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Texas

Seven Longhorns rank in the top-50 freshmen on new EA CFB 26 game

by: Evan Vieth07/10/25
Kaliq Lockett UT
Kaliq Lockett. (courtesy of Lockett)

With EA CFB 26 fully released, everything from ratings to new animations regarding the Texas Longhorns has been fully unlocked.

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While fans have known for a while about the top-ranked Longhorns and how hard the stadium will be to play in due to stadium pulse, the ratings for the youngest crop of Longhorns had been a relative unknown until the release.

While Texas doesn’t have the top-rated freshman in the nation—that goes to the very familiar Oregon WR Dakorien Moore—Texas is one of the most represented teams in the entire nation when it comes to impact freshmen in the game.

Texas has seven freshmen rated 78 or higher, making them one of the few teams with over five freshmen in the top 50. That’s what happens when you bring in the No. 1 recruiting class.

Topping the list is, surprisingly, RB James Simon, whose 81 rating is tied for sixth-best among players. He, alongside WR Kaliq Lockett, tops the Longhorns in their rating. While Lockett was a five-star and the No. 2 WR in On3’s industry ratings, Simon barely made the top 150 players in the same index. Simon’s high rating likely factors in running back being an easier position to be impactful as a first-year and him playing for one of the best teams in the nation.

Joining the two on the offensive side of the ball are WRs Jaime Ffrench (80 OVR) and Daylan McCutcheon (79), two of the top 20 receivers in the class, with McCutcheon already being reported as one of the early standouts of this class.

Defensively, Texas DL Justus Terry (80), CB Kade Phillips (79), and EDGE Lance Jackson (79) all make the cut. Terry was one of the biggest late wins for this Texas class, nabbing him out of Georgia in December as the No. 2 defensive lineman in the class. He, alongside Jackson, is a top-20 player in the class, while Phillips also comes in as a five-star recruit.

As noted by Pete Nakos in his recent post detailing the top-rated players, some Longhorns may be left out because they are not currently licensed in the game. He used Ohio State CB Devin Sanchez as an example, which may also be the case for why top-10 recruit Jonah Williams failed to make the list. He is the biggest omission from the list for the Longhorns, while LB Elijah Barnes, WR Michael Terry III, and CB Graceson Littleton all have a case for making the top-50.

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Texas’ top recruiting class is getting its deserved love, earning some of the best ratings in the nation. Georgia, the No. 2 class in the nation, is the only team that comes close to Texas’ reign on this list, but they only possess four of the top 50. EA is already showing confidence in both the young core and the overall team that the Longhorns are fielding for 2025—now all that’s left is some patience before the much-anticipated Ohio State matchup on August 30.

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