Guessing every LSU player's rating in EA College Football 25

With less than a week before EA Sports drops the new College Football 25 video game, LSU fans are hungry to see what the player ratings will be. Debates will surely pickup as the full LSU roster is going to be release on Wednesday afternoon.

Players will talk about them, fans will dissect them, and with over 14,000 players in the game, there’s plenty of work to do to try to get the ratings somewhat accurate. In Madden, there are less than 2,000 players with ratings.

Let’s focus on LSU, though. I went through and rated every offensive player based on what I would personally rate them, not what I think EA will rate them. There is no recent precedence on ratings since this is a new game and using Madden ratings to reference felt useless, so these are all fresh. I completed this task in May, but made some tweaks since then.

Quarterback

Garrett Nussmeier: 88 | AJ Swann: 74 | Rickie Collins: 71 | Colin Hurley: 68

I don’t think there’s a quarterback in America that deserves to start the year over 92 rated. Nussmeier doesn’t have the starting experience that Carson Beck and others have, which will drop him a bit, but I’m confident he puts up impressive numbers and ends the year in the 90s. Starting the year at an 88 should put him as a top 10-15 quarterback in the country. Hopefully they don’t inflate this position rating across the country in a very average quarterback year.

AJ Swann should be in the 73-75 range with his starting experience at Vanderbilt. Collins in the low 70s as a redshirt freshman and a modest prospect out of high school is fine. I have no idea how they’ll rate true freshmen upon release of the game. 

Running back

Josh Williams: 82 | Kaleb Jackson: 82 | Trey Holly: 73 | Caden Durham: 73 | John Emery: 74

Williams is a do-it-all type of back who looked spry in the spring and certainly deserves credit for being a reliable back for the Tigers in his career. Jackson has the upside, but until we see his overall ability and consistency as a featured back, I think it’s fair to start him at 82 overall and go from there. 

Holly is a rugged back who maybe has some potential to show this year, despite missing the spring, while Durham is a freshman with legit track speed and was the featured back on one of the best teams in Texas last year. Emery returns still recovering from his ACL injury, but he could help in his final year.

Wide receiver

Kyren Lacy: 87 | CJ Daniels: 85 | Chris Hilton: 82 | Zavion Thomas: 82 | Aaron Anderson: 76 | Shelton Sampson: 75 | Kyle Parker: 75 | Landon Ibieta: 70 | Kylan Billiot: 74 | Jelani Watkins: 73

I’m interested to see where Lacy starts the year in the game. The general population has no idea how good he’s been in the spring for LSU and I could see him coming in the mid-80s, which feels too low for me. I think he’s a 1,000 yard receiver and someone who will immediately be someone talked about on the national stage when paired with Garrett Nussmeier. Daniels gets respect since he’s coming off of a great year at Liberty, while Hilton is getting the benefit of the doubt despite just 415 career yards on 22 receptions because of his big-play ability. 

Thomas had a solid year at Mississippi State last year, while the rest of the room will have to earn its rating this year.

Tight end

Mason Taylor: 87 | Mac Markway: 77 | Ka’Morreun Pimpton: 77 | Trey’Dez Green: 77

Taylor should be one of the 10-15 best tight ends in the country this year, but after a down year statistically, I could see EA starting him in the mid-80s. I just have complete faith that Taylor will shine and prove that he’s one of the most valuable and versatile tight ends in the SEC pretty quickly. The other three are all on the same tier to me. Markway is the best blocker in the room and has some ability catching the ball. Pimpton should get more reps this year and put that massive catch radius to use, while Green is a five-star prospect.

Offensive Tackles

Will Campbell: 97 | Emery Jones: 92 | Tyree Adams: 77 | Bo Bordelon: 75 | Weston Davis: 74 | Khayree Lee: 68 | Ory Williams: 69

Campbell is considered the best offensive tackle in the country and a potential top 10 pick in the NFL Draft, which merits a 97 rating right away. Jones is a fringe first round projection, but still a top 10 tackle in the country and therefore deserves a lofty 92 rating to start the year. It’s the best tackle duo in the country and the ratings will reflect that. Adams and Bordelon are the immediate backups and both have shown some nice flashes for the Tigers in the spring, while Weston Davis is a highly-touted four-star prospect who may need a year to get filled out.

Centers & Guards

Garrett Dellinger: 86 | Miles Frazier: 85 | DJ Chester: 82 | Paul Mubenga: 73 | Coen Echols: 72 | Ethan Calloway: 69

Dellinger is a physical run blocker who is a veteran presence for LSU and an 86 feels about right. Miles Frazier is in a similar position, albeit slightly less talented. Chester is the big question mark here as a first-time starter, but he was highly regarded out of high school and looks to be a strong addition for the Tigers in the middle. The rest of the room is pieced together with young pieces.

Defensive ends

Sai’vion Jones: 83 | Bradyn Swinson: 82 | Dashawn Womack: 79 | Paris Shand: 78 | Gabriel Reliford: 76 | Dylan Carpenter: 72 | CJ Jackson: 72 | Kolaj Cobbins: 71 | Ahmad Breaux: 69 

One of the two strong points on this defense, the defensive end spot will be one that has to play a significant role in the Tiger’s success this year. Jones and Shand could play on the inside some this year as well, but we haven’t seen that move from them yet this offseason. Swinson and Womack have the potential to be high-level pass rushers off the edge and will be heavily utilized in this aggressive Blake Baker scheme.

Then you get to the young crop, led by Gabriel Reliford, a true freshman who balled out in LSU’s spring game and showed that he has the potential to help the Tigers this year off the edge. The remaining four have to show their value in practices and in their limited reps in order to get their ratings up this year.

Defensive tackles

Jacobian Guillory: 75 | Gio Paez: 74 | Dominick McKinley: 74 | Kimo Makane’ole: 73 | Jalen Lee: 72 | Shone Washington: 72 | De’Myrion Johnson: 68

A major concern for LSU fans at the moment, the defensive tackle position is without any real answers and should be adding another transfer portal player before the fall arrives, but this is what the Tigers have at the moment. Guillory and Paez are the top two in my opinion right now, but that’s without having seed Dominick McKinley yet at LSU. McKinley has all the potential and perhaps will need to play this year. The rest of the group is led by Makane’ole who is a converted offensive lineman but by the end of the spring was in the starting lineup, passing up Lee and Washington. We’ll see if LSU addresses this room, but at the moment, it’s the biggest question mark on the roster.

Linebackers

Harold Perkins: 95 | Whit Weeks: 83 | Greg Penn: 82 | West Weeks: 76 | Davhon Keys: 73 | Xavier Atkins: 73 | Tylen Singleton: 73

Perkins is one of the most talented defensive players in the country, regardless of how LSU used him last year. He is an outstanding playmaker and pass rusher and will show improved versatility at inside linebacker this season. As a likely first round pick next year, I think 94-95 rating to start the year is fair as one of the better defensive players in America. Rating Whit Weeks was challenging because last year was inconsistent, but the flashes were so promising and he should be a major player on this defense. Greg Penn is what he is, a solid linebacker who will rack up the tackles this year. The rest of the room has potential and I’m high on the three incoming freshmen and interested to see if they can push for some playing time.

Cornerbacks

Zy Alexander: 79 | Ashton Stamps: 78 | Javien Toviano: 78 | PJ Woodland: 76 | JK Johnson: 74 | Jyaire Brown: 73 | Michael Turner: 73 | Bernard Causey: 68 | Wallace Foster: 68

Alexander suffered a season-ending injury last year, but when he played he was the most consistent cornerback LSU had, so it’s hard to rate him since he’s coming back from injury. Fully healthy, I’d have him at 80 or 81, but we’ll see how he looks this fall. Stamps and Toviano are the next two in starting contention, both about to be true sophomores who were thrown into the fire last year and now look to make a significant jump in year two under Corey Raymond.

PJ Woodland has been the most surprising freshman on the roster and was immediately competing for starting reps at LSU, therefore deserving of a lofty rating for a freshman. JK Johnson and Jyaire Brown are two Ohio State transfers who did not stand out in the spring and will have work to do in the fall. The other three are true freshmen who have to spend the year developing to get ready for the 2025 season.

STAR

Major Burns: 79 | Kylin Jackson: 77 | Ju’Juan Johnson: 71 | Austin Ausberry: 70

Burns had a poor season last year at safety, but now moves to the STAR position in Blake Baker’s defense in hopes of finding a more comfortable fit closer to the line of scrimmage and the action. With his experience, having him at an 80 feels right. Jackson is someone who really intrigues me this season because with a strong fall he could definitely be one of the Tigers’ best defensive backs. Johnson was a do-it-all player at LCA in high school that will have to find a niche on this defense, while Ausberry is a transfer from Auburn who did not see the field a ton.

Safety

Jardin Gilbert: 79 | Sage Ryan: 79 | Jordan Allen: 75 |  Dashawn McBryde: 75 | Joel Rogers: 74 | Matthew Langlois: 72

I’m not out on Gilbert being a solid player on this defense, despite a shaky spring camp from the Texas A&M transfer. Ryan moves from cornerback to safety this offseason in hopes he can be a playmaker in the back end with his speed and experience, but this is still a position with major questions this year. Jordan Allen enters year three and should be able to contribute, while McBryde and Rogers are two extremely talented freshmen who look of playing time in year one.