Fans have a chance to coach Marshall University football themselves with the launch of EA Sports College Football 26. Within it, Marshall has a 72 overall team and a two-star team prestige rating.

The game has launched for those who bought the deluxe edition of the game. The base release is scheduled for Thursday.

Marshall coach Tony Gibson is in the game along with a revamped rendering of Joan C. Edwards Stadium and the Thundering Herd’s recently revealed uniforms.

A notable change were the fictional skyscrapers in the skyline of the Joan that have now been removed, creating a more realistic portrayal of the stadium. The upcoming Shewey Building renovations are not in the game at launch.

The highest rated player for the Herd is offensive lineman Jalen Slappy at 84 overall. Tight end Toby Payne, a native of Poca, West Virginia, is the next best at 83.

The highest-rated team in the Sun Belt Conference is Georgia Southern at a 77 despite a one-star prestige rating. Marshall has the second-highest prestige rating behind Appalachian State’s three-star nod.

Georgia Southern also has the highest offense with a 76. Louisiana has the highest defense at a 74. Arkansas State’s 85 on special teams leads the SBC.

Old Dominion linebacker Jason Henderson is a top 100 player in the game and the highest rated player in the Sun Belt. He has a 91 overall rating.

Below is a list of ratings for each position group on Marshall’s roster. It’s worth noting that highest rating does not indicate any official depth chart. Last year, Cole Pennington was the highest rated Marshall quarterback at launch, but Stone Earle was the week one starter.

Offense

QUARTERBACKS: Junior Zion Turner is the starting quarterback in the game and has the highest rating among the position at 74 overall. He is listed with 87 speed (SPD), 93 toughness (TGH) and 86 agility (AGI), along with 86 throw power (THP), 80 short pass accuracy (SAC), 76 mid pass accuracy (MAC) and 70 deep pass accuracy (DAC).

Junior Carlos Del-Rio Wilson is rated at a 73 overall with 76 SPD, 76 AGI, 88 THP, 82 SAC, 78 MAC and 76 DAC.

Other available quarterbacks include Koi Fagan at a 72 overall, JacQai Long (68) and A.J. Fox (67).

RUNNING BACKS: Marshall’s highest rated running back is Michael Allen at 79 overall. He has 89 SPD, 84 AGI, 77 strength (STR) and a wealth of ball-carrying stats at 80+.

The rest of Marshall’s playable running back core includes Antwan Roberts (78), Tony Mathis Jr. (78), Jo’shon Barbie (76), Anthony Quinn Jr. (71) and Bubba McMullen (64).

WIDE RECEIVERS: Adrian Norton has the highest rating among receivers at 81 overall. He has 89 SPD, 90 AGI, 92 acceleration (ACC), 86 catching (CTH), and an 80 or higher in all route running stats.

Antonio Harmon (76), Demarcus Lacey (74), Bryan Robinson (73), Ben Turner (73), Zavier Short (69), Atley Cowan (68), Jakolbe Baldwin (67), Sherone White Jr. (67) and Tony Martin (57) are the rest of the playable receivers.

Notable traits include a 91 overall speed rating for White. Receiver is the second-best position group by rating at a 77.

TIGHT ENDS: Payne’s 83 leads the tight end group. He has 79 SPD, 74 STR, 79 AGI and 86 CTH.

The rest of the position group includes Quincy Irving (75), Tracy Stephens (66) and Rhett McGrew (66).

Among position groups, tight end is the highest rated at 83 overall.

OFFENSIVE LINE: Slappy comes in as the highest rated Marshall player at an 84. He holds 88 STR, 90 awareness (AWR), 93 TGH, and blocking stats with a 79 or higher across the board.

Other playable lineman include Shunmarkus Adams (75), Tyler McDuffie (74), Peyton Ellis (73), Evan Ferguson (72), Bryce Biggs (71), Morgan Scott (68), Eric Meeks (66), Tariq Montgomery (64), Eli Kaufman (64), Jack Laird (63), Bruce Finch (62), Andrew Dudley (62), Corey Teal (60), Parker Brault (60), Isaac Clary (58) and Christian Richter (57).

Defense

DEFENSIVE LINE: Jalil Rivera-Harvery is the highest-rated defensive lineman at 78 overall. He has 87 STR, 95 TGH, 89 tackle (TAK) and 89 hit power (POW).

Katron Evans (73), Jamaal Whyce Jr. (71), Tyas Martin (71), Braydin Ward (71), Jacarius Clayton (70), Mikailin Warren (70), Paul Hutson III (69), Ali Abbasi (69), Al Robinson-Curry (68), Naquan Crowder (68), Kris Carruthers (67), Jaasai Simmons (64) and Sid Kaba (63) are other playable trenchmen.

The defensive line is the highest-rated defensive unit at 73 overall.

LINEBACKERS: Javae Gilmore is the highest linebacker at 75 overall. He has 77 SPD, 88 TGH, 74 STR, 82 ACC, 80 POW and 78 TAK.

Jayland Parker is close behind at 74 overall with 93 TGH, 79 SPD, 85 ACC, 76 TAK and 72 POW.

The rest of the playable linebacker group is Jibreel Al-Amin (71), Jalen Marshall (70), Kerion Martin (67), Rashawn Carr (67), Zane Porter (66), Cannon Lewis (65), EahJay McAdams (65), Chason Clark (64) and Daniel Harris (62).

SECONDARY: Jadarius Green-McKnight is the highest rated safety at 77 while Daytione Smith’s 75 is the highest among corners. Both have 86 SPD while Green-McKnight has 83 pursuit (PUR), 82 POW and coverage stats at 73 or higher in all categories.

The rest of the group is Marvae Myers-Glover (71), Ishmael Roy (71), Boogie Trotter (69), Joshua Pierre-Louis (69), Tevyn Brown (68), Tayvon Nelson (67), Cam Smith (67), Louikenzy Jules (67), Darrell Sweeting (66), Caleb Clark-Glover (65)m Chris Holmes (65), Davion Kershaw (65), Richard Franklin (64), TaShawn Jeter (63), Camron Nti (61).

SPECIAL TEAMS: Nathan Totten is the only kicker on Marshall’s roster at 65 overall.

MISSING PLAYERS: Marshall is currently missing more than 30 players from its official roster.

Those include De’Andre Tamarez, Justin Williams-Thomas, Philipp Davis, Jack Clougherty, Xayvion Turner-Bradshaw, Zah Jackson, Chase Massey, Judah Price, Sammy Etienne, Justin Haggerty, Al Ashford III, Jason Haggerty, Pete Schuh, Stanley Jackson, Jalyn Abercrombie, K.J. Jones, Ajani Cuevas-Gillis, Jayden Johnson, Aden Willis, Brock Walters, Gavin Magorien, Mekhi Lockhart, Henry Harden, Jaxson Cunningham, Drake Lanham, Shawn Rouse, Nico Weidmann, Brandon Hettwer, Lorcan Quinn, Cam Chmura, Donovan Garrett and Ty Powell.

Most players likely will be added in later roster updates. A majority of Marshall’s missing players are recent transfers.