RJ Younger
FOX Sports activities Nationwide School Soccer Analyst
There may be not a participant who ought to obtain a 99 general ranking in EA Sports activities’ “School Soccer 25” online game, which is about to be launched July 19.
For probably the most half, the coveted 99 general ranking has been reserved for Heisman Trophy winners and consensus top-five general alternatives heading into the upcoming NFL Draft.
The final 99 OVR participant was South Carolina defensive finish Jadeveon Clowney in “NCAA Soccer ‘14,” and he was the No. 1 general decide within the 2014 NFL Draft. Different 99s embody former USC QB Matt Leinart, former USC operating again Reggie Bush, former Florida QB Tim Tebow, former Stanford QB Andrew Luck and former Arkansas operating again Darren McFadden. Put one other manner, that is three Heisman winners, and the No. 1 and No. 4 general choice of their respective NFL Drafts.
Heading into 2024, I imagine the upcoming NFL Draft class to be deep. And there is all the time the prospect that some participant breaks out because the season unfolds and ascends into the God-tier of EA Sports activities’ “School Soccer 25.”
Listed here are the gamers I feel may have the very best ranking on this yr’s sport, counting down from No. 5-to-1:
5. Georgia QB Carson Beck: 97
2023 stats: 72.4% passing, 3,941 passing yards, 24 passing TDs, 6 INTs
These are stable numbers for Beck, who has carried out all the pieces however lead Georgia to an SEC title and nationwide championship. The Bulldogs get pleasure from being balanced on offense, particularly given the expertise Kirby Good has assembled on protection. However this season shall be Beck’s first with out the most effective tight finish he may ever play with in Brock Bowers, who caught 56 passes for 714 yards with six TDs final yr. Nobody else accounted for greater than 550 yards receiving on Georgia’s 2023 roster. Growing a kinship with a receiving corps that may look to select up the slack shall be on the high of Beck’s passing agenda.
4. Texas QB Quinn Ewers: 97
2023 stats: 69% passing, 3,479 passing yards, 22 passing TDs, 6 INTs
Ewers is perhaps probably the most proficient quarterback within the sport this yr. When he is had time to throw, he is proven himself able to being correct deep down the sector. Whereas he misplaced first-round decide Xavier Worthy and tight finish JT Sanders to the NFL Draft, he noticed the Longhorns add former Alabama extensive out Isaiah Bond and tight finish Amari Niblack to an offense that returns Johntay Cook dinner and CJ Baxter. For Ewers, the query is: Can he stay wholesome for all the season? In two years, he hasn’t performed a whole season with out lacking at the least one sport resulting from damage. It will likely be fascinating to see how “School Soccer 25” accounts for that.
3. Oklahoma State RB Ollie Gordon II: 98
2023 stats: 285 rushes, 1,732 speeding yards, 2,062 whole yards, 21 speeding TDs, 39 catches
A workhorse like former Oklahoma State operating again and a couple of,000-yard rusher Chubba Hubbard, Gordon is on a path that would see him not simply lead the Cowboys again to the Massive 12 title sport, however firmly supplant his title within the Heisman dialog. After changing into OSU’s first Doak Walker Award winner, he may finish the yr as not simply OSU’s finest tailback since Hubbard, however maybe its finest since Barry Sanders gained the Heisman 36 years in the past.
2. Colorado CB/WR Travis Hunter: 98
2023 stats: 57 catches, 721 receiving yards, 5 receiving touchdowns, 30 tackles, 2 TFLs, 3 INTs, 5 cross breakups
Hunter has demonstrated he is elite, and he gained the Paul Hornung Award — given to the nation’s finest all-purpose participant — final yr as a sophomore. He is a secure guess to be chosen within the high 10 of the NFL Draft subsequent yr, and he may finish the season as a Heisman finalist if he will increase his manufacturing on each side of the ball and if the Buffaloes are good.
Whereas Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders has been an unqualified success at Colorado — quadrupling the Buffs’ win whole from 2022 to 2023 — 4-8 just isn’t a profitable season for followers who crave enjoying in bowl video games and seeing gamers like Hunter — or quarterback Shedeur Sanders for that matter — get pleasure from success befitting their expertise. The one downside to Hunter is how wholesome he is perhaps down the stretch, given he is more likely to play over 1,000 snaps this season.
There may be additionally the 294 receiving yards that he and the Buffs gave as much as Stanford wideout Elic Ayomanor, who could be proper to say, “If Hunter is a 98, then I am a 99.”
1. Oklahoma S Billy Bowman Jr.: 98
2023 stats: 63 tackles, 6 INTs, 3 INTs returned for TDs
Added stat: Gave JT Sanders the “knick-knack, patty-whack, gave that man a crack.”
In 2008, Ohio State defensive again Malcolm Jenkins accounted for 57 tackles and three interceptions on a workforce that completed 10-3. For his efforts, Jenkins gained the Thorpe Award and earned a ranking of 96 in “NCAA Soccer ‘09.”
Bowman did it higher on a workforce that additionally completed 10-3.
RJ Younger predicts the highest 5 gamers in EA Sports activities’ CFB 25
Honorable point out:
Ohio State S Caleb Downs: 96
Ohio State WR Emeka Egbuka: 96
Michigan DT Mason Graham: 95
Georgia DB Malaki Starks: 95
Notre Dame DL Howard Cross III: 95
Alabama QB Jalen Milroe: 94
Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders: 94
Michigan DB Will Johnson: 94
Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel: 94
Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart: 93
RJ Younger is a nationwide faculty soccer author and analyst for FOX Sports activities and the host of the podcast “The Quantity One School Soccer Present.” Observe him at @RJ_Young and subscribe to “The RJ Younger Present” on YouTube.
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