Early access for EA Sports College Football 26 has officially begun, and Ohio State’s roster is full of highly rated players.
Headlined by wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (98) and safety Caleb Downs (96), the two highest-rated players in the entire game, Ohio State has six players with ratings of 90 or better. Wide receiver Carnell Tate and tight end Max Klare both have 91 overall ratings while linebacker Sonny Styles and cornerback Davison Igbinosun each have ratings of 90.
The Buckeyes are tied with Clemson for the fourth-most players in the video game with ratings of 90 or better. Penn State leads all schools with nine players in the 90+ club while Alabama and Texas each have eight.
Fourteen members of Ohio State’s 2025 roster have ratings of 85 or better on the launch rosters for EA Sports College Football 26, also including cornerback Jermaine Mathews Jr. (88), running backs James Peoples (87) and CJ Donaldson (86), quarterback Julian Sayin (85), left tackle Ethan Onianwa (85), defensive end Beau Atkinson (85), defensive tackle Eddrick Houston (85) and middle linebacker Arvell Reese (85).
The full list of ratings for Ohio State players in EA Sports College Football 26, sorted by position, can be found below. Fake players who were added to the game by EA Sports and do not exist in real life are listed in italics.
Quarterback
- Julian Sayin: 85
- Lincoln Kienholz: 80
- Tavien St. Clair: 80
Halfback
- James Peoples: 87
- Jayson Ball: 87
- CJ Donaldson Jr.: 86
- Bo Jackson: 80
- Sam Williams-Dixon: 76
Fullback
- Ryan Wesley: 66
Wide Receiver
- Jeremiah Smith: 98
- Carnell Tate: 91
- Brandon Inniss: 80
- Mylan Graham: 78
- Quincy Porter: 78
- Bryson Rodgers: 76
- De’Zie Jones: 72
- Bodpegn Miller: 71
Tight End
- Max Klare: 91
- Will Kacmarek: 82
- Jelani Thurman: 82
- Bennett Christian: 79
- Nate Roberts: 75
- Max LeBlanc: 71
- John Ferlmann (LS): 56
Left Tackle
- Ethan Onianwa: 85
- Ian Moore: 75
- Carter Lowe: 74
Left Guard
- Luke Montgomery: 78
- Eric Neaves: 76
- Devontae Armstrong: 69
- Jake Cook: 69
Center
- Carson Hinzman: 81
- Joshua Padilla: 73
Right Guard
- Tegra Tshabola: 80
- Christopher McLaughlin: 73
- Gabe VanSickle: 71
- Julian Goines-Jackson: 67
Right Tackle
- Austin Siereveld: 78
- Phillip Daniels: 76
- Deontae Armstrong: 73
Left Defensive End
- Kenyatta Jackson Jr.: 84
- Caden Curry: 81
- Zion Grady: 74
- Eric Mensah: 74
Right Defensive End
- Beau Atkinson: 85
- C.J. Hicks: 83
- Logan George: 77
- Joshua Mickens: 77
- Dominic Kirks: 74
Defensive Tackle
- Eddrick Houston: 85
- Kayden McDonald: 80
- Tywone Malone Jr.: 80
- Jason Moore: 77
- Jarquez Carter: 73
- Trajen Odom: 72
Left Outside Linebacker
- Bryan Wells: 76
Middle Linebacker
- Arvell Reese: 85
- Blake Carney: 79
- Payton Pierce: 74
Right Outside Linebacker
- Sonny Styles: 90
- Garrett Stover: 74
- Riley Pettijohn: 73
- Tarvos Alford: 72
Cornerback
- Davison Igbinosun: 90
- Jermaine Mathews Jr.: 88
- Lorenzo Styles Jr.: 79
- Aaron Scott Jr.: 78
- Trayvon Fuller: 77
- Justin Grimes III: 76
- Bryce West: 76
- Miles Lockhart: 71
Free Safety
- Caleb Downs: 96
- Kaleb Gaffney: 80
- DeShawn Stewart: 71
- Leroy Roker III: 66
Strong Safety
- Malik Hartford: 79
- Jaylen McClain: 77
- Keenan Nelson Jr.: 76
- Cody Haddad: 71
Kicker
- Jayden Fielding: 74
- Jackson Courville: 73
- Casey Magyar: 67
Punter
- Joe McGuire: 76
- Anthony Venneri: 74 (Note: Venneri is included on Ohio State’s game roster despite transferring to UCF.)
- Nick McLarty: 71
Eleven members of Ohio State’s freshman class, including five-star cornerback Devin Sanchez, are currently missing from Ohio State’s roster in EA Sports College Football 26. Other scholarship players absent from the launch roster are quarterback Eli Brickhandler, wide receivers Dave Adolph and Damarion Witten, offensive lineman Justin Terry, defensive tackle Will Smith Jr. and linebacker Ty Howard. Players could still be added to the game, however, as EA Sports will update the game’s rosters throughout the year.
As a team, Ohio State is one of seven teams with an overall rating of 88 along with Texas, Penn State, Notre Dame, Georgia, Clemson and Texas A&M. Alabama (89) is the only team with a higher overall rating.
Ohio State is tied with Texas, Penn State and Arizona State for the highest offensive rating (91) in the game. The Buckeyes’ defensive rating of 92 ranks them behind Alabama, Texas and Penn State and is tied with five other teams – Georgia, Michigan, Oregon, LSU and Texas Tech – for fourth-best in the game.
Early access to EA Sports College Football 26 is now available on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S to those who purchased the Deluxe Edition of the game. The standard edition of the game will be released Thursday.
