JT Tuimoloau, Josh Simmons Among 13 Players Not On Ohio State’s Initial EA Sports College Football 25 Roster
The launch of the EA Sports College Football 25 video game — which will be officially released on Friday after the franchise took an 11-year hiatus — has been highly anticipated by college football and Ohio State fans throughout the nation since EA announced the franchise’s return in 2021.
While many fans are excited to play with Ohio State’s loaded team, which features eight of the game’s top 100 players, they won’t get to compete with all of the roster, as 12 Buckeyes have reportedly been left off the team’s launch roster.
Headlining the list of absent players is senior defensive end JT Tuimoloau, who, according to Eleven Warriors, has reportedly opted out of EA Sports licensing agreement, which gave players $600 and a free copy of the video game in exchange for the right for the game to profit off their name, image and likeness.
Tuimoloau would have likely been the ninth Buckeye to be featured within the top 100-ranked players in the game, with the senior projected to be an early pick in next year’s NFL draft. But the veteran defensive end is not the only notable player to not be featured in the game.
Joining Tuimoloau off the Buckeyes’ launch roster are left tackle Josh Simmons and tight end Jelani Thurman, who are both expected to find playing time for the team this season. Simmons is expected to start at left tackle for the second consecutive year, while Thurman is likely the second-string tight end behind Gee Scott Jr. but could carve out a key role as a pass-catcher.
Other scholarship Buckeyes who are not included on the initial roster are freshmen Mylan Graham, Eddrick Houston, Dominic Kirks, Nick McLarty, Ian Moore, Garrett Stover, Gabe VanSickle and Damarion Witten along with sophomores Miles Walker and Will Smith Jr.
As alluded to, Ohio State leads all teams in the game with eight players with an overall player rating of 90 or higher. This includes — in order of ranking — safety Caleb Downs (95), running back Quinshon Judkins (95), wide receiver Emeka Egbuka (93), running back TreVeyon Henderson (93), defensive end Jack Sawyer (92), cornerback Denzel Burke (91), offensive lineman Donovan Jackson (91) and defensive lineman Tyleik Williams (91).
Other notable Buckeyes who have a player ranking of 89 overall or below include quarterbacks Will Howard (85), Devin Brown (80), Julian Sayn (80) and Air Noland (75), wide receivers Carnell Tate (85), Jeremiah Smith (85) and Brandon Inniss (82), center Seth McLaughlin (85), linebackers Sonny Styles (86), Cody Simon (85) and C.J. Hicks (85), cornerbacks Davison Igbinosun (88), Jermaine Mathews Jr. (85) and Jordan Hancock (84) and safety Lathan Ransom (85).
The Buckeyes are the second-highest rated team in the game at 93 overall, trailing only Georgia at 95 overall. Ohio State does have the highest-rated defense at 96 overall — with Georgia trailing behind at 94 overall — and fifth-highest rated offense at 89 overall, trailing the Bulldogs (94), Oregon (94), Alabama (91) and Texas (91).
EA Sports College Football 25 will be officially released for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on Friday, while fans could get early access by signing up for deluxe edition preorders starting at 4 p.m. on Monday.