Two sensational sophomore wide receivers will grace the cover of the upcoming EA Sports College Football 26 video game, which is slated for release on July 10.
One of them is Alabama star receiver Ryan Williams, who will be joined on the standard edition cover with Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith. Williams and Smith took the college football world by storm last season as true freshmen, immediately becoming two of the best receivers in college football in their first seasons.
Williams did so as a 17-year-old shoulda been high school senior. He reclassified into the 2025 recruiting class and wasted zero time making an immediate impact in Tuscaloosa. His first two collegiate receptions both went for touchdowns.
Williams finished his freshman season with 48 receptions for 865 yards and eight touchdowns. He also added 48 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
Williams and Smith are also front and center on the deluxe edition cover, which features numerous other players, coaches, and fans.
EA Sports decided to celebrate the sophomore season of their relaunch with two of the best sophomores in the country. EA took an 11-year hiatus in making the popular video game franchise due to name, image, likeness issues that have since been sorted out. It returned a year ago to much fanfare, and there's a lot of excitement for a new version coming this summer.
Ryan Williams joins two former Alabama stars as cover athletes for EA's CFB video game
Williams is the third Alabama player to grace the cover of EA Sports' college football video game. He'll be the first Crimson Tide player to be on the cover while still playing college football.
Former Alabama RB Shaun Alexander graced the cover of EA Sports' NCAA 2001 25 years ago. Alexander was on the heels of a monster senior season in Tuscaloosa and was a first-round draft pick to the Seattle Seahawks.
Another former Tide RB, Mark Ingram, graced the cover for the 2012 version of the game. Ingram won Alabama's first Heisman Trophy in 2009 and became a first-round pick by the New Orleans Saints following his junior season.
Alabama likely would have had plenty of other cover athletes for the popular franchise if it hadn't gone on hiatus. Fellow Heisman winners like Derrick Henry, DeVonta Smith, and Bryce Young would have been leading candidates. Guys like Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts would have been potential options, too.