Will a Notre Dame Star Be on the Cover of EA Sports College Football 26?

Rumors have been swirling about the cover athletes on EA Sports College Football 26. Could a Notre Dame player get the honor?

Jan 9, 2025; Miami, FL, USA; (Editors Note: Caption Correction) Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Jeremiyah Love (4) leaps over Penn State Nittany Lions linebacker Kobe King (41) in the second half in the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

College football video games have a long history of putting the most exciting players from the prior season on the cover of the following video game for the upcoming season.

For the past season's game, the cover showed three athletes, a new tradition for EA Sports and its college football franchise.

Texas QB Quinn Ewers, Colorado CB/WR Travis Hunter and Michigan RB Donovan Edwards all graced the cover in EA Sports' first year back creating annual college football video game titles.

Looking back at the 2024/25 season, many names come to mind as potential cover athletes, including Notre Dame star running back Jeremiyah Love.

Love is one of the most electrifying playmakers in Notre Dame history and is by far the best running back to be coming back for the 2026 college football campaign.

His potential inclusion on the cover wouldn't shock anyone, but Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith and Arch Manning of Texas should be locks. Getting Love on there would be a big deal for Love and the Irish program.

The exciting tailback would (somehow) mark Notre Dame's first cover athlete, even if he is grouped with the aforementioned Smith and Manning, as it has been leaked to appear that way.

Since the video game's inception in 1997, no Fighting Irish player has managed to grace the cover of the game, other than in College Football 25, where you could see the back of a Notre Dame uniform and the number 2.

Safety Rod Heard II and kick returner Jayden Harrison both wore #2 last season. That would make for a fun trivia question down the road ...

Whether or not Love does end up on the cover (he should) its a great compliment to Notre Dame that it finally has skill players exciting enough to be considered for the cover of an EA Sports college football video game.

Looking back, Jeff Samardzija, Brady Quinn, Manti Te'o and others probably should have made covers ... but I digress.

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