Five Hawkeyes That Should be Close to the EA Sports Top 100
On Wednesday morning, EA Sports released its top 100 rated players in College Football 2025. With four players on the Iowa defense making the list (No. 97 Xavier Nwankpa, No. 86 Nick Jackson, No. 38 Sebastian Castro and No. 16 Jay Higgins), the Hawkeyes were well-represented.
Now, who do we believe could have just missed the cut? Let's take a look at five Hawkeyes that could -- or should -- be just outside that top 100 rating.
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A fierce pass-rusher when fully healthy, Deontae Craig returns on the right side of the Iowa DL for his final season as a Hawkeye this fall. Craig, who broke onto the scene as a sophomore in 2022, tied for the team lead in sacks 6.5, was second in tackles for loss with ten and led the team in forced fumbles with three.
Though his junior year didn't produce the same flashy stats he did during his sophomore campaign, Craig still added 54 tackles, coming in sixth team-wide.
Now that his fellow defensive end Joe Evans has departed for the NFL, Craig may be in line for a big final season in black and gold. Pair that with the raw talent he brought to Iowa as a four-star prospect in the class of 2020 and Craig could be right there outside the Top 100.
Aaron Graves may be one of the most highly-anticipated recruit signings in Iowa football history. A four-sport high school athlete who earned the 2021-22 MaxPreps National Athlete of the Year Award, Graves has been able to focus solely on football for the last two years.
In 2023, he came off the bench to relieve Yahya Black and Logan Lee and totaled 27 tackles, 2.5 sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss. Now he's set to start for the first time in his career in Iowa City, alongside Black.
It's time for Graves to break out.
We've repeatedly seen and heard what Graves is capable of on and off the football field -- he's a freak athlete with freak strength and freak intelligence. As he receives more snaps in 2024, Graves should see the spotlight and some more big stats this season.
If there are any gripes to be made with the folks at EA Sports, it may be that an Iowa tight end didn't make the Top 100 list. Given the quality that Luke Lachey has shown in the past, a fully-healthy 2023 likely would have landed him somewhere on the list.
The Columbus, Ohio native caught 10 passes for 131 yards in just three games last season -- despite getting hurt early and not recording any stats in that third game. Had he finished the season and stayed on the same pace he showed early on, he could have finished the year with 91 catches and over 600 receiving yards.
With a presumably fully healthy season ahead, Lachey will likely catch the eyes of the folks at EA Sports -- and quickly. Whatever his rating comes out as when the game is released, expect it to jump up sooner rather than later.
Ladell Betts notably goes with the hot hand when choosing which running back gets the most touches. Between that and the possibility of injury, there's no guarantee which running back will see the field the most in 2024.
With that said, it's expected that either Kaleb Johnson or Leshon Williams will lead Iowa in rushing yards and touchdowns this season.
Johnson missed four games and saw limited action in others, which contributed to him accruing just 463 yards on 117 attempts last season, including three touchdowns. Williams led the squad in rushing with 821 yards on 170 carries last season with one score over 14 games.
If either of them is able to stay healthy for the majority of the upcoming season and the offensive line takes a step forward, the Hawkeye backfield may be set up to have a bell-cow back with big stats in 2024.