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

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

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.

Matt Ponatoski could join an exclusive club not just at Kentucky, but in all of college athletics. On Sunday, he became the highest-ranked player to commit to Nick Mingione’s baseball program, and also gave Mark Stoops a Top 10 quarterback in the 2026 recruiting class. The talented athlete from Cincinnati Moeller intends to play both sports at Kentucky.

“I’m going to try and do both for as long as possible,” he said. “The goal for me is to be drafted in both [sports]. It sounds crazy, but Kyler Murray did it not too long ago.”

It’s a tall task, but he might be cut out for the job. Here are the few that have dabbled on both during their time in Lexington.

Kentucky’s Original Multi-Sport Star

You will not find a more accomplished athlete to ever suit up for the University of Kentucky than Wallace “Wah Wah” Jones. The Harlan native scored 1,151 points while winning two National Championships and an Olympic Gold Medal for Adolph Rupp. He also starred for Bear Bryant’s Wildcats and was an All-American in both sports. During his free time, he was a pitcher and first baseman for the baseball team. He is the only player with his Kentucky jersey retired in both football and basketball.

Close, but No Cigar

There were a number of players who planned on playing two sports, and for a myriad of reasons never suited up for two teams.

Dennis Johnson and Tim Couch were Hal Mumme’s two stars in the late 90s. Bill Keightley had a jersey ready for them, but Mumme did not want his stars to get injured while pressing in Rick Pitino’s practices.

Around that same time, Jared Lorenzen’s Highlands teammate Derek Smith was the Wildcats’ star tight end who succeeded All-American James Whalen. He caught 89 passes for 1,224 yards and nine touchdowns over three years. Once his football career ended, he played college hoops for NKU, who was Division II at the time.

Lonnell Dewalt claims the honor for the most ferocious dunk in KHSAA Sweet 16 history. He started his career on the football field and set an unbreakable record by blocking seven kicks in 11 games. Unfortunately, it was a short-lived career. He was academically ineligible and only lasted in Lexington for one season.

Ravi Moss was a walk-on for Tubby Smith who came off the bench and regularly knocked down big shots. Once his football eligibility expired, he planned on joining Rich Brooks’ football team. After two spring practices, he had a change of heart and joined a barnstorming and autograph tour with other former Kentucky basketball players. Over the summer, he changed his mind again. Since he accepted money on that autograph tour, the NCAA handed him a 6-game suspension, effectively ending his football career before it started.

Kentucky Stars in the 70s

Darryl Bishop was the first African-American to play for the Kentucky freshman basketball team. The Louisville Seneca product appeared in five varsity games before focusing on football. It was a wise career choice. He still holds the Kentucky career interceptions record (14) and has the most tackles ever by a Kentucky defensive back (348).

Similar to Bishop, Derrick Ramsey appeared in just two Kentucky basketball games before turning his attention to football. He served as the starting quarterback for two of the most successful seasons in Kentucky football history, guiding the Wildcats to an 8-4 record and a Peach Bowl victory in 176, followed by 10-1 campaign in 1977.

The fall and spring schedules make baseball and football the best tandem for two-sport players. There have been a few exceptional talents in recent memory.

Steve Phillips caught a touchdown pass from Freddie Maggard in 1989. He spent four years on the gridiron, then joined the baseball team for one season before getting drafted by the New York Yankees. Vince Harrison was a wide receiver who caught five passes and two touchdowns in 1998-99 while playing in the infield for Keith Madison. Brian Adams was a pass-catcher who had eight receptions for 69 yards from 2010-11, while playing in the infield at Cliff Hagan Stadium.

There were two Kentucky starting quarterbacks who spent a few years dabbling on the diamond. Pookie Jones ran the triple option for Bill Curry in the early 90s. Over three years, he threw for 3,459 yards and rushed for 854 yards with 29 total touchdowns. He was selected in the 14th round of the 1994 MLB Draft and spent three years grinding in the Minor Leagues. Jones picked up the football one more time and played for the Louisville Fire in the Arena Football League.

Shane Boyd did quite a bit of juggling during his time at Kentucky. He played a little wide receiver, but also shared quarterback duties with Jared Lorenzen and Andre Woodson between 2001-04. He had 13 career passing touchdowns, 13 rushing touchdowns, and one receiving touchdown. Boyd had a strong arm that Coach Madison used as a reliever during his time on the diamond.

The Most Recent Two-Sport Athletes at Kentucky

Ben Jordan spent a couple of seasons pitching for the Kentucky Wildcats. The 6-foot-9 athlete walked onto the basketball team for the 2019-20 season. As the world began to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, he died unexpectedly in January of 2021.

Jordan Anthony was one of the nation’s top sprinters when he committed to Kentucky. The wide receiver appeared in a few games during his freshman season, but did not record any statistics. He was much more successful in track, setting the Kentucky freshman record in the 60 meters while earning All-American honors.

His focus was more on track than football, which ultimately led him to the transfer portal. He caught 11 passes over two seasons at Texas A&M and Arkansas, including a touchdown last fall for the Hogs. Earlier this month, he won an NCAA Championship in the 100 meters (10.07). One day later, Anthony signed with Adidas to pursue a professional track career.

Tyler Atkinson is the No. 1 linebacker in the 2026 recruiting class and is a top target for Georgia. Atkinson is yet to announce a commitment date yet, but the expectation is that he could share that news sometime this next month.

So while the college football world waits for that announcement, Atkinson recently shared some big personal news involving a new NIL deal.

Tyler Atkinson’s Adidas NIL deal changes the game

It isn’t very common for high school athletes to sign NIL deals, but certain brands will strike deals with the top players in the country. Apparently Atkinson fits that description because he was one of six top high school recruits that have signed a deal with Adidas.

While this is an amazing accomplishment for him and his family, this could be an interesting development for Georgia in their pursuit of him. Atkinson now will likely only wear Adidas gear for the time being because of this NIL deal, but Georgia wears Nike gear for all of their sports. So could this new NIL deal impact Georgia’s chances?

Thankfully this deal likely won’t impact Atkinson’s recruitment in any way because all five of his finalists are Nike schools. This includes Oregon, Clemson, Texas, Ohio State and Georgia who all wear Nike gear every game.

There’s a chance this deal with Adidas will only last during the rest of his high school career, but it could bleed into his time at Georgia or any other school he commits to. Atkinson could still wear Adidas gear in his personal life and make appearances for the brand while still wearing Nike gear during game days. This is something Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith currently does, so that likely would be allowed at Georgia as well.

It’s a good sign that this deal won’t impact Georgia’s chances of landing Atkinson because they’ve been the leader for a few months now. So hopefully Atkinson announces his commitment soon, because Georgia fans would love nothing more than to add another five-star recruit to their recruiting class.

It’s almost here. Yes, college football season would fit that description, and by extension, the Ohio State football season, but we’re talking about the release of EA Sports back by popular demand and NIL pondering, “College Football 26.”