PDA

View Full Version : NCAA Football 12 Cover Athlete Candidates - Pre-Bowl Edition



cdj
12-12-2010, 11:07 AM
You can view the page at http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/content.php?306-NCAA-Football-12-Cover-Athlete-Candidates-Pre-Bowl-Edition

***


http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/images/NCAA11/NCAAFootballLogo.jpg
With the college football regular season at a close, talk has started amongst community members on whom may be potential cover athlete candidates for NCAA Football 12. This year appears to potentially be the most wide-open in recent memory as there is strong rationale for and against almost every candidate and the majority of candidates are all under-classmen. With the possibility of an NFL lock-out looming, the underclassmen have a difficult choice in deciding whether to stay in school or enter the NFL Draft. Following the bowl games, the cover athlete discussion should become clearer and we will revisit the topic to see what candidates emerged or may have dropped out of the picture.

The Leaders in the Clubhouse

RB LaMichael James, Oregon* – The nation’s leading rusher on the top offense in college football, James racked up 1,682 rushing yards and 22 total touchdowns. Should his Ducks defeat Auburn in the BCS National Championship Game behind a strong performance from James, he may overtake Newton as the top cover athlete candidate. James was suspended for the 2010 season opener following his guilty plea for physical harassment after a February 17 arrest. If selected as the cover athlete, he would be the second Oregon player on the cover of NCAA Football, following NCAA Football 2003 cover athlete QB Joey Harrington.

QB Andrew Luck, Stanford* – Luck is expected to be the top quarterback taken in the 2010 NFL Draft, if not the top overall pick. The quarterback from Houston, Texas has led Stanford to an 11-1 record this season with the only loss to Oregon. He was named 2010 Pac 10 Offensive Player of the Year. On the year, he has completed 70% of his passes with 28 touchdown passes and seven interceptions, while rushing for 438 yards and three scores.

QB Kellen Moore, Boise State* - After finishing seventh in 2009 Heisman Trophy voting, Moore put together an excellent junior season by completing 71% of his passes for 3,506 yards with 33 touchdowns and five interceptions. A knock on his program also fits for Moore – some feel his level of competition in the WAC is not equal to those from BCS conferences. If selected as the cover athlete, he would be the second Boise State player to grace the cover of the game, following NCAA Football 08 cover athlete QB Jared Zabransky.

QB Cam Newton, Auburn* – The 2010 Heisman Trophy winner and most dynamic player in recent college football memory, the first year starter at QB has taken Auburn from an 8-5 season to 13-0 and within one win of the National Championship. Newton is just the second player in NCAA FBS history to total at least 20 passing and 20 rushing touchdowns in a season and is the first in SEC history to have 2,000 passing yard and 1,000 rushing yards in a single season. However, Newton has been plagued by the ‘pay-for-play’ scandal surrounding his father and Mississippi State. EA SPORTS may not want to risk a cover athlete scandal after seeing sales for the Tiger Woods PGA Tour franchise drop significantly following the media circus and allegations that engulfed Tiger Woods last fall and winter.

Dark Horses

WR Justin Blackmon, Oklahoma State* - The Cowboys offense did not skip a beat in 2010 behind the skills of Blackmon, considered one of the top WR prospects in college football. On the year, Blackmon caught 102 passes for 1,665 yards and accounted for 20 total touchdowns. He was suspended for one game following an October 26 arrest for DUI.

RB Kendall Hunter, Oklahoma State - One of the the top senior running backs in the country, Hunter racked up over 1,500 yards on the ground and 16 touchdowns in an Oklahoma State offense that also featured the one of the top wide receivers in the nation (Justin Blackmon).

RB Mark Ingram, Alabama* – The 2009 Heisman Trophy winner missed the first two games of the 2010 season recovering from knee surgery and finished with just 816 yards rushing and 12 total touchdowns. He also split time and carries with sophomore RB Trent Richardson.

QB Colin Kaepernick, Nevada – The four-year starter for the Wolfpack has put together an impressive senior season. This year, Kaepernick has completed 65% of his passes for 2,830 yards with 20 touchdowns and seven interceptions. On the ground, he has rushed for 1,184 yards and 20 touchdowns. He led Nevada to a 12-1 record including an upset of then #3 ranked Boise State.

QB Ryan Mallett, Arkansas* - The former Michigan transfer has helped rebuilding Arkansas emerge as a power player in the SEC as he completed 61% of his passes this season for 30 touchdowns and eleven interceptions.

DB Patrick Peterson, LSU* – With early info that the game is focusing on defense, Peterson may have the inside edge as he is one of the top defensive players in the country. Peterson has done it all for the Tigers, intercepting four passes, averaged 16 yards per punt return with two touchdowns, averaged 29 yards per kickoff return, while blocking one kick in earning the Jim Thorpe Award.

QB Terrelle Pryor, Ohio State* - A forgotten man in the Heisman discussion following Ohio State's loss to Wisconsin, Pryor completed 66% of his passes on the season for 2,551 yards with 25 touchdowns. He also added 639 yards on the ground and four rushing scores.

Coach Urban Meyer, Florida – The 46-year old Meyer had one of the most impressive coaching careers in college football history during his stops at Bowling Green, Utah, and Florida as he accumulated a career record of 103-23 with two National Championships and one undefeated season. Should the NCAA Football franchise add in any aspect of coaches or a Coaching Carousel, Meyer would be the perfect fit for the cover. However, that would give the franchise consecutive Florida Gators on the cover – QB Tim Tebow and then Meyer.

Coach Joe Paterno, Penn State - The all-time winningest coach in NCAA history with 401 victories, Paterno would be a perfect fit should the franchise add in coaches and/or a coaching carousel. Paterno also holds the record for bowl game victories (24) and was the first FBS coach to reach 400 victories.

On the Radar

DB Prince Amukamara, Nebraska - Like Peterson, the All-American defensive back led one of the top pass defenses in college football and was the first ever winner of the Pop Warner Award. The honor goes to a former Pop Warner football player who shows excellence on the field, in classes, and in the community. He is expected to be a first-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.

DL Da'Quan Bowers, Clemson* - The nation's leader in sacks with 15 also racked up 61 tackles and 10 quarterback hurries.

RB/LB Owen Marecic, Stanford – A rare two-way player, Marecic has accounted for five total touchdowns, 45 tackles, and one sack.

LB Von Miller, Texas A&M - The 2010 Butkus Award winner was a terror for opposing offenses as he helped lead Texas A&M to the Big 12 South co-Championship and six consecutive wins to end the season. For the year, Miller totaled 59 tackles, 10 sacks, three forced fumbles, one interception, and one fumble recovery.

Community Mentions

Miami DL Allen Bailey, Oklahoma DE Jeremy Beal, Wisconsin RB John Clay, Iowa DE Adrian Clayborn, TCU QB Andy Dalton, Ohio State DL Cameron Heyward, Purdue DL Ryan Kerrigan, Washington QB Jake Locker, UCLA S Rahim Moore, Oregon State DL Stephen Paea,

* - Indicates underclassman. Would need to declare eligibility for NFL Draft in order to be eligible for NCAA Football cover athlete consideration.

cdj
12-12-2010, 12:06 PM
I went with Kaepernick, Moore, and Meyer.

I'd have to guess that following the Tiger Woods fiasco, EA is scared to death of the same thing happening again especially as it relates to Newton - should he go pro, which I think he will, and then the NCAA uncovers something down the line. James & Blackmon also have had some legal issues, so barring a huge title game for LMJ I doubt either of them get on.

- Kaepernick has been a great QB all four years and a mobile QB so if the game addresses scrambling QBs like Rudy and others have requested, he would be a good fit. The upset versus Boise helped vault him up the list, IMO.

- Moore embodies the underdog role, just like his program has historically. The kid was underrecruited, looks too short to be a QB, but has had a great career this far. I'm not sure if he will go pro or not.

- If the game adds any form of coaches and or a coaching carousel, I think Meyer is all but a lock. The only caveat is that it would put back-to-back Gators on the cover. Putting Tebow on all the covers last year may end up backfiring slightly on EA, but not due to anything Tebow did.


I think Peterson/Amukamara make a lot of sense with defensive zone changes coming and would also like to see Owen Marecic get a look from EA if most of the underclassmen return.

HWill
12-12-2010, 12:18 PM
LaMichael James is a true sophomore. He can't declare for the draft if he wanted to.

cdj
12-12-2010, 12:26 PM
LMJ redshirted in 2008. (http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=3378&SPID=233&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=1550427&Q_SEASON=2010)

I tried to double check (if not triple) eligibility with so many top candidates being under-classmen, but that doesn't mean I didn't miss one somewhere.

xGRIDIRONxGURUx
12-12-2010, 12:31 PM
doesnt matter he wont be leaving lol... especially if we dont pull out the W vs. Auburn...

"E"

CLW
12-12-2010, 02:04 PM
Went with: Luck; Peterson; Joe Pa

HWill
12-12-2010, 03:21 PM
LaMichael James is a true sophomore. He can't declare for the draft if he wanted to.

I had a feeling I was wrong when I typed this. Oh well.

Oneback
12-12-2010, 05:41 PM
Maybe they'll add a rebuild a program mode, if so they can use Mack Brown on the cover.

steelerfan
12-13-2010, 12:01 AM
Luck, Moore, Paterno.

xGRIDIRONxGURUx
12-13-2010, 12:25 PM
Maybe they'll add a rebuild a program mode, if so they can use Mack Brown on the cover.

i feel for the Longhorns fans... seriously

"E"

Rudy
12-13-2010, 04:31 PM
The smart money is on Andrew Luck. Cam Newton has baggage while Luck is a Stanford kid who will probably be the #1 pick in the draft - free pub right there.

JBHuskers
12-14-2010, 10:08 AM
Luck is my front runner....I'd love to see Kaepernick as a dark horse just because his abilities definitely embody a college QB. And in my first ever NCAA league I played in (OMML) I was Nevada so there is a small sentimental value I have with the team ;)

I voted Ingram because he's a former Heisman winner....and Peterson because he's one of the best defensive players in the nation.

NatureBoy
12-14-2010, 09:51 PM
I'm going with Cam. He has been the face of college football this season. Everyone knows he's crooked, but nothing has or will be done about it. He and his Dad beat the system. The media can't get enough of him.

Quest4Gold
12-15-2010, 08:57 AM
I went with Luck, anyone who can make Stanford into a winner should be there. Newton won't accept the money, he made more in his recruiting trips :) If we go to this dumb coaching carousel, then need to go with someone who skips out a lot like Saban, Brian Kelly, or Lane Kiffin. Those are the carousel people not Joe Pa, he is the anit-carousel.

steelerfan
12-15-2010, 09:30 AM
dumb coaching carousel

Did you ever play CH2k8? I have no idea how anyone can feel this way.

RussellWilson
01-23-2011, 08:59 PM
what about russell wilson?

best QB in the acc.

JeffHCross
01-23-2011, 09:20 PM
what about russell wilson?

best QB in the acc.Isn't he more likely to go to the Majors? Same for Kyle Parker.

CLW
01-28-2011, 11:53 AM
Well the winner of the poll is a DEFINITE No.


I'm really hoping they focus on defense this year and go with a defensive guy on the cover (or Career Coach Mode and Joe Pa)

cdj
01-28-2011, 03:26 PM
We're actually posting a new article this evening taking bowl results and players leaving (or not leaving) early for the NFL. Mr. Luck won't be on that ballot. ;)

EDIT - This thread will be closed. Make sure to share your opinion and vote on who you'd like to see on the cover of NCAA 12 with our final candidate and discussion thread (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?1579-Who-will-be-the-NCAA-Football-12-Cover-Athlete).