When EA Sports last released a college football video game, “NCAA 14,” on July 9, 2013, Yelm was not represented as no Yelm High School athletes were competing in the Division I FBS classification at the time.
Over 10 years later, with EA Sports officially releasing “College Football 25” on July 19, 2024, the Yelm Tornados have three representatives in the sports-based video game: the University of California-Berkeley’s Dylan Jemtegaard, the University of Oregon’s Brayden Platt, and the University of California Los Angeles’ Isaiah Patterson.
Tornados offensive coordinator Bryan Irion was an avid “NCAA 14” player when the game was released in 2013.
For the coach, seeing his former players in a game where he was once a nationally ranked online player is a full-circle moment.
“It’s always great to see Yelm kids move on to do big things and pursue their dreams,” Irion said. “It’s pretty special to see kids you’ve coached now in EA 25 College Football video games. It will be fun to play with them in the game.”
In “College Football 25,” users are able to play as the three former Tornados in different game modes including both offline and online head to head exhibition modes, Dynasty, and Road to the College Football Playoff. With the relaunch of EA’s college football series, fans of the YHS football program can control the destiny of the three Tornado athletes over the span of their careers in Division I football.
Jemtegaard, an incoming redshirt junior for the Golden Bears, graduated from YHS in 2021. The former 24/7Sports three-star prospect played left tackle for the Tornados before shifting to the interior offensive line for Cal.
The 6-foot-4-inch offensive lineman checked into EA Sports “College Football 25” as a center with a 72 overall rating, with a 99 overall rating the best number an athlete can receive. His stats in the new video game include an 84 overall strength rating, a 76 overall awareness grade, a 73 overall grade in pass blocking and a 70 overall rating in run blocking. His highest rating is 90 overall in the “run block finesse” category.
Platt, a freshman at the University of Oregon, graduated from YHS in 2024. During his time as a Tornado, the former All American played inside linebacker, running back and received a four-star prospect grade from 24/7Sports.
In “College Football 25,” the 6-foot-1-inch, 222-pound right outside linebacker received an overall grade of 74. His other ratings include an 88 speed rating, a 90 acceleration grade, an 85 overall tackling rating, an 84 hit power rating, a zone coverage rating of 80 and a 68 overall man coverage rating. His highest rating is the 90 overall acceleration grade.
Patterson, Yelm’s former three-star linebacker and fullback, graduated from YHS in 2024. As a Tornado, Patterson, along with Platt, served as a key piece to the team’s defense during its back-to-back WIAA 3A state championship appearances in 2022 and 2023.
In “College Football 25,” the 6-foot-3-inch, 235-pound right defensive end makes his video game debut with an overall rating of 68.
His other ratings include 80 overall speed, 90 overall strength, 89 acceleration, a 75 overall tackle grade, an 81 overall hit power rating and 78 overall finesse moves. His highest overall rating was his 90 strength grade.
