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The long-awaited return of college football to EA Sports is here, but not everything is as it seems, especially in Austin; as the Texas Longhorns roster includes a surprising twist: several players simply don’t exist.
In College Football 26, EA Sports seems to have taken creative liberty to an unusual degree. While video game fans are used to occasional licensing hurdles, a number of athletes wearing the Burnt Orange in-game are complete fabrications.
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They have fictional names, stats, and hometowns created to fill out the roster. These virtual phantoms, while not uncommon historically, are raising new questions in the NIL era.
It’s a peculiar development for a program with national relevance like Texas, and it has fans wondering: Why are fake players replacing real ones? And what does it say about the current state of college athletics, licensing rights, and video game authenticity?
Why fictional players still exist in modern sports games
The answer to the fake-player mystery lies in a mix of legal rights, development logistics, and timing. Though the NCAA now allows athletes to license their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) for commercial use, participation in games like CFB 26 is voluntary.
Players can opt out, whether due to personal beliefs, financial disagreements, or legal complexities and CFB26 echoes a long tradition in sports gaming where top athletes have refused inclusion-Michael Jordan and Barry Bonds are famous examples.
Today, coaches like Deion Sanders (Colorado) and Bill Belichick (North Carolina) have reportedly declined participation in College Football 26, illustrating that this issue extends beyond players.
In some cases, fictional characters may appear due to incomplete rosters or development deadlines if a school has yet to finalize its official player list or has unresolved eligibility statuses by a certain date.
So to combat this, developers are forced to insert placeholders to meet gameplay and technical requirements. These fakes may be replaced in future updates-but until then, fans are stuck with them.
EA Sports College Football 26: Which Texas Longhorns players aren’t actually real – A complete list
These placeholders span multiple positions including quarterback, linebacker, defensive end, and the offensive line, and make up a significant portion of Texas’s digital roster.
Their presence isn’t due to malice or conspiracy, but rather the realities of game development in a complex licensing environment as EA Sports looks to complete their contract with the Longhorns.
According to data compiled by TeamCrafters as of July 9, 2025, the following individuals appear in College Football 26representing the University of Texas-despite not being real athletes:
Quarterbacks (QB)
- Cliff Honeywell (79 OVR) – Dual-threat sophomore from Richmond, Texas
- Mason Kelsay (75 OVR) – Dual-threat freshman, also from Richmond, Texas
Left Outside Linebackers (LOLB)
- Shane McOliver (77 OVR) – Lurker junior from Missouri City, Texas
- Vencot Colvin (75 OVR) – Lurker senior from Biloxi, Mississippi
- Franklin Walker (70 OVR) – Freshman “Thumper” from the Bronx, New York
Middle Linebackers (MLB)
- Jack Woodard (71 OVR) – Lurker sophomore from Grandview, Texas
- Kam Norman (69 OVR) – Signal-caller freshman from York, Nebraska
Left and Right End (LE)
- Buddy Stafford (71 OVR) – Pure Power freshman from Tyler, Texas. Plays left end.
- Jared Darling (70 OVR) – Speed Rusher freshman from Hallettsville, Texas. Plays right end.
Left and Right Tackle (RT)
- Jaybron Baldwin (70 OVR) – Raw Strength freshman from Friendswood, Texas. Plays right tackle.
- Casey Ellington (68 OVR) – Agile freshman from Houston, Texas. Plays left tackle.
This news was originally published on this post .
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