When you think of legendary sports games, the first one that would come to mind for most people would be the NCAA football series. Whether you were playing with your Heisman winning Road to Glory created player, or bringing your home college team to the National Championship in dynasty mode, this game was electric. Sadly, EA has not made a college football game after the infamous NCAA 14 with Denard Robinson on the cover. However, there has been news that they are bringing the game back in the next few years.
While scrolling through Twitter, I stumbled upon this tweet –
I then started to wonder, how close would my list be to Barstool’s Brandon Walker? There are some I agree with, some I don’t and some names I believe have been left off the list.
The ratings are dictated by the player’s performance the year prior. A lot of the time, we see a player have a Heisman-like season their junior or senior year and declare for draft, meaning they won’t be in the game the next year. For example, Joe Burrow might’ve had the greatest college season of all time, but he won’t be on the list because he declared for the draft after his terrific senior season. To start, let’s take a look at some of the past 99 overalls in the NCAA games.
Past 99 Overalls From NCAA 06 to NCAA 14
NCAA 06 – Matt Leinart (QB, USC), Reggie Bush (RB, USC), Mathias Kiwanuka (DE, Boston College)
2007 – Gaines Adams (DE, Clemson), LaRon Landry (FS, LSU), Mason Crosby (K, Colorado)
2008 – Darren McFadden (RB, Arkansas), Sam Baker (LT, USC), Dan Connors (MLB, Penn State)
2009 – Tim Tebow (QB, Florida), James Laurinaitis (MLB, Ohio State)
2010 – Tim Tebow (QB, Florida), Sam Bradford (QB, Oklahoma), Jermaine Gresham (TE, Oklahoma), Taylor Mays (SS, USC)
2011 – N/A
2012 – Andrew Luck (QB, Stanford)
2013 – N/a
2014 – Jadeveon Clowney (DE, South Carolina)
Before You Continue Reading..
Again, the ranking is depending on the player’s performance the year prior and has to be in college and not declared for the NFL Draft to be on the list. Another thing to keep in mind is that EA is naming their games a year ahead. So for example, Jadeveon Clowney received his 99 overall from his performance in the 2012-2013 college football season.
And now…
Would’ve Been 99 Overalls in NCAA 15 to NCAA 18
NCAA 15 – Jameis Winston (QB, FSU), Marcus Mariota (QB, Oregon), Todd Gurley (RB, Georgia)
2016 – Joey Bosa (DE, Ohio State), Scooby Wright (MLB, Arizona), Jalen Ramsey (CB, FSU), Ezekiel Elliot (RB, Ohio State), Laremy Tunsil (OT, Ole Miss)
2017 – Deshaun Watson (QB, Clemson), Christian McCaffrey (RB, Stanford), Leonard Fournette (RB, LSU), Myles Garrett (DE, Texas A&M)
2018 – Saquon Barkley (RB, Penn State), Connor Williams (LT, Texas), Lamar Jackson (QB, Louisville) N
NCAA 19 to NCAA 21
NCAA 19 – Ed Oliver (DL, Houston), Nick Bosa (DE, Ohio State)
2020 – Tua Tagovailoa (QB, Alabama), Jonathon Taylor (RB, Wisconsin), Chase Young (DE, Ohio State)
2021 – Trevor Lawrence (QB, Clemson), Justin Fields (QB, Ohio State), Penei Sewell (OT, Oregon), Gregory Rousseau (DE, Miami), Ja’Marr Chase (WR, LSU), Patrick Surtain II (CB, Alabama)
I’m glad I saw that tweet from Barstool’s Unnecessary Roughness. It gave me a chance to look back at all of the great college players from my generation.
I’m hoping the next NCAA game will be just as exciting as they were seven years ago. There is a chance we will see real names in the game if EA can make a deal with the NCAA. Let’s pray they get a deal done.