Former Sumter County standouts embrace star turn in NCAA College Football 25

While most young athletes dream of one day breaking into professional sports, their eye toward the future doesn't always encapsulate everything that stardom entails.

When you make it to the NFL, you also gain a digital avatar in Madden. In baseball, you'll see the likes of former Gamecock Jordan Montgomery and former Baron JP Sears in MLB The Show. You can ball out as former Crestwood star Ja Morant in NBA 2K. For years, that was the only outlet for athletes to get a chance to pick up the sticks and play as themselves.

That all changed this fall.

EA Sports released NCAA College Football 25 in July, ending a decade-long drought of college football action on video game consoles. But this year's rendition is unlike any other. In years past, college stars were technically not in the game, merely created characters wearing their numbers. With the rise of Name, Image and Likeness deals, NCAA College Football 25 uses far more than the correct numbers. College football's greatest stars are in the game with both their names across their backs and their likenesses recreated.

"I play it every day, every night. I'm trying to get up off of it so I can get myself sleep, so I can make sure I'm ready for the morning," former Sumter High star and current Florida defensive lineman Justus Boone said. "But, man, it's cool. Honestly, I'm not a big video gamer, so it's like not necessarily a dream of mine. Of course, I wanted to be in Madden once I got to the league, but I never really played NCAA growing up, so I didn't really know much about it.

"Being a part of this recreation and being a part of the updated version is cool. It's definitely a sight to see. Matter of fact, I just bought my card yesterday for Ultimate Team. I'm loving it."

While the Sumter standouts in the game are all excited to have the chance to play as themselves, it hasn't all been perfect.

"It's weird. They kinda messed my drip up a little bit, I'm not gonna lie. I ain't gonna say too much about it," former Sumter High standout and current South Carolina cornerback O'Donnell Fortune said coyly. "But it's awesome, man. It's a great opportunity just to see your face, yourself on the game. I always dreamed about that."

Every player in the game got a free copy, but it wasn't exactly free to play. NCAA College Football 25 is only on next-generation consoles, which means shelling out for a PlayStation 5 for anyone who didn't already have access to one.

"I had to go get a P5. I didn't have a PlayStation. I was going to wait until GTA 6 came out before I got it," former Crestwood standout and current South Carolina tight end Josh Simon said. "I don't really play the game like that anymore. I beat all the games I like to play; there's nothing left to do. When it came out, everyone was sending me clips. 'Oh Josh, they got you good on the game.' I was like, 'Man, I gotta see it for myself.' So I went out, got the free copy of the game, got the P5, and it's cool. A lot of people can't say they're in a video game."

While it's cool to play as yourself, maybe the most shocking thing was the reaction to hearing about swarms of people, strangers and friends alike, sending videos of your video game avatar making plays.

"People send me clips all the time with them like using me in coverage or they had changed the defense around and put me on the line, let me get a sack," Boone said. "As a matter of fact, last night, me and my homeboys were playing on my ultimate team. He was using my user, and he got a pick with me. So it's just fun, man. It's definitely a sight to see. It's exciting. And I'm blessed and grateful."

Former Sumter High linebacker and current Vandy standout Miles Capers had family getting him on board.

"My dad tells me about it. I'll have all these plays he's making with me," he said.

For Simon, those messages are almost nostalgic at times. That being said, this isn't the only game he's planning to be in.

"Social media is wild. They'll send you all types of clips, you'll get messages from people that you ain't talked to in a long time, and it's just love for me, man, to know that I have that kind of support," Simon said. "But I ain't too big on it, I'm not way in the clouds on it. It's a big thing. I'm in a game, and that's cool and all, but I'm trying to get in the game for real. I'm trying to get to the league."

NCAA College Football 25 is a bonding experience for these area stars. Several found a way to import the Sumter High roster into the game so they can team up. Capers and Boone have even gotten a few games in together. Boone has also played plenty with former Sumter High teammate Vincent Davis, who was a part of the crew uploaded in with Sumter High's roster.

"There's a way to get Sumter High's team on the game, so we created Sumter High's team in NCAA, so we've got OD (Fortune) on there, we've got Tylee (Craft) on there, Davin (Jackson), Marcus (Lane), my brother Kirkland, Miles Capers, we've got everyone on there," Boone said. "It's lit."

There are currently seven local stars in the game. Former Lakewood star Brandon Cisse is at North Carolina State, former Crestwood standout Seneca Moore is at Liberty, and Kameron Pearson suits up for Texas State. While a few local standouts on college rosters don't have digital avatars yet, that could change with updates. Hopefully more are right around the corner, as the next crop of high school seniors makes the jump to college.

"We set a standard in Sumter," Capers said. "We need some more coming out soon so we can have more people in the game."

Fortune added, "It's cool. We're slowly gaining knowledge. It's cool seeing us all do that, and we've got younger guys that are gonna do the same. It's just cool seeing that."