Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham. Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

Utah's Kyle Whittingham has hilarious response to his avatar in EA Sports' College Football game

Originally posted on Utah Utes on SI | By Cole Forsman | Last updated Jul 12, 2025 3:43 PM ET

EA Sports' College Football 26 was released this week, marking the video game debuts for Utah football coach Kyle Whittingham and two members of his coaching staff.

Whittingham, along with Utes offensive coordinator Jason Beck and defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley, were among the 300-plus coaches who signed on to be part of this year's installment of the hit video game series that was revived last summer after a 12-year hiatus. A few recognizable names opted out — Colorado's Deion Sanders and North Carolina's Bill Belichick among them — though an overwhelming amount of FBS coaches gave EA Sports the OK to use their likeness.

While some of the coaches in the game, like Ohio State's Ryan Day, closely resemble their real-life inspirations, Whittingham's avatar is a less-than-accurate depiction of Utah's all-time wins leader.

"Does that look like me? I don't know what nationality I am," Whittingham said with a chuckle upon seeing his in-game character during an interview with ESPN700. "I don't see the similarity."

Here’s what Utah coach Kyle Whittingham looks like in College Football 26

(I need to see him on a motorcycle to feel more realistic) pic.twitter.com/dAQIGjSsyf
— Brandon Judd (@brandonljudd) July 7, 2025

Whittingham admitted that he's not much of a gamer himself, which might explain why his virtual self appears a bit off in the game. While he did allow EA Sports to use his likeness, Whittingham didn't provide an up-to-date snapshot of himself for the developers to use.

"Maybe it's because I didn't take a new picture for it," Whittingham said. "[EA Sports] wanted me to take a new picture. I said, 'No, I'm not taking another picture.' So they said, 'OK, we'll show you.'"

As for his in-game attributes, Whittingham checks in with the second-highest "prestige" grade (A) among Big 12 coaches and has the fourth-highest overall rating (58) in the league behind Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy (60), Iowa State's Matt Campbell (59) and Kansas' Lance Leipold (59). Not that Whittingham is paying attention to any of that, though Utes fans controlling Utah in dynasty mode might care to know they're set up quite nicely from the jump as far as recruiting and developing players go with Whittingham at the helm.