Alabama star Ryan Williams recalls $400 splurge right before EA announced CFB 25 comeback

Alabama wide receiver Ryan Williams burst onto the college football scene last season as the top receiver for the Crimson Tide. He started the season strong with two receptions for 139 yards and two touchdowns in his first game of the year and continued his strong play after that. By the time the season was over, Williams had registered 48 receptions for 865 yards and eight TDs.

He narrowly led the Crimson Tide in receiving yards, edging out Germie Bernard (794 yards). Williams is expected to grow into an even bigger role next season.

As one of the biggest young stars in college football, Ryan Williams was named as one of the two cover athletes for College Football 26, alongside Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. The announcement was made on Tuesday.

The "MMG" YouTube channel released an EA-sponsored video on Tuesday, interviewing the two cover athletes. Williams spoke about his experience with the franchise, including a funny story from shortly before the announcement of College Football 25.

"No, seriously, I'm telling you, like, I would just say the last one I played, everybody played, was NCAA 14," Williams said (at 3:55). "It was crazy, like before they dropped 25, I had just bought my friends' old Xbox 360 just so I could play on Xbox 360. I paid like $400 to buy.

"I'm telling you, for real, and I still got it. So, anytime I want to play it, it's just sitting in the closet. I hope I don't get the red ring anytime soon."

Ryan Williams will look to avoid a sophomore slump after becoming an EA cover athlete

Becoming a cover athlete for any EA Sports video game is a huge honor. It typically means the player is viewed as one of the top athletes in their sport. However, many fans often reference the EA cover curse. There is a trend that, while not always true, happens often enough for fans to notice: cover athletes have poor seasons after becoming one.

College Football 25 is a great example. The game had three cover athletes: Colorado's Travis Hunter, Texas' Quinn Ewers and Michigan's Donovan Edwards. While Hunter had a great season and went on to be the second pick in the 2025 NFL draft, the same cannot be said for Ewers and Edwards.

Ewers regressed after his 2023 season and was only a seventh-round pick. Edwards' poor season resulted in him going undrafted. So, Ryan Williams will be looking to avoid the cover athlete curse next season.