Every OU player's rating in EA Sports College Football 26

This week, Electronic Arts will publicly release its second iteration of EA Sports College Football.

Last July saw the climactic return of the popular video game series after an 11-year hiatus, and EA Sports College Football 25 quickly became one of the most influential and popular games of all time. Electronic Arts has teased plenty of forthcoming upgrades and tweaks to EA Sports College Football 26, and gamers across the country are chomping at the bit to see this year’s version hit their consoles.

When the game goes public, Oklahoma fans will have the chance to take control of a Sooners roster that looks markedly different from last year’s. Among the highest-rated players on OU’s roster in EA Sports College Football 25 were Jackson Arnold, Jalil Farooq and Gavin Sawchuk (transferred) on offense, and Danny Stutsman, Woodi Washington and Billy Bowman (graduated) on defense. So let’s take a glimpse at the Sooners’ new-look roster as it appears in EA Sports College Football 26.

Offense

QB: John Mateer — 91 OVR, Michael Hawkins Jr. — 80 OVR, Gavin Frakes — 70 OVR

Notes: Frakes will not appear on the Sooners’ roster for long, as he recently transferred to Northwestern. Scholarship omissions from this group include Mercer transfer Whitt Newbauer and true freshman Jett Niu.

RB: Jaydn Ott — 90 OVR, Jovantae Barnes — 86 OVR, Xavier Robinson — 85 OVR, Taylor Tatum — 83 OVR

Notes: The only scholarship omission from this group is true freshman Tory Blaylock, although walk-on extraordinaire Andy Bass was also excluded.

WR: Deion Burks — 88 OVR, Jayden Gibson — 84 OVR, Isaiah Sategna — 81 OVR, Keontez Lewis — 80 OVR, Elijah Thomas — 75 OVR, Zion Kearney — 73 OVR, Ivan Carreon — 70 OVR, Jacob Jordan — 69 OVR

Notes: There are several scholarship omissions from this group, most notably Arkansas-Pine Bluff transfer Javonnie Gibson, who projects as a starter for OU in the fall. Also missing from the game are Zion Ragins, Emmanuel Choice, Josiah Martin and KJ Daniels.

TE: Carson Kent — 76 OVR, Kaden Helms — 75 OVR, Jaren Kanak — 74 OVR, Kade McIntyre — 74 OVR, Trynae Washington — 72 OVR

Notes: As in real life, tight end appears to be the point of apparent weakness for this Oklahoma offense. The only missing scholarship player is Pittsburg State transfer Will Huggins.

OT: LT Logan Howland — 79 OVR, LT Jacob Sexton — 79 OVR, LT Michael Fasusi — 79 OVR, RT Jake Taylor — 81 OVR, RT Luke Baklenko — 76 OVR  

Notes: Western Carolina transfer Derek Simmons enters the fall as the Sooners’ projected starter at right tackle, but he isn’t in the game. Neither is redshirt freshman Isaiah Autry-Dent.

OG: LG Heath Ozaeta — 73 OVR, LG Daniel Akinkunmi — 69 OVR, RG Febechi Nwaiwu — 80 OVR, RG Eddy Pierre-Louis — 77 OVR, RG Ryan Fodje — 77 OVR

Notes: It stands to reason that many users will insert Pierre-Louis as the Sooners’ starting left guard given the surprisingly low OVR assigned to Ozaeta. Missing from this group is true freshman Darius Afalava.

C: Troy Everett — 80 OVR, Jake Maikkula — 79 OVR

Notes: There’s very little separation between Everett and Maikkula as far as EA Sports is concerned, and that’s expected to be the case on the actual gridiron this fall as they battle for a job. Freshman Owen Hollenbeck is absent from the game at this position.

Defense/Specialists

DE: RE R Mason Thomas — 89 OVR, RE Adepoju Adebawore — 84 OVR, RE Wyatt Gilmore — 72 OVR, RE Taylor Wein — 70 OVR, LE Marvin Jones Jr. — 84 OVR, LE Nigel Smith ll — 74 OVR, LE Danny Okoye — 74 OVR, LE Ace Hodges — 73 OVR

Notes: Wein’s OVR is another surprisingly low grade, as he’s expected to factor significantly into the mix at strong-side DE for the Sooners this fall. Scholarship players missing from this group are redshirt freshman Bergin Kysar and true freshmen Alex Shieldnight and CJ Nickson.

DT: Damonic Williams — 87 OVR, Gracen Halton — 87 OVR, Jayden Jackson — 83 OVR, David Stone — 83 OVR, Siolaa Lolohea — 75 OVR, Markus Strong — 73 OVR

Notes: At least in the virtual realm, Williams and Halton are the two de-facto starters in a loaded group. The only scholarship player not represented in the game is freshman Trent Wilson.

ROLB: Kip Lewis — 87 OVR, Sammy Omosigho — 80 OVR, Taylor Heim — 68 OVR

Notes: There are no LOLB’s listed on Oklahoma’s roster, as that position group is exclusively occupied by placeholder players. However, that does accurately reflect Oklahoma’s scheme, which only features two true linebackers on the field at once. ROLB is tantamount to the Sooners’ WILL position, while MLB is naturally equivalent to MIKE.

MLB: Kobie McKinzie — 80 OVR, James Nesta — 73 OVR, Owen Heinecke — 72 OVR

Notes: It’s unclear which linebacker spot true freshman Marcus James will play, but he is not listed in the game.

CB: Eli Bowen — 88 OVR, Kendel Dolby — 84 OVR, Gentry Williams — 79 OVR, Jacobe Johnson — 78 OVR, Devon Jordan — 74 OVR, Jeremiah Newcombe — 74 OVR

Notes: Unsurprisingly, Dolby is listed as a corner given that the game doesn’t have a “cheetah” designation. True freshmen Courtland Guillory, Maliek Hawkins and Trystan Haynes are not in the game.

FS: Robert Spears-Jennings — 89 OVR, Michael Boganowski — 73 OVR

Notes: Spears-Jennings is tied with R Mason Thomas for the distinction of being the highest-rated player on Oklahoma’s defense.

SS: Kendal Daniels — 85 OVR, Peyton Bowen — 81 OVR, Jaydan Hardy — 76 OVR, Reggie Powers lll — 75 OVR, Marcus Wimberly — 71 OVR

Notes: The only scholarship omission from this group is true freshman Omarion Robinson. Daniels, who has played safety in the past but will likely play most of his snaps at cheetah, is listed at SS for lack of a more precise designation.

SPEC: K Tate Sandell — 76 OVR, K Austin Welch — 75 OVR, K Liam Evans — 68 OVR, P Jacob Ulrich — 79 OVR

Notes: Three’s a crowd for Oklahoma at kicker, but the EA developers hedged their bets given the uncertainty at the position. Long snapper Ben Anderson was in the game last year, but does not appear on the roster this time around.