It is just a little over a week until the EA Sports College Football 26 video game is going to be released to the public, scheduled to be available on July 10th. If you have preordered the newest version of the game, it’ll be ready on July 7th a couple of days earlier.

Fanbases from all over college football are ready to mortgage time, and possibly even some relationships, to invest hours and hours into game play. That includes Notre Dame football, which will be one of the highest rated teams in the game without question. As fans, we are going to spend the last few days to obsess over what our favorite teams and players are rated. 

While scrolling on the wonderful world of Twitter, a platform called Team Crafters had put out the ratings for the 2025 Fighting Irish squad. There were some interesting ratings, and some more controversial. That includes the top five highest rated defensive players, which are listed below.

1. CB Leonard Moore – 93 OVR

It’s pretty remarkable to think about what type of freshman season that Moore just put together. Being ranked as a 93 overall as a true sophomore is bananas, but it feels warranted in this instance. Moore is tall, long, and extremely athletic. He is in the conversation as best cornerback in college football heading into 2025. 

2. LB Drayk Bowen – 90 OVR

With Jack Kiser and Xavier Watts heading off to the NFL, Bowen is actually the leading returning tackler for the Fighting Irish heading into the season. He’s a tough and physical downhill linebacker with underrated speed. The video game appears higher on Bowen than some sections of the fanbase are. 

3. CB Christian Gray – 87 OVR

It was an up and down season for Gray in 2024, but the highs were incredible. Most expect Gray to take a sizable jump heading into his junior season. It isn’t overly surprising that Gray is rated highly in this type of video game. His combination of size, ball skills, and speed is impressive. 

4. S Adon Shuler – 86 OVR

Shuler was somewhat overshadowed by Watts this past season, but he was very good in his first year as a starter. He managed to record 59 total tackles, three interceptions, and eight pass breakups. The New Jersey native could end up being one of the best safeties in the country in 2025. 

T5. LB Jaylen Sneed – 83 OVR

As a part of a three way tie, the game is clearly buying into the offseason hype for Sneed. There’s no questioning that he has all the athleticism in the world. The question is whether the game begins to start and slow down, finally. 

T5. DE Jordan Botelho – 83 OVR

This was a pretty interesting one. I didn’t expect Botelho to be the top ranked defensive lineman in the game. Botelho unfortunately won’t be available until later in the season due to a pec injury. 

T5. CB DeVonta Smith – 83 OVR

To solidify the cornerback room, the former Alabama transfer comes in with a really nice ranking. After getting great contributions from Thomas Harper and Jordan Clark the last two seasons, most expect Smith to be even better in the nickel. 

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