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EA Sports College Football 25 arrived this week and has taken the sports world by storm. Discussion on one of the most highly anticipated video games in recent memory has filled my X (formerly known as Twitter) timeline and every other social media page as you scroll through.

The reviews are in, and it seems the reincarnation of this beloved franchise was worth wait.

The College Football game's arrival back into our lives comes years after the introduction of NIL in college sports. Back in 2014, the college sports video games were canceled from future years production as college athletes were unable to be legally compensated for their appearances in the games. Which brings us back to the NIL, allowing student athletes to earn money off their Name, Image, and Likeness.

The NIL has completely changed the landscape of college sports and there has been much debate on this issue for the past three years. Whatever your opinion may be, it led to the revival of one of my favorite video games in existence, EA Sports College Football.

While many smartly pre-ordered the deluxe edition and got early access on 3 pm on Monday afternoon this week, I had to wait until 11 pm central time Thursday night to sink my teeth into, a major blunder on my part.

Did I jump right into an exhibition game, start up my dynasty with a low-level mid-major with sights set on building a powerhouse, or create a three-star quarterback on my Road to Glory of winning multiple Heisman trophies? Nope, I spent four hours, into the early morning of Friday, combing through each roster searching for the former Wisconsin high school football standouts scattered throughout the game.

As I sat and listened to the college band music loop in the background while I scrolled each and every school listed, here are a few things I noticed in regards to the alumni rostered.

1) There are many players missing from rosters. Whether they were left off due to placement on depth chart, being incoming freshman, or not allowing EA to use their Name, Image and Likeness on the game, there are tens of former Wisconsin high school graduates who are not listed throughout.

2) There are also many players listed as from Wisconsin that are made up athletes. These could be placeholders for the real players on each roster, or simply just a way for EA to fill rosters.

3) There will be updated rosters as the season goes and therefore many other alumni may make their appearances. Though, if that is not the case, there has been an option to download user created rosters from the internet in years past. I did not dive deep enough to see if that was still an option in this year's version.

4) Teams can be built and subsequently shared with everyone online using the "Team Builder" option. This opens up the idea of creating any FCS, DII, DIII, or JUCO schools which would roster even more alumni that could be played with. Friend and media member Jimmie Kaska has already mentioned his possible venture into creating the entire WIAC.

Overall, I found 79 former Wisconsin high school football standouts that are currently rostered on 26 different teams.

Here is a little dive into some of the numbers. A full list is available to view below.

Of the 79 players listed on the video game, 25 of them are the top rated player at their position on their team, meaning they sit at the top of the depth chart. Another 17 are second in ranking at their position and 19 listed third. That adds up to 61 of the 79 players more than likely in the rotation of in-game action.

Players with an 80 Overall or Better

1) Hunter Wohler, Wisconsin, Muskego HS, S -- 90 overall
2) Jack Nelson, Wisconsin, Stoughton HS, LT -- 87 overall
3) Dragan Kesich, Minnesota, Oak Creek HS, K -- 85 overall
4) Joe Brunner, Wisconsin, Whitefish Bay HS, LG -- 84 overall
T-5) Logan Zschernitz, Northern Illinois, Spencer HS, C -- 83 overall
T-5) Marcus Mbow, Purdue, Wauwatosa East HS, RT -- 83 overall
T-7) Addison Ostrenga, Iowa, Sun Prairie HS, TE -- 82 overall
T-7) Easton Kilty, Kansas State, Stratford HS, LT -- 82 overall
T-7) Billy Schrauth, Notre Dame, Saint Mary's Springs HS, RG -- 82 overall
T-10) JP Benzschawel, Wisconsin, Grafton HS, RG -- 81 overall
T-10) Tyler Cooper, Minnesota, Saint Croix Falls HS, LG -- 81 overall
T-12) Chimere Dike, Florida, Waukesha North HS, WR -- 80 overall
T-12) Trey Wedig, Indiana, Kettle Moraine HS, RT -- 80 overall
T-12) Javaughn Byrd, Northern Illinois, Milwaukee King HS, CB -- 80 overall

Ten Fastest Players

T-1) Nate White, Wisconsin, Milwaukee King HS, RB -- 92 speed
T-1) Chimere Dike -- 92 speed
T-1) Quentin Redding, Minnesota, Menomonee Falls HS, WR -- 92 speed
T-1) Keany Parks, Wyoming, Kenosha Bradford HS, CB -- 92 speed
5) Hunter Wohler -- 90 speed
6) Javaughn Byrd -- 89 speed
7) Malcolm Gillie, Ball State, HOPE Christian HS, WR -- 86 speed
8) Mory Bamba, BYU, Menomonee Falls HS, CB -- 86 speed
9) Nate Valcarcel, Northern Illinois, Whitnall, FS -- 85 speed
10) Riley Nowakowski, Wisconsin, Marquette University, TE -- 83 speed

Players with 90+ Strength

1) Abiathar Curry, Northern Illinois, Janesville Parker HS, RT -- 98 strength
2) Logan Zschernitz -- 97 strength
T-3) Drew Evans, Indiana, Fort Atkinson HS, LT -- 96 strength
T-3) Trey Wedig, Indiana, Kettle Moraine HS, RT -- 96 strength
5) Billy Schrauth -- 95 strength
T-6) Nathan Roy, Minnesota, Mukwonago HS, LT -- 94 strength
T-6) Thomas Paasch, Northern Illinois, Green Bay Southwest HS, C -- 94 strength
T-8) John Champe, Northern Illinois, Brookfield East HS, RG -- 93 strength
T-8) Evan Buss, Northern Illinois, Kimberly HS, RT -- 93 strength
T-8) Chad Schuster, Western Michigan, Franklin HS, RG -- 93 strength
T-11) Landon Hron, Northern Illinois, Hartford HS, RG -- 92 strength
T-11) Marcus Mbow -- 92 strength
13) Joe Brunner -- 90 strength

Top 10 Awareness

1) Jack Nelson -- 94 awareness
2) Tyler Cooper, Minnesota, Saint Croix Falls HS, LG -- 90 awareness
T-3) Easton Kilty -- 88 awareness
T-3) Marcus Mbow -- 88 awareness
T-5) Hunter Wohler -- 87 awareness
T-5) Mory Bamba -- 87 awareness
T-7) Chimere Dike -- 84 awareness
T-7) Logan Zschernitz -- 84 awareness
T-9) Ben Barten, Wisconsin, Stratford HS, DT -- 83 awareness
T-9) Trey Wedig -- 83 awareness
T-9) John Champe -- 83 awareness
T-9) Javaughn Byrd -- 83 awareness
T-9) Matt Schooley, Northern Illinois, Wisconsin Rapids HS, LG -- 83 awareness
T-9) Carson Hinzman, Ohio State, Saint Croix Central HS, C -- 83 awareness
T-9) Wes King, Western Michigan, Appleton North HS, LG -- 83 awareness

As you can see, the state of Wisconsin and the athletes from within, are highly represented in what may be the most popular sports game since Tecmo Bowl. I've had the privilege of covering Wisconsin high school athletics and its alumni with WisSports.net for eight years, it has always been fun to play with the Watt brothers, Melvin Gordon, and other former alumni on the Madden franchise.

I can not wait to do the same with EA Sports College Football 25 in what I can only imagine will consume my spare time over the next months playing as athletes who've excelled so much on the field, that the likes of Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Fowler will exclaim their name to millions playing around the world.