The latest EA Sports College Football 25 Gameplay Deep Dive released, showing tons of exciting details for players to learn about before the game's launch this July. Between a revamped option and passing game, player abilities, and new switch stick feature, there's a lot to talk about in this new reveal. Fans have been waiting over 10 years to play the latest College Football Game from EA Sports. And now, we finally have a chance to see what the wait was all for.

EA College Football Gameplay Deep Dive Shows New Player Abilities & More

While EA College Football 25 won't include X-Factors, but will include 80 different player abilities. Overall, these abilities are “situational” boosts with no guarantee of activation.

Abilities are categorized into two different groups (Mental & Physical). Mental Abilities are based on a player's position, whereas Physical abilities are based on their archetype. Furthermore, abilities are divided into four tiers:

  • Bronze
  • Silver
  • Gold
  • Platinum

At most, players in College Football 25 can only have up to five physical and three mental abilities. While we don't know all abilities, EA Sports did unveil a few:

  • Grip Breaker – Bolsters a defender's ability to disengage from a block
  • Pocket Shield – Makes offensive linemen hold blocks better on standard pass plays

Depending on what tier your Grip Breaker ability is at, you'll be more effective at disengaging from a block not only on runs, but pass plays, too. Therefore, it's important to use your best tiered Abilities when it comes the most important games of the season.

Like we mentioned, the abilities are situational. If your Pocket Shield ability is a platinum tier, it won't activate if you're more than 10 yards away from a first down. EA College Football will also give coaches their own abilities, though we do not know much about them yet.

We look forward to seeing all the new Abilities in EA College Football 25.

Pre-Snap Recognition and Pre-Play Decisions Are Huge in EA College Football 25

A new pre-snap recognition feature in College Football 25 adds another level of authenticity before the play even begins. While Senior players are more experienced and confident, a freshman QB on the road might struggle to identify a blitz or other important detail. Abilities, both for coaches and players, will play a role in how your team reacts to pre-snap movements.

Speaking of the pre-snap, College Football 25 added several improvement to pre-play controls. Hot Routes now provide players with 12 unique routes to run.

Additionally, EA College Football introduces a new Customs Stems feature. While hot routing players, simply press and hold the left bumper to begin adjusting. You can modify the distance of your route with either the left stick or D-Pad. Just press L1/LB and your new custom route is set.

Tempo Types also play a role in the pre-snap decisions. Players now have access to new “Turbo” type tempo, which speeds up the game flow even more. This new Turbo tempo is the fastest way to get your offense on the field for the next snap. By pressing square or X post play, your players will rush to the line and get ready for the next play.

EA College Football 25 Makes Major Revamps To Passing

EA College Football 25 will also make some insane changes to its passing game, thanks to a revamped passing system. Some of the major changes include:

  • Increased variance of the left sticks' “pass lead intent”
  • Modified inaccuracy miss locations
  • Overhauled passing trajectories

But the biggest change to EA College Football 25's Passing Game is to its Throw Power mechanic. Now, Throw Power represents how far & how hard a player can throw the ball. Additionally, accuracy on holding a bullet pass also received some adjustments, with player abilities and other factors potentially leading to accuracy issues.

Overall, Passing in College Football 25 revolves around three colors – Red, Blue, and Yellow. When you start a pass, you'll see three sections with these colors, and their sizes are based on a number of things. Attributes, abilities, and other factors will either help you in making an accurate pass or hinder you. The colors work like this:

  • Blue – Throwing in blue usually results in a safe, accurate pass
  • Yellow – Challenging but possible throw
  • Red – Increased chance of inaccuracy.

Lastly, EA College Football 25 made big changes to the Pump Fake. One such change includes a pass meter indicator over the receiver you're pump faking too. Now, receivers do not need to pull off double moves to make defenders react. However, the developers also improved the way defenders react to the Pump Fakes. So don't get too cute on offense.

EA College Football 25 Introduces New Switch Stick and Linemen Play

Other big changes are coming to EA College Football 25's Gameplay, including a New Switch Stick Mechanic. Now, when you flick the right stick, you'll directionally switch to another defender on the field. This will allow players to quickly navigate through their defense in a matter of seconds.

Additionally, pressing Left Stick + B/O also lets you switch in a pass rush situation quickly. But don't worry, because it will become the hit stick once the QB passes the ball or crosses the line of scrimmage.

And for our offensive/defensive lineman enjoyers, College Football 25 makes considerable changes to how the game is felt in the trenches. Both offensive and defensive linemen received some new goodies in CFB 25:

  • New Pass protection mechanic for OL players which adds six protection targeting schemes
  • 400 new animations
  • Pass Rush/Run Stopping Power received significant upgrades
    • Pass Rushers have increased chances of playing more shed moves in the run game
  • Overhauled Targeting systems for fundamental blocking schemes

Overall, that includes some of the biggest new gameplay changes in EA College Football 25. While it does resemble Madden in more ways than one, it does seem to include a lot of improvements that differentiate it from the NFL video game series. We look forward to seeing how everything feels when College Football 25 hits store shelves this July!

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