LAS VEGAS — The world was a much different place on July 9, 2013, the day NCAA Football 14 was released.
Robin Thicke’s earworm “Blurred Lines” was the top song on the Billboard Hot 100. Andy Murray had just won the first of his two Wimbledon titles days before, a victory that gave him as many triumphs at The Championships as rival Novak Djokovic. And it was still two Despicable Me films ago, as the second edition of the beloved cartoon movie franchise was dominating the box office as the No. 1 movie in America.
The current batch of collegiate stars are the first NCAA athletes to appear as themselves in a video game as EA Sports' college football franchise returns from an 11-year absence Monday with NCAA Football 25.
These players were just grade-school aged kids no older than 12 when the game was last published. It was shelved because of lawsuits that led today's name, image and likeness programs in college sports.
Poetically, this also makes them the last generation of kids who can truly say they were around to play the maiden series in real time.
As someone who was born in January 2000, I’m essentially in the same generation as these players — albeit a few years older. I can tell you first-hand how the NCAA football series shaped my love not just for college football, but for the various cultures of regional Americana that surround all of college athletics.
NCAA Football 08 introduced me to Boise State’s iconic blue turf as an eight-year-old, which was only fitting as the game featured Bronco quarterback Jared Zabransky on the cover. It brought me into the depths of LSU’s Death Valley and to the mountains of Provo, UT at BYU’s Lavell Edwards Stadium.
It even taught me how to run the triple-option with Army, although my real move was to play as Oregon and run it with a quarterback who I believe was supposed to be Jeremiah Masoli.
That said, I know how many fans are in the same boat with how much this game shaped our love for the sport. And not just fans, players too.
Surreal reality
College football media days last week gave players their first opportunity to give the game a test run. Some even got to play as themselves for the first time. For Central Florida quarterback KJ Jefferson, it was something worth calling the family for.
“It was a surreal moment,” Jefferson said. “I was just sitting there, like, smiling at the TV because it’s been so long. To actually be in the game was such a surreal moment.
"It's a blessing, just to see myself there and to be able to play as myself. I called my family on the way over here to tell them that I just (got to do that). It was a big deal.”
Kansas State defensive end Brendan Mott had a similar feeling of disbelief seeing himself and his teammates immortalized in video game form, one that made him look back at his own experiences playing the game as a kid.
“I think it’s every little kid’s dream when they were playing the NCAA Football games to have yourself in the game,” Mott said. “You see yourself out there and you see your teammates and they make a play, and you’re like ‘holy cow, I know that guy’.
"I haven’t had an experience like that before. When I was younger, I created a player and put my name on him and stuff. To be able to play the game and see yourself out there, I know the younger me would be proud and happy”
For a player like UNLV’s Ricky White, this game (and season) could serve as the steppingstone that could boost him into the hearts and minds of fans across the country.
White was arguably the most explosive receiver in all of college football last season, racking up a UNLV-record 1,488 yards. It was the third highest total in all of FBS football and was enough to make him a niche favorite of college football junkies.
He has the perfect skillset and is in the perfect location to become one the game’s breakthrough characters and he is very much aware of that. While the honor of being in the college football reboot is not taken lightly, he already has his sights set on the next goal on the checklist.
“I can’t describe how I'm feeling, just to be in the game,” White said. “And I got an opportunity to (get myself) in the Madden game next year. I can't wrap my mind around it, but I want to make sure that I play it a lot, and that my family and the people that I grew up with get the opportunity to play with me.”
Stars of the show
Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels, when healthy, has proven to be perhaps the most potent one-man highlight reel. A lightning fast dual threat with a shining personality, Daniels is another obvious example of a player whose profile will almost certainly be raised by video game immortality.
His first experience playing the game was a perfect showing of that, even if he was on the opposing end of it.
“Absolutely, I got to play,” Daniels said. “I also got to see Devin Neal use myself against me and he ended up breaking a tackle from our right end, went up the field and threw a 50-yard pass.
"Don’t get me wrong. Yeah, I'm happy I can do that. But the fierce competitor me does not like that he did it against me.”
Daniels, with a smile, then pondered on the reality that kids across the Midwest — and throughout the country — will be spending hours upon hours quarterbacking the Kansas as his character.
”I remember being a kid playing NCAA 14 late at night, and then having Mom come in and say ‘Why is the game still on?’" he said. "Now, being able to think about children probably being the same way, especially with the Kansas football team.
"It's absolutely a blessing.”
Oklahoma State's Ollie Gordon is the game's highest rated offensive player at a 96 overall. The star running back emerged during the Cowboys' Big 12 title run last season and now he enters this season as a Heisman candidate.
"Just being younger, playing NCAA 14, it's really huge, honestly," Gordon said. "(From) growing up to now seeing yourself in a video game, it's pretty cool. I think I'm going to become a big gamer again just for this moment.
He laughed, and then added, "I'm fine with my 96."
For someone like star Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, son of Deion Sanders and a possibile No. 1 pick of the 2025 NFL Draft, being in a video game is probably less of an honor and more of an expectation. Still, it’s entirely fitting that the biggest star in the game’s return is on the most marketable team of the 21st century.
“It’s great (to be one of the centerpieces) because this is a different time in history right now," Shedeur said. "This is something that's never been done before.
"To come from an HBCU, go to a Power Five (conference) and still be able to bring the attention and bring the spotlight, and to still be able to go out there, ball and handle business.”
Colorado State wide receiver Tory Horton received the honor of being the highest rated Group of Five conferences receiver in the game. Even Horton, who had his breakout game against Sanders and Colorado last season, was surprised that his rating was a 91 overall.
“My rating is great,” Horton said. “Of course, we had a lot of predictions and I predicted myself at like an 84, 83. I was just trying to, you know, not set the bar too high.
"But seeing that 91, I feel great. ... I'm hyped to play the game. I'm hyped to use myself a little bit. This is something that came true for me and I'm blessed to see that. I'm happy that the game is coming back because we've been wanting that for a while now.”
How real is it?
Just like the surrounding world at-large, the college football landscape itself is different than it was on July 9, 2013. Many conferences have become unrecognizable, others cease to exist completely (RIP Pac 12). There’s nine new stadiums among teams that were already in the FBS for NCAA 14 and 11 new programs in the game.
Teams that have risen to national prominence in the last decade, like Coastal Carolina and Liberty, will be making their video game debut. UNLV’s Allegiant Stadium also will be making its first appearance in a college football game. As is Baylor’s McLane Stadium.
Utah quarterback Cam Rising is one of college football’s most authentic players. He’s the seventh-year lifeblood of the Utes program and a two-time Pac-12 champion. He’s won the Rose Bowl. And even he was taken aback by the game’s realism.
“It was unreal how real it felt,” said Rising after seeing Utah's stadium. “Just seeing Rice-Eccles (Stadium), seeing ‘The MUSS’ go crazy.
"I got to score a touchdown with Brant (Kuithe) and Landen (King). It’s surreal. That’s something that I always dreamed of as a kid. Just to be a part of it now is amazing.”
Arizona’s Noah Fifita felt the same way, echoing the statements of his fellow Pac 12-turned-Big 12 quarterback.
“They did a great job with the little details," he said. "From what we’re wearing, to the stadium as a whole.
"And then the gameplay is really good as well. It's just cool to see us in the game. We grew up playing NCAA 14, grew up creating our own player. We don't have to do that anymore.”
In all, the game features all 134 FBS teams and 133 authentic FBS stadiums. However, Hawaii’s Clarence T.C Ching Complex isn’t featured in the game with the Rainbow Warriors' home instead being a generic replica of the old Aloha Stadium.
New generation
At 1 p.m. on Monday, an 11-plus year wait came to an end for college football fans. The world certainly feels like it’s in a far more perilous position than it was the last time we got to experience this feeling, but the wonders of gaming nostalgia will almost certainly help take our minds off the world for a few days.
A new generation of iconic video game characters will be introduced and eventually immortalized as the most vital pieces in the return of a franchise that means so much to so many. Like Michael Vick’s iconic Madden 04 character or the infamous Jon Dowd that MVP Baseball 05 put in place of Barry Bonds, the stars of this game will be enshrined in the pantheon of iconic sports video game characters.
It sounds cliché, but it is bigger than an annual video game release. It’s the return of a generation-defining title for gamers.
Perhaps more importantly, it’s the start of a list of potential career-defining opportunities for collegiate athletes and the use of their likeness.
“It’s surreal,” said Iowa State wide receiver Jaylin Noel. “Just thinking back to NCAA 14, I was 12 years old, so I didn’t really think I would ever have a possibility of being apart of a game like that.
"Especially after they stopped making it. It’s really cool knowing that I’ll be in a video game, not many people are able to say that.”