When it was first announced that Arch Manning wouldn’t be a part of the EA Sports College Football 25 game, the fans were hurt and spewed a lot of fire at the QB for his decision. But if the recent words of Mike Elko are to be taken to heart, it might just change everyone’s negative opinion about Manning’s absence from the game.

Arch Manning, the QB for the Texas Longhorns, received a lot of backlash for his decision to focus on playing the sport rather than be a part of the 11-year-long awaited game. Yet, the fans were upset over the fact that there would be no player in the game with the legendary last name of ‘Manning’. Amid all the criticism over Arch’s decision, Elko comes out with his own opinion about why the video game could impact the careers of several football players, something which hasn’t been thought about yet.

Mike Elko’s stance on the college football game is eye-opening

On the 28th May episode of the Film Guy Network show, Brooks Austin was seen talking about the release of the upcoming game and shed light on Mike Elco’s quote. Mike Elko, the HC for the Texas A&M Aggies, talked about how video games can have a severe impact on the athletes’ sleep schedule which, in turn, insinuated that maybe Manning’s decision of opting out may have had its health benefits as well.

According to Elko, he would be having meetings with his players mid-season to tell them about “why it was not good to stay up until 4 in the morning playing Call of Duty.” He said this amid the hype of the upcoming football game and emphasized how the release would be dreadful for the teams since the players would be immensely occupied with it. Later, Austin chimed in with his own thoughts on Elko’s statement and said, “This college football video game finna take up a lot of the sleeping hours of your young football players.” Even though the show hosts resonated with what Elko had to say, they had their own contradictory thoughts regarding the well-being of the players.

Brooks Austin and his team weigh in on the game ruining the sleep schedule of athletes

The world of college football is ready more than ever for the game that last saw the daylight back in 2014. A decade-long drought enveloped the college football gaming community and now that it’s here, it’s raising a few concerns over the players’ focus and how they’ll manage their sleeping schedules, as per Mike Elko.

But what’s also an important incentive to look at is how much time the players would spend away from parties and other recreational activities in order to stay home and play the game. Moreover, the athletes from this season will play as themselves in the game, which is just an immense feeling of pride for the players who put the work in every single day, and they’ll be rewarded by seeing their own characters in the video game.

“If you’re playing college football, at least you’re at home, you’re in your dorm, you’re in a safe space. Like your sleep schedule might get jacked up a little bit, but you’re not getting into any trouble.” These are the last thoughts that the FGN show ended their segment with, implying that the players would instead spend time in front of an innocent game rather than end up being a part of any illicit activities, something which youngsters are prone to in today’s day and age.