EA Sports has put its College Football 27 ratings on the board, and the SEC is sitting right at the top of the pile. Missouri leads the way with two players tied for the conference’s highest mark at 96 overall, a loud reminder of how much the Tigers have changed under Eli Drinkwitz.
The game arrives worldwide on Thursday, July 9. Early access begins Thursday, July 2 for MVP+ members, and Monday, July 6 for Deluxe and MVP Bundle buyers.
At the very top of the SEC list is Missouri running back Hardy, who checks in at 96 overall after a monster season. He ranked second nationally with 1,649 rushing yards last fall, and the rating is based on what he put on tape then, not the current situation. Hardy was shot in the upper leg on May 10 at a concert in Mississippi, and Drinkwitz said he is "progressing well" but "still working back" from the injury.
Sharing that 96 mark is Missouri offensive tackle Green, ranked No. 2 in my offensive tackle rankings. He passed on the 2026 draft and comes back after allowing just seven pressures in 750 snaps last season, according to Pro Football Focus.
He was Missouri’s top pass protector, and he says the next step is sharpening the finer points. "Definitely my hands," Green said.
"I think my hands can improve. It'll take my pass pro and my run blocking to another level."
Ole Miss running back Lacy also lands at 96 overall, giving the conference a three-way tie at the top. He led the nation in carries and paced the SEC in rushing touchdowns, and Ole Miss made sure he never reached the open market. Lacy is expected to make north of $2 million in 2026 after turning down other offers to stay in Oxford, where he returns as the focal point of a deeper backfield designed to take some of the load off him.
A step below that top tier, Georgia safety Bolden sits at 95 overall after a season that has evaluators talking like he’s a first-rounder in the making. He finished as Georgia’s second-leading tackler with 76 stops and gave up only 10 catches for 146 yards on 23 targets.
One SEC personnel staffer put it bluntly: "KJ is so well put together," the staffer said. "He's going to be the best they've had at that position in a while, which is crazy to say."
Texas edge rusher Simmons also comes in at 95 overall, and the numbers explain why scouts already treat him like a special case. Over his first two seasons in Austin, he collected 21 sacks and 29.5 tackles for loss, putting him on track as a potential top-10 pick whenever he leaves.
The Longhorns need more than pass-rush flashes from him in 2026, though. They need him to set the tone for a defense carrying national title expectations.
The 94 overall group features a pair of SEC standouts up front and in the secondary. Texas tackle Goosby earned first-team All-SEC honors while protecting Arch Manning’s blindside, giving up just one sack and posting a 1.5 percent pressure rate, the second-best figure among SEC starting tackles, per ESPN Research. His offseason took an unexpected turn after shoulder surgery, and he could miss a chunk of Texas’s offseason program as he works back.
Oklahoma lineman Stone is also at 94 overall after a sophomore breakout that nearly never happened in Norman. He finished with 42 tackles, eight for loss and 1.5 sacks while carving out a starting role up front. He’s expected to line up next to fellow 2024 signee, high school teammate and longtime friend Jayden Jackson on what should be one of the SEC’s stronger interior lines.
Alabama safety Hubbard rounds out the 94 overall tier after a junior year that pushed him onto early-round draft boards. He posted career highs in tackles, sacks, forced fumbles, interceptions and passes defensed in 2025 before choosing to return to Tuscaloosa. His goal is simple: help bring another national championship back to Alabama, with a secondary that brings back nearly every major piece from a CFP team.
South Carolina edge rusher Stewart opens the countdown at 93 overall, and the production came even while he battled through major pain for much of last season. Shane Beamer praised him for playing through what the coach described as a "broken back," and Stewart still managed a productive year. He enters his junior season with 22.5 tackles for loss and 11 sacks among 56 career tackles, and the expectations are high from here.
LSU tackle Seaton is also listed at 93 overall after one of the biggest offensive line transfers the sport has seen. Industry sources believe he landed a deal worth more than $4 million to leave Colorado for Baton Rouge, and he says the body transformation has already followed.
"I was 315 to 320 pounds," Seaton said. "Now I'm 305 to 307 with 15 to 16 percent body fat."
In Other News...
Gerald McCoy Just Reignited Oklahomas Most Polarizing QB Debate
Gerald McCoy just put a fresh jolt into one of Oklahoma footballs favorite barroom arguments, and he did it by naming Caleb Williams as the quarterback he would take for a program today. The former All-Americans choice puts Williams in the same conversation with Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray and Jalen Hurts, a group that gives the Sooners no shortage of star power to compare across eras.
McCoys view was rooted in Williams athleticism and versatility, traits that helped make his lone season in Norman impossible to ignore. Even in a brief stay, Williams left a lasting impression on Oklahoma fans, and the debate around where he fits in the programs quarterback hierarchy is only going to get louder whenever one of these names comes back into the conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Brent Venables Just Landed A Massive Defensive Commitment For 2027
A major early piece is in place for Oklahomas 2027 recruiting class, with another highly regarded defender giving Brent Venables staff a marquee addition to build around. The Sooners have landed a prospect who sits among the nations top 100 in multiple recruiting services, a profile that says as much about his ceiling as it does about the level of programs chasing him.
For Oklahoma, the appeal goes beyond rankings. The staff sees a defensive piece who can fit multiple spots in Venables scheme, with safety and cheetah both on the table as he develops. It also gives the Sooners another strong marker in a class that is starting to stack blue-chip talent, and one more reason for the rest of the country to keep watching how this group comes together. [Read more 🡒]
David Stone Is Suddenly Facing Oklahomas Biggest Defensive Question
David Stones progress from his first season to his second gave Oklahoma something to feel good about along the defensive line. The former five-star recruit was far more active in Year 2, finishing with 42 tackles, eight tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks after a quieter debut, and that kind of jump is exactly why the Sooners still view him as a cornerstone piece up front.
Gerald McCoy sees the same upward trend and thinks Stone is close to a different level altogether. The former Sooner has pointed to Stones ability to move from simply being a good player to becoming a dominant defensive lineman, and that is where Oklahomas biggest question now starts to form - whether Stone is ready to own a much bigger piece of the defense when the pressure rises next season. [Read more 🡒]