EA Sports College Football 26 Reveals First In-Game Look at Steve Sarkisian

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Grant Bricker | Last updated May 29, 2025 6:28 PM ET

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian has achieved the significant feat of making the College Football Playoff twice in the last two years.

This summer, he will achieve another feat by having his likeness used in EA Sports College Football 26. A post on X on Thursday showed fans what Sarkisian will look like in the latest edition of the video game franchise.

In the real world, Sarkisian is fresh off an SEC Championship Game appearance and reached the semifinal round of the playoff. The Longhorns' season ended after losing to the Ohio State Buckeyes 28-14.

Ohio State went on to win the national championship over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 34-23.

EA Sports took a hiatus of more than 10 years from making college football video games, starting in 2013. The last game before EA Sports College Football 25 was NCAA Football 14.

The games stopped being made after EA Sports and the College Licensing Company were named co-defendants in an antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA by former UCLA Bruins basketball player Ed O'Bannon.

The lawsuit claimed that the NCAA was wrongfully using student-athletes' likenesses for commercial gain.

To the delight of fans, the game series was revived last summer. However, coaches' likenesses were not in the game and had random names and appearances. For the first time since 2013, head coaches will be in the game.

Texas has been in the news for other reasons lately. Sarkisian went on SiriusXM to speak the truth about a rumor that the team was willing to spend $30-40 million on its roster.

Sarkisian shut down the claim and joked that he wished he had that much money at his disposal.

In recruiting, Texas was recently predicted to land receiver Kaydon Finley from the 2026 class. Kaydon is the son of former Texas and Green Bay Packers tight end Jermichael Finley.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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