The Ducks’ five ranked players are tied for second in the Big Ten with Michigan and behind only Ohio State, which has eight players ranked in the top 100.
EUGENE, Ore. — If EA Sports’ player rankings are any indication, Oregon will boast some of the Big Ten Conference’s top talent in the Ducks’ first season in the Big Ten Conference.
Oregon State has five players ranked in the EA Sports College Football 2025 Top 100 Player Rankings, tying them with Michigan for second in the Big Ten. Ohio State has eight players ranked in the top 100, ranking behind Oregon State.
The five Oregon players ranked in the top 100 are:
Dillon Gabriel, quarterback
Gabriel’s rating of 92 ranks 30th in the game overall, but Gabriel is the fourth-highest rated quarterback in the game.
Gabriel is entering his sixth year of college football and currently has the third-best odds of winning the Heisman Trophy during the 2024 season.
Gabriel spent his first three seasons at the University of Central Florida, throwing for more than 3,500 yards in his first two years as the team’s starting quarterback. In 2021, he missed most of the season after breaking his left collarbone during his junior year.
He transferred to Oklahoma in 2022 and rushed for 6,828 yards and 55 touchdowns in two seasons with the Sooners.
The Hawaii-born Gabriel is currently enrolled at the University of Oregon and will wear the famous No. 8 jersey, a nod to Oregon’s Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Marcus Mariota.
Tez Johnson, wide receiver
Johnson’s 91 rating is 59th in the game and sixth-highest among wide receivers.
Johnson transferred to Oregon via Troy and had a big year with the Ducks last year, recording career-highs in yards, receptions and touchdowns with 1,182 yards, 86 receptions and 10 touchdowns.
He’s one of the fastest players in college football, and EA Sports College Football 25 recognizes that, making him the fastest player in the game with a speed rating of 96.
Cornerback Jabbar Muhammad
Muhammad has a rating of 91, good for 65th in the game. He is the eighth highest rated cornerback.
Muhammad left Washington after the national championship loss to Michigan and joined Dan Lanning’s secondary, which struggled last season.
Muhammad was one of the best lockdown corners in college football last year, and throwing a pass to him will be tough both in real life and in EA Sports College Football 25.
Oregon is Muhammad’s third destination after playing three years at Oklahoma State before transferring to Washington.
Evan Stewart, wide receiver
Stewart’s grade of 90 is 85th in the game, the eighth-highest rating among wide receivers.
Stewart was named the second-fastest wide receiver by EA Sports College Football behind teammate Tez Johnson.
Coming into his career at Texas A&M, Stewart was one of the most highly-anticipated freshmen in the class of 2022 and was listed as a five-star prospect by all major recruiting sites. However, drama surrounding Texas A&M and injuries throughout his career meant he never had the breakthrough receiving year with the Aggies that many had hoped for, and he transferred to Oregon in May.
Josh Connolly Jr., left tackle
Connerly Jr. has a rating of 90, good for 95th in the game and fifth-best among left tackles.
Connerly Jr. is the only one of those players to have played his entire collegiate career with the Ducks, a rarity in the era of NILs and the transfer portal. Connerly Jr. made an immediate impact, beginning to play on the offensive line early in his career as a freshman.
One of the highlights of Connerly Jr.’s time with the Ducks was a receiving touchdown he scored as a freshman, something you don’t see very often for someone who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 305 pounds.
The Big Ten schools with the most players ranked in the top 100 are:
- Ohio State University 8
- Michigan 5
- Oregon 5
- Iowa 4
- Pennsylvania State University 3
- Wisconsin 2
- Minnesota 1
- USC 1
- Purdue 1
- Rutgers 1
Oregon will open the season against Idaho at Autzen Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 31. The Ducks’ first Big Ten game will be Saturday, Sept. 28 at UCLA.
I looked at other local universities, but no players from the University of Washington, Oregon State University, or Washington State University were ranked in the top 100.
This will be the first version of EA Sports College Football in 11 years, since NCAA Football 14 launched in July 2013. The game will be available on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S at midnight ET on July 19, but early access to the full version opened on July 15 for those who purchased the Deluxe Edition of the game. It will not be available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or Windows PC.
