College football fans have been obsessed with the new EA Sports College Football video game, and while the game doesn’t officially launch nationwide until Friday, fans who pre-ordered the release have been playing it nonstop over the past few days.
Players who attended Big 12 Football Media Days in Las Vegas last week got an early look at the game, including West Virginia quarterback Garrett Green, All-American offensive lineman Wyatt Milam, defensive lineman Shawn Martin and defensive back Aubrey Burks.
The first college football video game since 2013 has been met with rave reviews from gamers and sports fans alike.
What did the players think? We asked the Mountaineers.
Milam holds the distinction of being the only WVU player whose overall rating ranks among the game’s top 100 athletes. The Kenova, West Virginia native is the 82nd-highest rated player in the game with an overall rating of 90, an awareness attribute of 92 and a strength measure of 88. He is also the fourth-highest rated player at his position, left tackle.
West Virginia’s most highly-anticipated player said it’s “very special” to know he’s one of the top 100 players in the country, and he said last week’s game reminded him of when he was younger.
“Just by playing the game, [like] “It makes you feel like a kid again because the game is so special,” Milam said. “When we start playing it, we’re kids again. We get together and we play and we do stuff, so it’s going to be really special.”
He wasn’t the only one to have flashbacks to moments from his life gone by.
“It kind of takes me back to being a kid, and I remember so many afternoons spent with friends at someone’s house playing NCAA 14,” Green said. “It was like our game, so I think it’s incredible that it’s going to be released and available for the whole world to play.”
Like many, Green created a player model of his future self in an old NCAA Football video game. But unlike most others, Green plays as himself in the game, using a character professionally made to look just like him.
With attributes such as 88 Speed, 88 Agility, 89 Acceleration and 75 Tackle Breaking, Green will be a swift player to use in games, similar to the opposing defenses he faces in real life.
“I haven’t seen the specific statistics, but I think they figured it out,” he said.
So we wondered how close the character Green created in his younger years was to the one the experts at Electronic Arts have included in this year’s game.
“I think size is (one of the differences). In the game, I was probably 6-foot-3, about 220 pounds and I could roll,” Green said of the players he developed. “So size was probably the biggest, what can you say, flaw, I don’t know, but it was the biggest mistake I had growing up.”
The difference between reality, or perceived reality, and what’s depicted in a video game has been a point of contention among WVU defenders in Las Vegas.
Barks: “I’m excited about video games. [saw] Overall I am satisfied. The guy next to me doesn’t seem satisfied. [his]”But I’m excited about video games.”
Martin: “like [the game] Not by much, but overall I think it needs to be a little higher. Well, not a little, but at least 10 percent.”
Martin has an overall rating of 77, which is tied for the 22nd-highest rating among Mountaineers players. Burks had a player rating of 87, the same as Green. Martin’s player rating may seem low to WVU fans, but it may be a good sign for the team that eight other players on the defense have a higher rating than the multi-year starter. Of course, these ratings have no bearing on what happens on the actual gridiron.
Barks: “Trey Lathan stood out in the game. He was definitely on steroids or something because he’s not that big. There’s no way Trey is that big. But he made some plays in the game.”
Martin: “Apparently Trey got some shots. No way. He doesn’t look that big. He looks like he’s at least 250 pounds.”
The height and weight of Lathan’s character in the video game (6’1″, 226 pounds) are the same as those listed on the official West Virginia University website, but if Burks and Martin are to be believed, Lathan’s in-game build is much larger.
Video games have replaced shadow boxing as a common activity for West Virginia defensemen this year, and Burks, one of the clubhouse leaders when it comes to shadow boxing, is trying to keep up with video games, but Burks noted that fellow West Virginia spar Tyrin Bradley is an avid gamer who occasionally streams on Twitch.
Milam defeated Martin in a head-to-head match at College Football 25 in Las Vegas, with Martin claiming that his lineman was able to beat him because “he plays Madden. If I played Madden, I would have beaten him.”
On offense, Martin used a strategy that Neal Brown and West Virginia will use heavily this fall: “I gave the ball to Jahim (White), and he was fast.” Milam’s strategy was kept secret.
Martin added that if he gets his hands on a copy of the game, he’ll be running the ball with White and C.J. Donaldson and taking deep shots downfield.
The Bluefield, West Virginia, native didn’t think his overall rating was realistic, but his offensive strategy will be employed by nearly everyone running West Virginia’s offense in the video game, and by Brown and Chad Scott in real life this fall.
