The college football world collectively rejoiced on Monday afternoon, when the long-awaited and much-anticipated EA Sports College Football 25 video game was released.
Customers who paid a premium price of $99.99 for the deluxe edition of the game were granted early access, while others must wait until the official July 19 rosters to start a dynasty with their favorite team.
And while fans will be looking forward to playing with truly real players in the game for the first time ever, it appears that the rosters of multiple teams – including the Texas Longhorns – are not yet fully complete.
Upon the release of the game on Monday, multiple Texas players were missing from the game, with some of those omissions being a key part of the roster.
On offense, the roster was without starting right tackle Cameron Williams, freshman guard Nate Kibble, offensive lineman Malik Agbo, and offensive lineman Trevor Goosby, and tight end Spencer Shannon.
Meanwhile on the defensive side of the ball, the Horns were without starting defensive tackle Alfred Collins, linebacker Mo Blackwell, transfer defensive tackle Jermayne Lole, redshirt freshman defensive tackle Sydir Mitchell, freshman tackle Melvin Hills, and cornerbacks Santana Wilson and Warren Roberson.
On top of that, multiple players who did make it into the game, are misnumbered, such as safety Andrew Mukuba, who should be wearing No. 4 instead of No. 13, edge Trey Moore, who should wear No. 8 instead of No. 31, and defensive lineman Bill Norton, who should wear No. 15 instead of No. 44.
Of course, the Longhorns are not the only team in the country missing players off of the game, including standouts like Ole Miss linebacker Suntarine Perkins, Ohio State edge J.T. Tuimoloau, Miami cornerback Daryl Porter Jr., USC wide receiver Ja'Kobi Lane, just to name a few.
To replace these players, multiple randomly generated players were added to the game instead, making for a more unauthentic experience.
To make things even more frustrating for players of the game, there is no way to edit the appearance or numbers of the randomly generated players, so they can not be turned into those that are missing. However, this is also understandable as it is likely due to legalities.
So why the omissions? Thus far with each individual case, it is unclear. However, there are likely a variety of factors at play.
Some players may have opted out, while others have yet to officially be added to team rosters, or had issues with the process of being added to the game in some capacity.
That said, all is not lost.
Fortunately, unlike in previous editions of the game a decade ago, EA has the ability to update the game's rosters, meaning more players should be added throughout the summer before the start of the season.
MATT GALATZAN
Matt Galatzan is the Publisher of LonghornsCountry.com, AllAggies.com, and the Managing Editor of BuckeyesNow.com and TheGroveReport.com He is also the Editor-In-Chief of RamDigest.com and TexansDaily.com. Galatzan graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry under Mike Fisher at DallasBasketball.com in 2014, which at the time was part of the 247Sports network. He also spent two years covering the SMU Mustangs for PonyStampede.com on the 247Sports network. When DallasBasketball.com and CowboysCountry.com moved over to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, Galatzan followed suit, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of LonghornsCountry.com and AllAggies.com a year later. Through the years, Galatzan has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, former Longhorns players Dan Neil and Phil Dawson, and many other recruits, and current/former players for each of the teams he has covered. Galatzan is also a full-time employee in the digital media department for Audacy and KRLD FM's 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, which is the official radio home of the Dallas Cowboys. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan For any inquiries, please email matt.galatzan@gmail.com
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