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Who will be on the College Football 26 cover? A look at the top options

Spenser Davis

By Spenser Davis

Published:

EA Sports has officially announced that its college football video game franchise will be back in the summer of 2025 with the release of College Football 26.

Fans will certainly have high hopes regarding potential new features in the game. While those details will presumably be released at a later date, it’s time to start speculating on who may grace the cover of College Football 26.

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Colorado star Travis Hunter, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers and Michigan running back Donovan Edwards were on the cover of last year’s game. That was a bit of a break in tradition for EA Sports, who typically had just 1 cover athlete for its previous college football video game releases.

Will EA Sports continue to have multiple cover stars or will it go back to its traditional model for 2026? Only time will tell.

Who will be on the cover of College Football 26?

Here are 8 potential candidates for the College Football 26 cover:

Arch Manning, QB, Texas

On merit, it’s hard to argue Arch Manning deserves a spot on the cover. It would be a largely unprecedented decision by EA Sports to put someone like Manning — who has less than 100 career pass attempts — on the cover of its flagship college football video game.

And yet, it does make some business sense and is something that will likely be considered by EA’s decision-makers. Manning is set to be Texas’s starting quarterback this season and may soon be college football’s most famous active player. If Manning lives up to the hype in 2025, he could be off to the NFL as early as next offseason — meaning this could be EA Sports’ last and only chance to have Manning on the cover. It’s also worth noting that Manning and EA Sports already have a business relationship as he was part of the marketing efforts for the game last summer despite being a backup in Austin.

Carson Beck, QB, Miami

Carson Beck endured a down year in 2024 individually, but his transfer to Miami this offseason gives him a chance at a fresh start. And it’s not as if Beck was a bad player this past fall — he still threw for 3,485 yards and 28 touchdowns while leading Georgia to another SEC Championship.

Now in Coral Gables, Beck will be replacing Heisman Trophy finalist Cam Ward under center. Expectations will be high, but Beck was the top transfer this offseason (so far) and will enter the 2025 season as one of college football’s most well-known players. He’s certainly a candidate to appear on the cover of this year’s game.

Cade Klubnik, QB, Clemson

Cade Klubnik enters 2025 as a multi-year starter and will be leading a Clemson team that’s expected to be a heavy favorite to win the ACC in 2025. Klubnik enjoyed a breakout season in 2024 as he threw for 3,639 yards, 36 touchdowns and just 6 interceptions. He also has ability as a runner (784 career rushing yards).

Klubnik is poised to enter next season as one of the most well-known quarterbacks in the sport. He has the requisite experience, statistical production and name value to be considered for the cover.

Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame

Jeremiyah Love is well on his way to becoming a household name in college football. EA Sports — and Notre Dame for that matter — are fortunate that Love has only played 2 years of college football so far and is thus ineligible to enter the 2025 draft. If he was eligible, he’d likely be one of the first running backs off the board.

Instead, he’s set to return to Notre Dame fresh off of leading the Fighting Irish to a spot in the national championship game for the first time since 2012 (and maybe the program’s first national championship since 1988). With running backs like Ashton Jeanty, Omarion Hampton, Cam Skattebo, Kaleb Johnson and others set to turn pro this offseason, Love is in line to be the sport’s most well-known and most-accomplished running back entering 2025. He’d be an excellent candidate to go on the cover — particularly if Notre Dame is able to upset Ohio State in the title game next week.

Nicholas Singleton, RB, Penn State

The list of returning running backs at the power-conference level is thin, but Singleton is unquestionably amongst the best. He and Kaytron Allen combined to form one of the nation’s most-efficient rushing attacks this season, which paved the way for Penn State to reach the CFP semifinals this year.

Both Singleton and Allen are set to return to Happy Valley in 2025. Singleton’s return is especially notable as he already has a pair of 1,000-yard rushing seasons to his name. He’d be at or near the top of the list for any running backs who are going to be considered for the cover.

Jeremiah Stewart, WR, Ohio State

By all accounts, Jeremiah Stewart is in the midst of one of the best freshman seasons of all time for a wide receiver. He’s broken all sorts of records this season and has been extremely productive during the College Football Playoff. Smith is already up to No. 9 on the all-time receiving yardage list in the College Football Playoff after just 3 games. He’s just 138 yards away from 2nd place on the all-time list ahead of Ohio State’s national title game matchup against Notre Dame.

If there’s one thing working against Smith, it may be his youth. He’s going to be in college football for at least 2 more seasons before he’s eligible to enter the NFL Draft. EA Sports could decide to save Smith for the College Football 27 cover and instead highlight older players on this year’s game.

Ryan Williams, WR, Alabama

Ryan Williams entered the 2024 season with plenty of hype and exceeded all possible expectations. Despite being just 17 years old for much of the campaign, Williams led Alabama in receiving yardage with 865 yards during Year 1 of the Kalen DeBoer era. He made multiple game-changing plays in a high-profile contest against Georgia back in October that put him on the map nationally.

Similar to Smith, Williams may run into the issue of having too many years of college football remaining for him to be on the cover this season. Williams has at least 2 years of college football left before he can legally turn pro, so EA Sports could push back his time on the cover for another year. On the other hand, though, Williams would be arguably the SEC’s best and most-deserving candidate if Manning is passed over.

Caleb Downs, DB, Ohio State

If Ohio State wins the national championship, history says the Buckeyes have a good chance of being represented on the cover (Michigan’s Donovan Edwards was the choice last season after the Wolverines won it all the previous year). And if Smith is passed over for one reason or another, Caleb Downs makes the most sense for an Ohio State player on CFB 26.

Downs is regarded as one of the very best defensive backs in the country and will likely be entering his final year of college football in 2025. He’s a major reason why Ohio State’s defense was so dominant this year — he recorded 8 tackles for loss and a career-high 6 pass deflections for the Buckeyes this season. He’s certainly amongst the top options if EA Sports want to have a defensive player represented on the cover as well.

Honorable mentions

Here’s a list of honorable mentions who could also be considered (in no particular order) for the College Football 26 cover:

  • South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers
  • LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier
  • Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava
  • Florida quarterback DJ Lagway
  • Penn State quarterback Drew Allar
  • Penn State running back Kaytron Allen
  • Oregon running back Makhi Hughes
  • South Carolina edge Dylan Stewart
  • SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings
  • Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt

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Spenser Davis

Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.

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