Look: Inside Tennessee's Neyland Stadium in EA Sports College Football 25
With kickoff of the 2024 season 50 days away, and the release of EA Sports College Football 25 just one week away, Tennessee Football on Friday offered a sneak peak into the virtual Neyland Stadium in the new video game.
The game is scheduled to be released on Friday, July 19.
Checker Neyland will be part of the new game, as will at least one alternate uniform for Tennessee, according to a report from ESPN.
✓ 50 days until kickoff
— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) July 12, 2024
✓ #CFB25 next week
vibes are immaculate@EASPORTSCollege | #GBO 🍊 pic.twitter.com/vHEphfrsxt
ESPN’s Michael Rothstein reported on Friday that production of the new college football game, making its return after an 11-year hiatus, focused on the importance on stadium crowds and included “tens of thousands” of assets sent from all 134 Division schools to EA Sports.
“Understanding the crowd’s importance to college football,” Rothstein wrote, “(Production director Christian) McLeod said he knew they had to ‘make sure that crowd looks amazing.’ Are the bands in the right place? The visitor sections?
“The patterns some schools have within their crowds — think Tennessee’s Checkerboard and Penn State’s White Out games. The design team entered the empty virtual stadium and tagged where everything would be, a process taking multiple weeks.”
James Pearce Jr. ranked No. 4 overall player in College Football 25
Pearce, the only Tennessee player ranked in College Football 25’s top 100 players, has an 88 speed ratings, a 95 acceleration rating, an 85 strength rating, a 91 awareness rating and an 85 jump rating.
College Football 25 didn’t have Tennessee in the top 25 for either team offense or team defense ratings. The game had Neyland Stadium as the 13th best home-field advantage in college football.
Pearce last season led Tennessee’s defense with 10.0 sacks during his breakout sophomore season. He also led the team in tackles for loss with 14.5 and added 16 quarterback hits. He played 462 snaps in 13 games, with 246 pass-rushing snaps and 182 snaps in run defense.
Pearce in May was ranked as the No. 1 overall player in college football by On3, with Clay Brooks ranking the top 100 players in the sport. He was ranked by Phil Steele as the No. 1 defensive end in the country and has been widely considered as one of the top picks in the 2025 NFL Draft, too.
Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava will be part of College Football 25
The new game will include four game modes: Dynasty, Rod to Glory, Ultimate Team and Road to the College Football Playoff. Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit will be the broadcast team for “marquee matchups,” according to the EA Sports website, while Jesse Palmer, David Pollack and Rece Davis call other games.
ESPN also reported more than 13,000 college football players have opted into the game, allowing their likeness to be used. Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava announced on social media in May that he will officially be part of the game.
“It’s not (College Football 25) without (8),” the former five-star prospect wrote in a caption on Instagram while sharing the game trailer, “I’m in the game.”
