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The Emerald Coast has plenty of high-level talent inside the borders of Okaloosa and Walton Counties on the College Football stage – and we’ve got the stats to prove it.
We took our copy of NCAA 25 and did the deep dive to see how our alums of local high schools stack up in the latest version of the beloved football game – here’s what we found out.
While none of the players cracked 90 on the roster and made the top 100 players in the game – several were very close to that accomplishment and will have another chance next year – should they choose to return to the college level instead of going pro.
We tried to find everyone – but if we missed someone, let us know! We’ll add them to the list!
So, without any further ado, here’s the list of the best players in the game from Okaloosa and Walton Counties.
It won’t surprise most Niceville High School fans that Azareye’h earned the title of “best overall local player in a video game.” After all, the College Junior has a lot going his way. Coach Grant Thompson would agree.
He is an exceptional athlete with plenty of college snaps at Florida State University under his belt. It doesn’t hurt that his older brother is Dallas Cowboys Cornerback Juanyeh Thomas, either. Thomas is also one of the best players on the Florida State Roster in the game.
The 88 overall grade won’t be much of a surprise for him, either. Earlier this year, he was right in the ballpark when I asked him what he thought his NCAA rating would be. “I’d say like a 90,” he said with a smile in an interview at the All Sports Association Awards in March. You can watch the rest of his interview here:
Just one point behind Thomas is Crestview’s best player in the video game – Jaden Voisin. The 5’10 senior is the star of the Jags defense this year, and lines up in practice against his brother Devin – who plays wide receiver for the Mobile-area university.
Voisin has almost 80 tackles, three forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, and six interceptions.
The Voisin brothers will face off against North Texas in their home opener on August 31 at 4:00 PM.
We drop about ten points to our third-best player from the area in NCAA 25 – Khalil Jacobs. Jacobs spent his first two years in college football as teammates with the Voisin brothers at the University of South Alabama before joining the Missouri Tigers for his junior season. Fellow Niceville High School alumni Austin Firestone played for the Tigers last season before quitting football.
Jacobs has 56 tackles to his credit, three sacks, three forced fumbles, and an interception.
Missouri hosts Murray State for their first game this year on August 29 at 7:00 PM.
We drop about ten points to our third-best player from the area in NCAA 25 – Khalil Jacobs. Jacobs spent his first two years in college football as teammates with the Voisin brothers at the University of South Alabama before joining the Missoa
Jaden Voisin’s twin brother Devin will start on the offensive side of the ball for the South Alabama Jaguars this season.
The 5’10, 189 wideouts only played in two games last year (in a loss against Tulane and a win against Southeastern Louisiana) – totaling five receptions for 77 yards and a touchdown. The year before, Voisin had a much more robust stat line. He caught 53 passes for 714 yards and four touchdowns.
South Alabama will play perennial ne’er-do-wells North Texas in their first game on August 31 at home.
uri Tigers for his junior season. Fellow Niceville High School alumni Austin Firestone played for the Tigers last season before quitting football.
Jacobs has 56 tackles to his credit, three sacks, three forced fumbles, and an interception.
Missouri hosts Murray State for their first game this year on August 29 at 7:00 PM.
LSU Junior Kimo Makane’ole will want to use his giant, robust frame to force his way onto the starting lineup this year for LSU head coach Brian Kelly. Although. NCAA 25 has him playing as a Left Guard; the university lists Makane’ole as a Defensive Tackle.
The redshirt junior has not played any snaps in his new defensive position.
LSU takes the field for their first game in Las Vegas, where they will play the University of Southern California.
Sophomore Brian Grant has yet to make it onto the field at Rocky Top for a snap – but that time could be fast approaching. The 6’7, 337-pound sophomore certainly has the physical tools to make himself a success for the SEC’s most quixotic team in the last 20 years.
He could see some snaps early in the season against the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga should he perform well in summer practices.
Sophomore Joseph Hanson joined the Chanticleers of good seasons for both teams. Now, he hopes to prove himself the man for the job on the offensive line going forward.
As a freshman, Hanson started a single game for the Chants and got to play in eight others. Coastal’s offensive line was 24th overall for sacks allowed last year – and quarterback Grayson McCall became Coastal’s leader in passing yards thanks to their abilities on the line.
Hanson will visit Jacksonville State and fellow Emerald Coast Jawaun Campbell for their first game of the season with Coastal takes on Jacksonville State on August 29th.
Niceville High School Grad and Freshman JP Mikhael had a great start to his Eagle career – thanks to a touchdown reception that was the only one of the night in the Eagles preseason scrimmage.
If the preseason is any indicator, Mikhael could be one of the youngest Niceville alumni to get some serious playing time this season in the Division One college ranks.
The Eagles host Boise State for their first game on August 31 at 3:00 PM.
The Walton Braves’ product Jawaun Campbell has made a move from DeFuniak Springs to Jacksonville, Alabama, to play for the Gamecocks starting this season.
Campbell helped the Braves to a particular season last year. The team was undefeated until they ran into a brick wall that was Pensacola Catholic in the second round of the playoffs, despite beating Catholic in a close game earlier that year. Still, they twice beat their in-county rivals, South Walton, and posted the best record in several years.
Campbell and the Gamecocks will host Coastal Carolina for their first game on August 29.
Marcus Patterson rounds out the nine local players we could account for on NCAA 25 this year. The Sophomore Crestview alum has six tackles for the Hilltoppers so far in his career and a forced fumble. The 6’3 275, 275-pound defensive end got snaps in games against Louisiana Tech, Liberty University, and Ohio State.
Western Kentucky travels to Tuscaloosa on August 31 to play the Alabama Crimson Tide in Bryant-Denny Stadium.
We know we missed someone.
We’re sure of it.
If you know who they are – drop us a line at christopher@midbaynews.com, so we can update the story with a player. We’re looking for any current FBS players who played high school ball at Fort Walton Beach, Choctawhatchee, Niceville, Destin, South Walton, Walton, Freeport, Crestview or Baker.
Thanks for helping us get better! I’m off to play a little more NCAA 25.
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