One of the most highly anticipated sports video games in recent times has officially released — and it includes several Long Islanders.
EA Sports launched “College Football 25,” its first NCAA football title in over a decade, on Friday, July 19. Though some gamers gained early access on by pre-ordering the deluxe version of the game.
The game features a total of 14,000 student athletes, with at least 15 hailing from the Island. Three play for Rutgers, three on Syracuse, two on Penn State and one each on Army, Notre Dame, Charlotte, Marshall, South Alabama and UNLV. So far, the highest rated is Massapequa’s Dan Villari, who lines up as both a tight end and wildcat quarterback for the Orange. He’s listed as an 81 overall (out of 100).
Here’s the full list:
- Dan Villari (Massapequa), Syracuse
- Joe Cruz (Holbrook), Syracuse
- Devin Grant (Elmont), Syracuse
- Dylan Braithwaite (Valley Stream), Rutgers
- Ian Strong (Coram), Rutgers
- KJ Duff (Riverhead), Rutgers
- Zion Tracy (Hempstead), Penn State
- Josiah Brown (Malverne), Penn State
- Rino Monteforte (Uniondale), Notre Dame
- Joey Slackman (Commack), Florida
- Casey Reynolds (Cold Spring Harbor), Army
- Aidan Kaler (Sayville), Charlotte
- Olasunkonmi Agunloye (Lindenhurst), Marshall*
- Anthony Zaccaro (Massapequa), South Alabama*
- Matthew Sluka (Locust Valley), UNLV*
*Denotes players that will be added to the game in a roster update coming soon to “College Football 25,” Greater Long Island has confirmed with each player.
Click through the slideshow below to view the ratings and avatars of the local talent featured in the game.
(Note: All 134 NCAA D1 FBS schools and select FCS schools are in “College Football 25.“ Stony Brook and Long Island University, both FCS programs, are not featured in the game.)
EA Sports’ last college football game was NCAA Football 14, released on Xbox 360 and PS3 in July 2013. The series halted due to a lawsuit over the use of student likenesses without compensation. The new iteration was made possible by the NCAA adopting the Name, Image, Likeness Rule, allowing college athletes to earn from their image rights. Each player who agreed to share their names, images, and likeness rights for the game received a minimum payment of $600 along with a copy of the game.
LIers in ‘College Football 25’
If we missed any players, please feel free to reach us at [email protected].
Top: Photos taken of “College Football 25” gameplay. Click here to learn more about the game.






























