Clemson offensive lineman Walker Parks does not appreciate how he is portrayed in the new College Football 25 video game. The fifth-year senior called out EA Sports for making him bigger than he is.
It is the first time in history that this has happened in this way!
This soon-to-be released game is the first of its kind. The series began in 1993 with the release of Bill Walsh College Football. Electronic Arts eventually acquired the licensing rights to the NCAA name five years later and officially rebranded the series with the release of NCAA Football ’98.
Every game from that point forward included loosely accurate rosters. They were based on the on-field players but not exact representations. For example, Johnny Manziel was QB #2 in the general ballpark of his height and weight with highly-rated arm strength, speed and agility. It was not technically Manziel.
However, the close resemblance ultimately led to a hiatus. Former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon fought for the athletes to be compensated for their likeness. The NCAA did not allow that to happen for more than a decade so the game ceased to exist.
Now, with Name, Image and Likeness, College Football 25 will feature the exact athletes. Those who opted-in, which Arch Manning did not, will have their last names on their jerseys for the first time in the video game series’ history. It is them.
Clemson offensive lineman Walker Parks opted-in. He enters 2024 having played 2,107 career snaps over 39 games at tackle and guard. The Tigers list him at 6-foot-5, 310 pounds.
Parks is not a small guy, but EA Sports did him dirty in the College Football 25 gameplay trailer and made him look huge.
Parks did not appreciate his portrayal.
Come on man I ain’t that big 😂
— @walkerparks64 / X
Clemson’s veteran O-lineman is not going to be the only athlete who doesn’t like how they look in the game. For the first time ever, they (and the fans) will know exactly who they are because their last names will be on the jerseys in College Football 25!
