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College football fans have put up with enough bad news about the state of the game in recent years. After realignment dominated the 2023 offseason, the 2024 offseason brought something much more exciting: EA College Football 25.
The classic NCAA Football video game returned in 2024 and is now in its third year, with all of college football's biggest stars at your fingertips.
The return of the game means the return of cover athletes, whether it's one player, multiple, or even several gracing the cover of EA College Football each year. The last decade of college football featured plenty of timeless stars, from Joe Burrow to Christian McCaffrey, but none of them got the opportunity to appear on the cover of a game with the EA Sports edition defunct.
Here's a look back at which players actually did land on the cover of EA College Football, which has changed up its approach a few times throughout its history.
NCAA Football covers by year
| Year | Player | School |
| 1993 | Bill Walsh* | |
| 1994 | Bill Walsh* | |
| 1995 | None** | |
| 1996 | Tommie Frazier | Nebraska |
| 1997 | Danny Wuerffel | Florida |
| 1998 | Charles Woodson | Michigan |
| 1999 | Ricky Williams | Texas |
| 2000 | Shaun Alexander | Alabama |
| 2001 | Chris Weinke | Florida State |
| 2002 | Joey Harrington | Oregon |
| 2003 | Carson Palmer | USC |
| 2004 | Larry Fitzgerald | Pittsburgh |
| 2005 | Desmond Howard | Michigan |
| 2006 | Reggie Bush | USC |
| 2007 | Jared Zabransky | Boise State |
| 2008 | Owen Schmitt (PSP)*** | West Virginia |
| DeSean Jackson (PS2) | California | |
| Matt Ryan (PS3) | Boston College | |
| Darren McFadden (Xbox 360) | Arkansas | |
| 2009 | Brian Orakpo (PS2) | Texas |
| Brian Johnson (PS3) | Utah | |
| Mark Sanchez (PSP) | USC | |
| Michael Crabtree (Xbox 360) | Texas Tech | |
| 2010 | Tim Tebow | Florida |
| 2011 | Mark Ingram | Alabama |
| 2012 | Robert Griffin III, Barry Sanders | Baylor, Oklahoma State |
| 2013 | Denard Robinson | Michigan |
| 2024 | Quinn Ewers, Travis Hunter, Donovan Edwards | Texas, Colorado, Michigan |
| 2025 | Ryan Williams, Jeremiah Smith | Alabama, Ohio State |
| 2026 | Dante Moore, Kewan Lacy, Malachi Toney | Oregon, Ole Miss, Miami |
* — The earliest editions of the game were initially named for Bill Walsh.
** — The 1995 edition of the game did feature players, but they were only small images that were, in some cases, unidentifiable. No standalone cover athlete was chosen until 1996.
*** — EA College Football produced different covers for different gaming systems in both 2008 and 2009.
NCAA Football 27 cover athletes
Oregon QB Dante Moore, Ole Miss RB Kewan Lacy and Miami WR Malachi Toney are on the cover of EA College Football 27.
Official EA Sports College Football 27 cover featuring Kewan Lacy, Malachi Toney and Dante Moore. pic.twitter.com/zuF8epaoHf
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 2, 2026The Deluxe Edition features that trio along with Indiana coach Curt Cignetti, Notre Dame CB Leonard Moore and Texas edge Colin Simmons.
Moore will be one of the biggest names in college football this season after passing on the opportunity to be a high first-round NFL Draft pick to return to the Ducks after reaching the College Football Playoff semifinals, while Lacy and Toney each made it to the semifinals as well.
Lacy proved to be one of the nation's top running backs after transferring from Missouri, posting 1.567 yards and 24 touchdowns on the ground, while Toney went from an unheralded recruit to a legitimate weapon for Miami with 1,324 scrimmage yards and 11 touchdowns.
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