What is the red diamond in College Football 25? Red gem in CFB 25, explained

There are many players to consider for your dynasties in College Football 25, whether you’re building on the current athletes on your squad or recruiting new prospects from high school. Beware, however, the dreaded red diamond while looking for new players to choose for your program.

These red diamond or red gem icons can be seen while sifting through the countless players available on the recruitment board. Though they might seem like intriguing prospects to put more effort and time into, there’s a very good reason why you’re seeing these red gems pop up next to certain players.

For the armchair general managers looking to build the next biggest program in the U.S., here’s everything we know about the red diamond or red gem in College Football 25.

What do red gems mean in College Football 25?

After you’ve used enough time to scout out a player to recruit them, a gray gem icon will sometimes appear on screen. That gray gem will either turn green to mark the player with a higher star rating than shown before or a red gem to mark them as a bust who has a lower star rating than shown.

This lowered star rating is usually one star less than their original projection. This also means you shouldn’t put too much time and effort into trying to recruit them for your program. You have limited time to recruit players, and if someone isn’t even at the level of what you originally believed, you should quickly pivot to other players while you still can.