On Thursday, news broke that every Michigan State football player was expected to opt in to the new EA Sports College Football 26 video game that releases in July.
Unlike last year, there should be no last-minute opt-ins after originally choosing not to be in the game as the entire roster should be compensated nicely for their appearance in the game.
Excitement has been building for the release of the new game with plenty of new features.
One of the newest features is the inclusion of actual head coaches instead of generic stand-ins that were in the game last year. This was teased with Ryan Day appearing in in-game images released by EA Sports earlier this week and it was confirmed on Friday by Michigan State.
Jonathan Smith won't be the only Spartan coach to appear in the game, however. Offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren and defensive coordinator Joe Rossi will also make appearances on the sidelines, should you choose to roll with the actual staff instead of your own created coach, according to Michigan State Gear on X.
Personally, I love this feature because it adds a little more realness to the game. Seeing the generic coaches on the sidelines in last year's game just didn't do it for a lot of fans.
Not only will you be able to coach as Smith, but you could choose to call plays as either Rossi or Lindgren -- or you could choose to fire any of them and hire your own coach.
This year's game is reportedly much different and improved from the first version of the EA Sports College Football franchise in 10 years.