Transferring an athlete’s set of skills to the video game world is an inexact science, especially when there are 136 college football rosters to assemble (welcome to the FBS, Delaware and Missouri State).
While Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith and safety Caleb Downs are the two highest-rated players in EA Sports College Football 26 at 98 and 96 overall, there are a handful of other Buckeyes one could argue were undervalued by the game’s scouting team. Wide receivers Brandon Inniss (80 overall) and Mylan Graham (78 overall) feel like obvious candidates to outplay their virtual marks, though it’s understandable they landed at those ratings given the lack of production to this point in their careers.
That said, there are five players, two offensive linemen and three defenders, that we at Eleven Warriors feel aren’t getting enough love from EA. We’ll break down why below.
LB Payton Pierce, 74 OVR
The fact that a fictional character made up for the game, Blake Carney, is rated 79 overall at middle linebacker to Pierce’s 74 might be the biggest oversight on this list. Then again, it’s hard to realize the hype surrounding Pierce if you don’t cover Ohio State for a living or follow the Buckeyes as a fan.
A sophomore, Pierce’s 247Sports composite ranking as the No. 15 linebacker and No. 204 overall prospect in the recruiting class of 2024 wasn’t anything special by Ohio State standards. An ankle injury eliminated his 2024 spring practice, and he played just 31 defensive snaps across six appearances last season.
But James Laurinaitis beamed about Pierce just as much if not more as he beamed about starting linebackers Sonny Styles and Arvell Reese this spring.
“Payton's awesome. Tough,” Laurinaitis said. “Absolute natural middle linebacker. His feel in the box and his ability to maneuver and feel blocking schemes. He's got that wrestling background, so his striking ability and the way he snags and then runs his feet on contact, like, it's just a throwback, man. I love Payton. I expect Payton to have a lot of playing time.”
Pierce will serve as the third linebacker in Ohio State’s 4-2-5 defense, but it should give him plenty of opportunity to show why he’s got more tools than a 74 overall video game rating would suggest and better than the fake Carney he backs up on console.
S Jaylen McClain, 77 OVR
McClain is like Pierce in that he’s a second-year defender who wasn’t a big-name recruit, but he’s competing for a starting spot and has a bit more proof in his 2024 pudding.
Last year, McClain was the third Ohio State freshman to shed his black stripe after turning heads throughout spring practice and early in preseason camp. He gave fans a quick glimpse of his talents with an interception of Julian Sayin in the spring game.
Jaylen McClain picks off fellow freshman Julian Sayin in the spring game. pic.twitter.com/04OHiSVXBB
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) April 13, 2024
McClain is now competing with Malik Hartford to start at strong safety in place of the graduated Lathan Ransom, but there’s a clear impetus to get both of them playing time in 2025. McClain’s downhill playstyle and dynamic athletic gifts are why safeties coach Matt Guerrieri wants to see them both used and also why a 77 overall rating feels low.
“Jaylen's had a great spring,” Guerrieri said in April. “Competition (between him and Malik Hartford) has been awesome, but it's our job as coaches to have packaging that, if those guys earn the right to be on the field, we've got to put them on the field. So, how do we find the balance to be able to play multiple safeties, multiple corners in packaging? Matt Patricia is the guru of being able to do that throughout his career, what he's been able to do from a personnel standpoint. I'm very, very impressed and happy with Malik, with Jaylen, the mentality, the performance on the field. It's been really good.”
LG Luke Montgomery, 78 OVR
Unlike Pierce and McClain, the final three players on this list are projected starters for Ohio State. And all three man the trenches.
Montgomery, to your dear writer of this article at least, is an All-Big Ten caliber player. The Ohio native enters his junior season off as big a College Football Playoff rise as any returning player on the Buckeyes’ roster. A backup throughout the regular season, Montgomery carved out a rotational spot at left guard to start the CFP, rolling with starter Austin Siereveld, who also rolled with starting right guard Tegra Tshabola. Montgomery (No. 51 in the clip below) quickly put offensive line enjoyers on notice with his rugged style.
Luke Montgomery HOLY COW pic.twitter.com/xS86qYc4O9
— Anand Nanduri (@NanduriNFL) December 22, 2024
Montgomery put Ohio State’s coaches on notice, too, enough that he overtook Siereveld to start full-time at left guard by the Buckeyes’ CFP semifinal game against Texas. He started in that spot throughout this past spring practice and appears poised to deliver on his top-100 recruiting pedigree.
OL Austin Siereveld, 78 OVR
It says something about Siereveld’s progress that he’s now the favorite to start at right tackle for Ohio State – a hair ahead of Minnesota transfer Phillip Daniels – after just beginning to work at the position following his move outside from guard this spring. An offensive lineman capable of starting at two positions for the defending national champions feels better than a 78 overall, in this writer’s opinion.
That’s before considering the fact that Sierveld was one of three Iron Buckeyes recognized this offseason by the team’s strength and conditioning staff. He started six games and played 495 snaps in 2024, the sixth-most among Ohio State’s offensive linemen.
Even if it’s not at right tackle, Siereveld is in line to start as one of Ohio State’s best five offensive linemen, per Ryan Day.
"I thought Austin did a nice job moving around," Day said in April. "I think he really took a big step for us. And so, yeah, I don't think we're in a position to really get into, like, who's starting and who isn't and at what positions. Austin Siereveld is going to be a starter for us. He's an excellent player. Really had a good spring for us."
DT Kayden McDonald, 80 OVR
An 80 overall isn’t a bad rating, but the largest man on Ohio State’s defense is primed to feast in 2025.
McDonald, a 6-foot-3, 326-pound nose guard with an unnaturally quick first step at that size, managed to turn heads despite playing behind the stalwart defensive tackle tandem of Tyleik Williams and Ty Hamilton in 2024. McDonald may well have been the Buckeyes’ most valuable subpackage defender last year, a central cog in what probably goes down as the best goal-line defense in team history. He’d play head-up on opposing centers in such looks, and made his presence felt on plays like this 3rd-and-goal against Penn State:
“That was probably my favorite moment (of the season),” McDonald said after the season. “I just wanted to win that game and be ready when my number was called. No matter how many plays you get, it’s up to you when they call your name, so that’s how I go about it.”
McDonald played plenty of spot duty, too, logging 214 snaps, the most of Ohio State’s defensive tackles outside Hamilton and Williams, who are both off to the NFL. He collected 19 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss in that time. Set to start at nose guard for the Buckeyes in 2025, McDonald has already shown that 80 overall could be far too low.
