March Madness. No. Name, Image and Likeness (NIL). No. The highly anticipated college event of the new year and the talk of the college sports landscape is the new EA Sports NCAA 25 college football video game set to be launched in July after more than a 10-year hiatus.
Players who have opted in will appear in the game and through NIL agreements, these players will earn $600 and receive a free copy of the game. All 134 FBS teams will be playable, including major conferences (SEC, Big 12, ACC, and Big Ten), independent schools, and Group of Five teams. However, it appears that FCS teams will not be included in this year’s edition.
One of the teams that will be featured is the Tennessee Volunteers. BetTennessee.com, your source for the best coverage of legal Tennessee sportsbooks, took a look at who the highest rated Volunteer player might be in the game. Here is who we think will be prominent in the Orange and White:
Vols Highest Rated NCAA 25 Player Odds
Pearce Could Be Dominate in New Game
Sophomore defensive end James Pearce Jr. tops the list and is the favorite at -250 (71.4% chance.). The Charlotte, N.C., native made an immediate impact on the Volunteers football team last season with 18 solo tackles, 9.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and one interception. His ceiling is very high.
Senior center Cooper Mays is a distant second on the list at +700 (12.5%). A 6-foot-3, 305-pound Knoxville native had started in 19 straight games prior to the 2023 season and was preseason All-SEC selection. He missed the first four games last season after undergoing hernia surgery in early August.
Other players listed include senior linebacker Keenan Pili +3000 (3.2%), senior wide receiver Bru McCoy +3000 (3.2%), senior defensive tackle Omari Thomas +5000 (2%), senior guard Javontez Spraggins +5000 (2%) and sophomore offensive tackle Lance Heard +5000 (2%). It will also be interesting to see where new signal caller Nico Iamaleave starts out with his NCAA Football 25 rating. Iamaleava will be entering his true sophomore season and has shown flashes in limited opportunities. In fact, according to FanDuel Sportsbook Tennessee, the highly-touted California recruit has the fifth-shortest odds to win this year's Heisman ahead of the start of the season.
A quick look at BetMGM Tennessee on Feb. 27 has the Vols at +5000 in early future odds to win the national championship this upcoming season.
