EA Sports College Football 25 is only weeks old, but it was a hot topic among the players at Big Ten media days. “When we get back tonight, I’m going to play it all night,” fifth-year linebacker Ruben Hyppolite said. “First day I was watching the countdown on my couch when the game came out, so I definitely had it,” wide receiver Tai Felton said. “Even my dad's waiting for me to get him a PlayStation 5 so he can play it, so it's definitely a fun game.” The new video game gave Hyppolite a chance to meet a new fan in College Park. “I was in Iron Rooster a couple of days ago and one of the waitresses in there, she plays, she has a Dynasty League, and she's like, ‘you're like my best player on my Dynasty, this and that.’ So it's just, it's very surreal, it's very cool, very humbling too, cause it's just a great opportunity to be able to be in a video game and usually I have to wait the NFL getting Madden and then you play there but you can do it now, and I'm in college, so, I mean, it's great, it's a blessing. People don't stop contacting me about it.” Hyppolite debuted as the team’s highest-rated player at 86 overall, “which I’m proud of.” But that doesn’t mean he and his teammates agree with all the ratings. “My speed is too low, so they gotta change that,” Hyppolite added as he suggested a 94 overall speed. “I run 22 miles per hour. I don't need to race. It's right there. You can go change it right there.” A 94 speed was the same adjustment that Felton pointed to from his initial rating reaction. “I'll take the overall, but I didn't agree with my speed rating at all. 91. I think I'm a little bit faster than that, but I'll take it. Hopefully it goes up during the season. I said at least a 94, but this season, hopefully I get up to a 97, 96, something like that, but I'll take it.” With both Felton and Hyppolite suggesting they’re deserving of a 94 overall speed, which player is actually faster? “I raced him before actually. He beat me by like a yard so it’s pretty accurate.” And roughly an hour after head coach Mike Locksley said “still trying to figure it out” when referencing his quarterback competition into August, Felton admitted he doesn’t play favorites among his quarterbacks. “I rotate the quarterbacks. I’ve got it. Respectfully, I’ve got to.” But while the team has pounced on the chance to play with themselves in the game, defensive tackle Jordan Phillips is using the chance to play with himself in the college version of the game as motivation. “All of us were excited about it. We're just keeping the standard. It's very easy in today's society to veer away because of distractions. But as we always like to remind each other, yes, the game has come out. Yes, it's very cool that we made it on the game, but complacency is the biggest devil to man. If you have complacency in your life, it will be very hard to succeed because you've reached comfortability. And so, what I tell guys is it's like yes, the game has out. We are on the game and it's cool, but just imagine being on Madden.” “You keep working hard, better is to come. Like the motto of our program, like coach Locksley says, the best is ahead. The best is ahead as long as you continue to work and be consistent within your actions of working and be very detailed.” Related Links
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