"A massive name and a big following": $4.7M NIL-valued Shedeur Sanders gets Kirk Herbstreit's vote to be on cover of EA Sports College Football 25

Shedeur Sanders needed just one season at the FBS level to establish himself as one of the biggest stars in college football. Kirk Herbstreit, who is among the most respected voices in the sport, recently made the case to appear on the cover of the highly-anticipated video game EA Sports College Football 25.

Speaking to his sons Tye and Jake Herbstreit on their podcast Streit Talk Show, the College Gameday analyst was asked who he believes will be on the cover of the game, responding:

"I don't know. Are they saying one cover or are there going to be several covers? I haven't heard... I have no idea. Like last year, if you were doing this game and it was coming into last season, I would think that Caleb Williams would've been, probably the obvious choice. Even though there's a lot of big names that emerged throughout the year."

Herbstreit continued:

"I feel like there's a lot of guys going to the draft this year, a lot of the bigger names. I think Shedeur Sanders is a massive name and a big following. I don't know that."

Check out Kirk Herbstreit's comments on the cover of EA Sports College Football 25 below (starting at the 24:17 mark):

Herbstreit added that Sanders' Colorado Buffaloes teammate Travis Hunter would be another option to don the cover. While the Buffaloes finished the season just 4-8, the two players have established themselves among the sport's biggest stars.

The son of Pro and College Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders sent a cryptic since-deleted tweet in which he seemingly petitioned to be named the cover star, stating:

"@EASPORTSCollege knows the right thing to do"

Check out a screenshot of Shedeur Sanders' since-deleted tweet:

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How has Shedeur Sanders performed in his college career?

Shedeur Sanders joined the Jackson State Tigers as a three-star prospect in the 2021 recruiting class. As a true freshman, he threw for 3,231 yards, 30 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He completed 65.9% of his passes while adding three rushing touchdowns.

Sanders also had a strong showing the following season, as he finished with 3,732 passing yards, 40 touchdowns and six interceptions while completing 70.6% of his passes and rushing for six touchdowns. Ahead of his junior year, he followed his father to the Colorado Buffaloes, joining the program via the transfer portal.

Despite chatter that his game would not translate to the FBS level, Sanders was able to thrive. He threw for 3,230 yards, 27 touchdowns and just three interceptions while completing 69.3% of his passes and adding four rushing touchdowns. While there was speculation that he could enter the 2024 NFL Draft, he will return to the Buffaloes for his senior season.