Ohio State in new college football video game: What we know

COLUMBUS — It’s here: release week for the new EA Sports College Football 26 video game is upon us. Early access to the game for fans of Ohio State and every other program began Monday at Noon, meaning details of the video game are quickly being revealed.

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day is officially in the game; coaches were not in the game last year. Notably, Buckeyes offensive coordinator Brian Hartline and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia are not in the video game, while other Buckeyes coaches are.

So what else do we know about the game so far? Let’s dive in with some early-access details.

Top-rated Ohio State players

Wide receiver Jeremiah Smith is the top-rated player on the Ohio State roster and the entire game, checking in at a 98 overall. Junior safety Caleb Downs is a 96 overall as a returning unanimous All-American defender.

Ohio State has six players at a 90 overall or better: Smith, Downs, wide receiver Carnell Tate (91), tight end Max Klare (91), cornerback Davison Igbinosun (90) and linebacker Sonny Styles (90) are all at least a 90 overall or better.

Running back James Peoples, the projected starter, is an 87 overall. Rice transfer and expected Ohio State starting left tackle Ethan Onianwa is an 85 overall. North Carolina transfer defensive end Beau Atkinson and defensive tackle Eddrick Houston are both at 85 overall, while defensive end Kenyatta Jackson is at 84 overall.

Cornerback Jermaine Mathews is at 88 overall, joining Igbinosun’s 90 overall rating.

What are Ohio State QBs rated?

The Ohio State quarterback depth chart looks like this in the new video game:

RS freshman Julian Sayin: 85 overall
RS sophomore Lincoln Kienholz: 80 overall
True freshman Tavien St. Clair: 80 overall

The folks at EA Sports clearly has Sayin as the starting quarterback for the Buckeyes, but the competition between he and Kienholz is ongoing and won’t be decided until at least the beginning of August camp — and most likely mid-August.

Buckeyes not in release of game

The following players are not in the release of the new video game:

RBs Turbo Rogers* and Isaiah West
WRs Phillip Bell, De’Zie Jones and Damarion Witten
TE Brody Lennon*
OLs Carter Lowe, Jayvon McFadden and Justin Terry*
DE Epi Sitanilei*
DTs Eric Mensah, Will Smith Jr., Maxwell Roy
LB Eli Lee
SAF Faheem Delane
CBs Devin Sanchez and Jordyn Woods*

* denotes mid-year enrollees, whether freshman or transfer