College football fans are buzzing as we continue to get more details about College Football 25, the revival of EA Sports’ beloved franchise after more than a decade hiatus.
But it’s not just fans who are excited — the players who will be featured in the game are looking forward to its release, as well.
We all know college students love video games, and that doesn’t change just because they’re athletes. That means coaches have to prepare for the impending distraction, and this isn’t the first rodeo for new Texas A&M coach Mike Elko when it comes to video games.
Elko recently told a hilarious story about how a Call of Duty release impacted his team during his career as a defensive coordinator, causing players to miss meetings and practices because they stayed up too late playing the game.
“In full disclosure, because I’ve been a part of this before, you can’t imagine how much the release of a hot new video game can impact your football team,” Elko said, according to Travis L. Brown of The Eagle. “I remember going all the way back to when the second Call of Duty came out and it got released in October in the middle of one of our football seasons. We literally were having meetings with our defense about why it was not good to stay up until four in the morning playing Call of Duty. We had practice at 7 o’clock the next morning.”
Head coach Mike Elko asked if he or his players are excited about playing the new College Football video game:
"In full disclosure, because I've been a part of this before, you can't imagine how much the release of a hot new video game can impact your football team. I remember…
— 𝕋𝕣𝕒𝕧𝕚𝕤 𝕃. 𝔹𝕣𝕠𝕨𝕟 (@Travis_L_Brown) May 24, 2024
Look, college kids are going to stay up late, whether it’s playing video games or doing something else. When they’re featured in the game and receive a free copy of it (in addition to $600 in compensation for opting in), they’re only going to be more inclined to do so.
But Elko raises an interesting — if hilarious — point about how coaches will need to prepare for the distraction as teams prepare for the season.
