Drew Allar explains why he opted in for NCAA Football video game

EA Sports College Football 25 is scheduled to be released later this year. Over a decade removed from the final installment of the NCAA Football video game franchise, fans and players alike are eagerly anticipating the ability to play as themselves or their favorite college football stars.

Penn State quarterback Drew Allar is no exception, who revealed that he was excited to opt into the video game.

“I’m a big video game player off the field, especially with that sort of stuff (sports games) and obviously just the nostalgia of it, I grew up playing that game,” Allar said after Saturday’s spring game. “I did have like the last version that came out. There were just so many memories growing up. That’s kind of just another outlet for me to get away from football.”

The last installment of the game, NCAA 14, was released on July 9, 2013, for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Allar, 20, was barely 10 years old when it was released.

On the game were features such as Heisman Mode, Road to Glory — NCAA Football’s career mode, and Dynasty, which is similar to Madden’s Franchise Mode. Allar revealed his favorite mode in the older NCAA games.

“The mascot matchup mode was definitely one of the best things to play,” Allar continued. “But I think the other one too is just like the career stuff that was really cool just because a lot of kids always dreamed about being in the position that I am in today.”

EA launched its NIL opt-in program back in February. Participating athletes will have their name, image and likeness featured within the video game along with $600 and a copy of the game, On3’s Pete Nakos reported at the time. However, EA is working with a partner to sign NIL deals with some of the sport’s bigger athletes for promotional purposes.

Last month, it was reported that over 10,000 college athletes have opted into EA Sports College Football 25 in the first 10 days that it was open. EA’s goal is to have 85-player rosters for all 134 FBS college football teams which means they surpassed over 85 percent of their goal in less than two weeks.

No formal release date has been announced for the video game, but fans have been itching to play a new college sports video game for over a decade. Once it’s available, expect them to fly off the shelves.