship, but Auburn had other ideas. The former Alabama quarterback threw for 8,630 yards and 74 touchdowns as a starter for the Crimson Tide since his sophom*ore year.
Jameis Winston, Florida State QB
The 2013 Heisman Trophy winner guided the Seminoles to another national championship that year, defeating Auburn in the closing seconds as Winston hooked up with Kelvin Benjamin over the middle. Famous Jameis completed 66.9 percent of his passes that year, throwing for 4,057 yards with 44 total touchdowns.
NCAA Football 16
Amari Cooper, Alabama WR
Had Cooper been the cover athlete, he would've been the first wide receiver to be featured since Michael Crabtree was on the Xbox 360 cover of NCAA Football 10. Cooper's 2014 season was flat-out historic at the time, catching 124 passes for 1,727 yards with 16 touchdowns, catching passes from Blake Sims. Having graduated from Miami Northwestern, Cooper would've also been the second South Florida product to be on the cover.
Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin RB
There are three guaranteed things in life: death, taxes, and Wisconsin churning out quality running backs. Melvin Gordon was one of them, having rushed for 2,587 yards with 32 total touchdowns during the 2014 season before being named a finalist for the Heisman Trophy.
Marcus Mariota, Oregon QB
Arguably the revolutionary dual-threat quarterback, Mariota reached new heights during Oregon's run to a national championship game. The star of the Ducks threw for 4,454 yards with a completion percentage of 68.3 percent, adding 42 touchdowns to just 4 interceptions. On the ground, he rushed for 770 yards with 15 touchdowns, and caught his lone pass of the season, a 26-yard touchdown reception. Mariota had a hand in 58 touchdowns for Oregon, making him the likely cover athlete of NCAA Football 16.
NCAA Football 17
Leonard Fournette, LSU RB
Fournette finished just shy of the 2,000-yard mark for the Tigers in 2015, finding the end zone 23 times that year. The bruiser often made defenders miss, or he quite simply knocked them down. His highlight reel during his time in Baton Rouge is definitely worth a watch.
Derrick Henry, Alabama RB
The 2015 Heisman winner made it look easy in Tuscaloosa, running for 2,219 yards and 28 touchdowns during Alabama's national championship winning season with Jake co*ker under center. Henry ran over Clemson in the title game, going for 158 yards and three scores to help Nick Saban secure another national title, 45-40 in Glendale, Arizona.
Christian McCaffrey, Stanford RB
A trio of running backs being on the cover here would've been fitting, as Fournette, Henry, and McCaffrey all had outstanding seasons for their respective teams. McCaffrey's value as a runner and receiver helped Stanford in a host of ways, as he accounted for 2,664 scrimmage yards (2,019 rushing, 645 receiving) with 13 touchdowns.
NCAA Football 18
Lamar Jackson, Louisville QB
Lamar Jackson's 2016 season deserves to be remembered. The Louisville play-caller put up video game type numbers, throwing for 3,543 yards, 30 touchdowns, and ran for 1,571 yards and 21 touchdowns to help the Cardinals finish 9-4 (7-1 ACC). Jackson took the Heisman Trophy in 2016 just ahead of Deshaun Watson. If Jackson was useable in a college video game, he would be nearly unstoppable, just like in Madden.
Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma QB
Mayfield's moxie in this game would be quite something. In 2016, Mayfield had the highest completion percentage of his career (70.9%), throwing for 3,965 yards and 40 touchdowns while adding 6 rushing scores to send the Sooners to the College Football Playoff. Don't be surprised if you see his name appear once more on this list, as he had quite an encore to his 2016 campaign.
Deshaun Watson, Clemson QB
The Clemson quarterback made a splash right away for the Tigers, helping the Tigers get to back-to-back national championship games against Alabama, which resulted in a split. Watson might've played just 2 1/2 years of college football, but he threw for 10,163 passing yards, rushed for 1,934 more, and totaled 116 touchdowns for Dabo Swinney and company.
NCAA Football 19
Saquon Barkley, Penn State RB
The excitement that Barkley brought to college football during his Penn State career was simply remarkable. He'll get remembered for his athleticism and ability to hurdle defenders, but he put together back-to-back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in the Big Ten. He ran for 3,843 yards and 43 touchdowns, adding 8 on the ground and another through the air. Could you imagine playing with Penn State Saquon?
Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma QB
Mayfield's the only player to make this list twice, in part because he had impressive seasons back-to-back. The Oklahoma signal caller fittingly saved his best season for last, throwing for 4,627 yards, rushing for 311 more, and totaling 49 touchdowns. Over Mayfield's four-year tenure between the Sooners and Texas Tech, he threw for 14,607 yards and accounted for 153 total touchdowns (131 passing, 31 rushing, 1 receiving).
Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin RB
The volume rusher was second fiddle at the time in the conference behind Barkley, but it wouldn't take long before he seized the spotlight. Taylor's freshman season saw him run for 1,977 yards and 13 touchdowns, before posting back-to-back 2,000-yard seasons in 2018 and 2019. For his career, Taylor went for 6,174 yards on 926 attempts (6.7 YPC), 50 rushing touchdowns, and 5 receiving touchdowns.
NCAA Football 20
Travis Etienne, Clemson RB
The ex-Clemson running back was shifty, dynamic, physical, and exciting. That's a lot considering the number of weapons that were in Clemson's offense at the time, but Etienne did all of it. He ran for 1,658 yards, averaging 8.1 yards per carry while finding the end zone 26 times (24 rushing, 2 receiving) for the Tigers. Etienne was the highest Heisman finisher among non-quarterbacks, placing seventh behind Kyler Murray, Tua Tagovailoa, Dwayne Haskins, Will Grier, Gardner Minshew, and McKenzie Milton.
Kyler Murray, Oklahoma QB
If there's one quarterback that anyone would've wanted to play with in the video game, Murray might've been it. Throwing for 4,361 yards and 42 touchdowns while adding 1,001 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns is one of the best single seasons a dual-threat quarterback has had as of late. Good luck defending the read option or the throw on the run against this guy.
Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama QB
The Alabama quarterback had more than just a few memorable moments during his time in Tuscaloosa, whether that be leading the Crimson Tide to a title in overtime off the bench against Georgia or having a historic 2018 season. That campaign saw Tua throw for 3,66 yards with 43 touchdowns against just 6 interceptions. Say what you want about the left-handed quarterback, his college career was quite memorable.
NCAA Football 21
Joe Burrow, LSU QB
There's a real argument to be had that the LSU offense should be on the cover alongside Burrow, with Ja'Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Thaddeus Moss, and others making appearances. Burrow's 2019 season was flat-out historic along with the entire LSU offense, throwing for 5,671 yards and 60 touchdowns, adding five more scores on the ground all while completing 76.3 percent of his passes.
Justin Fields, Ohio State QB
The Ohio State quarterback made an immediate splash after transferring from Georgia. Fields threw for 5,373 yards and 63 touchdowns over his two seasons with the Buckeyes before being drafted 11th overall by the Chicago Bears in the 2021 NFL Draft. Fields added 15 rushing scores in two years, helping the Buckeyes to the College Football Playoff in back-to-back seasons.
Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma QB
Whether it's Alabama Jalen Hurts or Oklahoma Jalen Hurts, it's still a dynamic quarterback that can make things happen through the air or on the ground. In his lone season with the Sooners, Hurts threw for 3,851 yards and 32 touchdowns, adding 1,298 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns on the ground. Visualizing the amount that Hurts could've done in a college football video game would've been scary for numerous defenses.
NCAA Football 22
Trevor Lawrence, Clemson QB
Lawrence was a mainstay in college, throwing for 10,098 yards and 90 touchdowns over his three seasons as a starter for Clemson. The Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback added 18 rushing touchdowns on the ground, totaling 943 rushing yards for the Tigers. Lawrence went 39-3 as a starting quarterback, which included a national title win over Alabama in 2019.
DeVonta Smith, Alabama WR
Playing during COVID proved to be complicated for a lot of programs, but Smith's 2020 season looked like a normal stat line from any given season. The Heisman winner caught 117 passes for 1,856 yards, totaling 23 touchdowns from Mac Jones over 13 games that year. In the national championship against Ohio State, Smith went off, catching 12 passes for 215 yards with a hat trick of touchdowns.
Kyle Trask, Florida QB
Trask might not have been the best quarterback in his own conference in 2020, but that doesn't prevent him from being in the conversation among cover athletes. The ex-Gator finished fourth in the Heisman voting following a season in which he threw for 4,283 yards and 43 touchdowns, helping Florida get to the SEC Championship game against Alabama.
NCAA Football 23
Aidan Hutchinson, Michigan DL
It didn't matter the opponent, Hutchinson wreaked havoc on opposing offensive lines. The Big Ten's Most Valuable Player in 2021, Hutchinson finished with 14 sacks, along with 62 total tackles (36 solo). The Michigan defensive lineman was also the winner of the Ted Hendricks Award, the Lombardi Award, and the Lott Trophy along with being unanimous All-American.
Kenneth Walker III, Michigan State RB
The Michigan State product had a huge hand in the Spartans' brief resurgence, going for 1,636 yards and 18 touchdowns, averaging north of 6 yards per carry in his lone year with the program. Walker was named the 2021 Doak Walker Award winner along with being named the Big Ten Running Back of the Year, as well as a unanimous All-American.
Bryce Young, Alabama QB
The 2021 season saw no one better at the quarterback position than Young, who threw for 4,872 yards and 47 touchdowns before being named the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner. The Alabama product would've been the first quarterback in program history to be on the cover of the game, joining a pair of Alabama running backs in Shaun Alexander (2001) and Mark Ingram (2012) to be featured.
NCAA Football 24
Stetson Bennett, Georgia QB
Perhaps it's wishful thinking, but would anyone have objected to a former walk-on being on the cover? Bennett guided Georgia to a pair of national titles, throwing for 6,990 yards and 56 touchdowns during his final two seasons playing with the Dawgs. He added 10 rushing touchdowns in his final year, capping it off with a 65-7 drubbing of TCU in the title game.
C.J. Stroud, Ohio State QB
Stroud made a great argument to be on the cover following his 2021 and 2022 seasons, throwing for 8,123 yards with 85 touchdowns. That included a College Football Playoff appearance, taking Georgia to the brink before Ohio State missed what would've been a game-winning field goal at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve. Despite the amount of illustrious history Ohio State has had over the years, a Buckeye has never been showcased on the cover of the NCAA Football video game franchise.
Caleb Williams, USC QB
Recently the No. 1 overall pick for the Chicago Bears, Williams would've made a lot of sense to be the cover athlete. He would've joined an elite fraternity of USC athletes (Reggie Bush, Carson Palmer, Mark Sanchez) to be on the cover of the video game, on top of having a solid season (333-500, 4,537 yards, 42 TDs, 5 INT; 382 rushing yards, 10 TDs). Williams likely would've been a no-brainer to be a cover athlete following the 2022 season.
Follow Sports ReporterAlex Martinon X:@NP_AlexMartin.For the best sports coverage in Southwest Florida, follow@newspresssportsand@ndnprepzoneon Instagram.
