Lucas Panzica discusses the top player rankings for the Tennessee Volunteers in the new edition of the EA Sports College Football 26 video game, including TE Miles Kitselman and CB Jermod McCoy
00:00The EA College football game is out for the 2025 season, and that means we have player ratings widely available and will tell you just what EA thinks of Tennessee football's roster just ahead.
00:14Hey, Lucas Panzeca here from 104.5 The Zone and A to Z Sports.
00:18That's right. You can officially play the next edition of EA College football.
00:22And if you're a Tennessee fan, the first thing you probably do is throw that game on and play with the Tennessee Volunteers of 2025.
00:31If you haven't gotten a hold of the game yet, you might be wondering what those numbers look like, what those projections look like for a Tennessee football team that is, as we've talked about, very talented, but also unproven.
00:43So what does the video game think of Tennessee's roster?
00:46Well, we'll tell you right off the bat that Tennessee has an overall roster rating of 84 in this game.
00:53An 83 on offense and an 88 on defense.
00:56That does lose some key pieces, including James Pierce Jr., a first-round pick, to the Atlanta Falcons.
01:03The most productive edge rusher on this team is now gone, but we understand that the expectation will be that defensive solidity remains,
01:10and EA certainly agrees with that expectation, giving the defensive unit as a whole an 88 rating.
01:17Now, the highest-rated player on this Tennessee football team overall should not be a surprise.
01:22It is Tennessee cornerback Jermon McCoy.
01:25He is probably the player with the best opportunity to be a first-round draft pick next year at the draft in Pittsburgh out of the cornerback position.
01:33Now, there's still a question mark around him and his health.
01:36Will he be available week one of the college football season against Syracuse after tearing his ACL during offseason workouts all the way back in January?
01:44That remains to be seen, but there's no doubt he is an all-American caliber player that is deservedly the highest-rated player on this roster at a 94.
01:55What might slightly surprise you would be the highest-rated player on Tennessee's offensive side of the ball, according to the video game.
02:02Now, I'm not sure who most people would submit as their favorite to be the highest-rated player on that side because some of Tennessee's most talented players haven't really shown anything on the field yet, right?
02:15Whether it's David Sanders Jr. on the offensive line, a five-star blue-chip prospect, Mike Matthews, a five-star wide receiver who got limited snaps last year's looking to break out this year, can't feasibly make those guys the highest-rated players on a unit that they haven't shown anything at the college level yet.
02:33So, the highest-rated player on Tennessee's offense would be tight end, Miles Kitzelman, coming in as a 90 rating.
02:40Now, Miles Kitzelman was probably the most pleasant surprise of Tennessee's roster last year, transferring over from Alabama, and we weren't sure what Tennessee's tight end room would look like.
02:49You thought that Holden stays, the Notre Dame transfer, could be tight end one, maybe Ethan Davis, the former four-star prospect.
02:55It was Kitzelman who emerged, over 300 receiving yards, four touchdowns, a fantastic blocker, and a bona fide leader on this team as well.
03:04Josh Heupel is bringing him to SEC Media Days in Atlanta to represent the program.
03:09So, when you look at the ratings, maybe it shouldn't be a shock that Miles Kitzelman is the highest-rated player on the offensive side of the ball.
03:16Coming in at number two is another transfer, a newcomer to this Tennessee football team in terms of the second-highest-rated player on offense, and that is former Duke running back Star Thomas, who is an 87 in the video game, and they like his speed, giving him an 87 in that category as well.
03:34So, once again, it shows us that Tennessee's talent, especially on the offensive side of the ball, is extremely unproven.
03:40Jermon McCoy is the most proven commodity on this entire football team.
03:44But I'd say, after looking at the ratings, that EA College football may be a little bit higher on Tennessee than a lot of others would be going into 2025.
