Grab your joystick: Panthers feature in EA Sports College Football 25 video game

The real-life FIU football team has a virtual counterpart playing on a screen near you. The same guys we watch on Saturdays in the fall at FIU Stadium now appear daily as avatars on digital turf.

FIU is one of the 134 Division-1 (FBS) football teams represented in EA Sports College Football 25. Reportedly the “most-anticipated sports video game ever” (for reasons related, in part, to nostalgia), the current version is the first one produced in more than 10 years. And it’s way better than the old ones, say those in the know, for a very particular reason.

Today, a college athlete can by law make money from their name, image and likeness. That means the makers of the game can pay student-athletes to use their replicas in an eerily lifelike way while also affixing names to jerseys. (Previously, the makers of the game featured likenesses, without names, and were sued by college athletes who could not be compensated; the class action lawsuit ended in a settlement, and game production was discontinued.)

For the guys now seeing themselves on screen, the experience borders on the surreal.

“Growing up, playing the game, you never thought you’d actually be in it,” says Panthers defensive back Jamari Holliman. He got a high school buddy to play the recent release with him. “He’s my friend, so he’s going to talk smack,” Holliman says, “but all in all, he thought it was pretty cool.”

What gamers see on the screen looks very much like what spectators see at live football games. The digital players’ physical features and builds, the way they run, throw, kick and tackle – all of it mimics the skills and movements of the real individuals.

“It feels realistic,” says FIU quarterback Keyone Jenkins. “I’d say the whole team, everything, looks pretty accurate.”

FIU Stadium also gets the treatment. Not only does the panther head appear in the center of the field, but Tamiami Hall towers in the background as an animated crowd roars. Cheerleader outfits are authentic as is the color commentary, which takes into account the individual bios of the real players, including high school careers and where they come from.

A gamer can choose the team they want to be and go up against another gamer located anywhere else in the world. A compatible console is required in addition to purchase of the online game.

Folks who have played or otherwise watched the action – an event in the GC pit this week attracted onlookers to the large screen there – say the movements of the avatars are spot-on.

“It’s way more natural than Madden,” Jenkins says in comparing the college game to the best-selling game that features professional teams.

Computer science major Daniel Espinosa plays “Fortnight,” “Call of Duty” and a FIFA (soccer) video game as well as others. From Colombia, he has limited knowledge of American football but nonetheless appreciated the immersive qualities on display.

“It’s great,” he says. “The graphics, the gameplay, the controls, all the things users can do.”

Avery Tallman works in FIU’s Esports department, which combines academic instruction with club and competitive play to give students a jump on a variety of careers in the rapidly growing professional gaming arena. The veteran gamer played an “exhibition game” against Jenkins and, in addition to loving the graphics and the attention to detail, said he found “the game mechanics are really fluid. I was able to pick it up pretty quickly.”

And fans are eager to play, Tallman confirms.

“I know that already, on social media, there are a lot of people talking about how they’re going to take FIU to the national championship with their own custom teams,” he says. “It’s really exciting for people to be able to live out that FIU dream.”

Where all this activity might lead in the real world is anyone’s guess.

“It’s possible that being able to connect the players’ faces and talents in the video game to the people behind the uniforms on the field, building that connection between fan and player, is something this game could be excellent for,” Tallman says.

Adds Holliman, “I feel like it will encourage other people to learn a little bit more about FIU, let’s go see what these players do in real life. It might even bring out more fans.”