College football fans have put up with enough bad news about the state of the game in recent years. After realignment dominated the 2023 offseason, the 2024 offseason brings something much more exciting: EA College Football 25.
The classic NCAA Football video game is back. Well, almost. Fans will have to wait until July 19 — July 16 for those who pay for the early release — to play the latest edition of the college football game.
The return of the game means the return of cover athletes, whether it’s one player, multiple, or even several gracing the cover of EA College Football each year. The last decade of college football featured plenty of timeless stars, from Joe Burrow to Christian McCaffrey, but none of them got the opportunity to appear on the cover of a game with the EA Sports edition defunct.
Here’s a look back at which players actually did land on the cover of EA College Football, which has changed up its approach a few times throughout its history.
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NCAA Football covers by year
| Year | Player | School |
| 1993 | Bill Walsh* | |
| 1994 | Bill Walsh* | |
| 1995 | None** | |
| 1996 | Tommie Frazier | Nebraska |
| 1997 | Danny Wuerffel | Florida |
| 1998 | Charles Woodson | Michigan |
| 1999 | Ricky Williams | Texas |
| 2000 | Shaun Alexander | Alabama |
| 2001 | Chris Weinke | Florida State |
| 2002 | Joey Harrington | Oregon |
| 2003 | Carson Palmer | USC |
| 2004 | Larry Fitzgerald | Pittsburgh |
| 2005 | Desmond Howard | Michigan |
| 2006 | Reggie Bush | USC |
| 2007 | Jared Zabransky | Boise State |
| 2008 | Owen Schmitt (PSP)*** | West Virginia |
| DeSean Jackson (PS2) | California | |
| Matt Ryan (PS3) | Boston College | |
| Darren McFadden (Xbox 360) | Arkansas | |
| 2009 | Brian Orakpo (PS2) | Texas |
| Brian Johnson (PS3) | Utah | |
| Mark Sanchez (PSP) | USC | |
| Michael Crabtree (Xbox 360) | Texas Tech | |
| 2010 | Tim Tebow | Florida |
| 2011 | Mark Ingram | Alabama |
| 2012 | Robert Griffin III, Barry Sanders | Baylor, Oklahoma State |
| 2013 | Denard Robinson | Michigan |
| 2024 | Quinn Ewers, Travis Hunter, Donovan Edwards | Texas, Colorado, Michigan |
* — The earliest editions of the game were initially named for Bill Walsh.
** — The 1995 edition of the game did feature players, but they were only small images that were, in some cases, unidentifiable. No standalone cover athlete was chosen until 1996.
*** — EA College Football produced different covers for different gaming systems in both 2008 and 2009.
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NCAA Football 25 cover athletes
There will be two covers for EA College Football 25. The standard cover will feature Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, Colorado’s two-way phenom Travis Hunter and Michigan running back Donovan Edwards. The deluxe edition will feature six total: Ewers, Hunter, Edwards, Alabama QB Jalen Milroe, Georgia QB Carson Beck, and Ohio State RB Quinshon Judkins.
Edwards is an interesting choice as the most prominent player on the cover, as he was the Wolverines’ change-of-pace back in 2023, but putting him front and center is a nod to Michigan’s national championship. Ewers and Hunter are two of college football’s biggest names, with Hunter the choice over teammate Shedeur Sanders.
Beck and Milroe are popular Heisman Trophy candidates in the SEC, while Judkins transferred from Ole Miss to Ohio State in the offseason and is set to be a focal point of the Buckeyes’ offense in 2024.
It’s unclear what the second cover of the game will include, whether it’s one player, several more players, or no athletes at all.
One key rule regarding covers has changed. The cover athlete of past editions of EA College Football were always NFL rookies or legends wearing their college uniforms because NCAA rules prohibited student-athletes from being on the cover. That’s no longer the case. If it was, there’s a good chance Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, or Marvin Harrison Jr. would be on the cover this year despite being out of college football altogether.
