First off, I have to admit, I am a huge fan of the NCAA Football series. I have owned every copy since Chris Weinke of Florida State appeared on the 2002 cover. Since 2004, I have made a holiday out of the release date. Somebody whose not a fan of the games? Try former ASU and Nebraska QB Sam Keller, who has filed a federal lawsuit claiming players' likenesses are used to EA Sports and the NCAA's profit, while students make no money off the game. Should be interesting to see if anything ever comes of the suit. NOTE - Yes, that's Jeff Tuel in the NCAA Football '11 cover image above. Someone has made a high-resolution version of this cover, which you can even print out and slide inside the case of your game. If you want a super-high-resolution version of the cover, go here.
You could say that from year to year, especially in this "next generation" of XBox 360/PS3, not a lot of changes to the game are made, except for rosters. This year EA really gave it their all and revamped tons of features.
The first thing you will notice is the presentation is a lot more like watching a game on TV. There is a really neat pre-game intro where it shows the home team gather inside of and then run out of the tunnel. Brad Nessler even says "and here, come the Cougars!" as we make our entrance. Somewhere, Glenn Johnson is smiling. But it isn't just teams running out of the tunnel. If said team has what you would consider a "signature" entrance? They nail that too. Check it out:
The new hurry-up / no huddle offense allows your offense to race back to the line while giving you an abbreviated playbook to choose from. The players then pause and look to the sideline for the call.
As far as running your offense, it's similar to years past. The control scheme has added a nice new feature though. Instead of your basic juke and spin while you have the ball, there is a sweet double joystick function that makes the ballcarrier do a Barry-Sanders-like shimmy that has to be seen to be believed!
And after you score a TD, in addition to celebrating with just your teammates, there is a command to interact with your mascot or execute a "team animation". While you can run out of the end zone and go celebrate with Butch, unfortunately Wazzu doesn't get a team-specific animation. But there are many others out there. As Sean and I found out last night while having Ohio State and Miami face off in a preview of their early-season showdown, the 'Canes will throw up the "U" hand sign after TD's. Very cool (but I'm not sure if Oregon players can toss up their IQ as an animation??).
As for our Cougars...plus Sean's view on the game....read on for more....
A lot of people get caught up in the recruiting rankings, and it's easy to do. You never want to get too high or too low, because it's all still projections on what kids are going to do on the next level. But there is an interesting move up the rankings for a WSU verbal commit from Hawaii, in outside linebacker Chester Sua.
For some background, Sua committed to the Cougs back in May, and was a bit of an under-the-radar type, holding offers from Idaho and Wyoming. A very athletic 6-2,205 pounder with 4.5 speed who also was also the leading rusher AND receiver on his high school team, Sua is an intrguing prospect. But now? He's a FOUR-STAR recruit, the #18 rated outside linebacker in the country! Sua's increased ranking now has WSU's class of 2011 rated at #33 in the nation, and right in the middle of the Pac-10. Sua and running back Bishop Sankey are currently WSU's only four-star commits out of the currently-known 12 verbals for '11.
Why the sudden uptick in Sua's ranking? Well, how about he's actually been evaluated for the first time? The word is that Chris Fetters from Scout.com was high on Sua, and after spending some time on him, Sua just deserved the bump. And of course, the tape don't lie, right??
Pretty impressive. You wonder when you see his moves with the ball in his hand, if he might want to rethink the whole linebacker thing? But to get that kind of speed and athleticism on the outside on defense, it all gets back to the old Mike Price strategy of finding great athletes and stacking them on D. And if you are nervous about the early commitment? There were some strong quotes from Sua's coach at the time of his commitment, that Sua is firmly behind the idea of becoming a Coug. But again, it's EARLY folks. We saw what happened last year, when a guy like Asante Cleveland committed to WSU in September, only to back out once Miami got ahold of his highlights. But you can be sure the WSU coaches will do whatever they can to keep him in the fold.
So one big change among many with Bill Moos taking over WSU athletics has been his "slow down" approach to expanding Martin Stadium. It's been mentioned in interviews, chats, etc, but Moos has been saying that they are "evaluating" the options for Phase III, and that one of his goals is to re-invest in the student athlete side of things. For example, from a WSU chat in June:
Joel via Palouse: I wanted to thank you first and foremost for taking the AD Job and moving forward. Is the phase III part of our stadium on perm hold or will we start to hear about the directions you have chosen to take it? Will there be any changes to the phase due to demand for larger boxes vs premium seating... Thanks GO COUGS!
Bill Moos: Joel, I am still assessing our facility needs but do feel that areas that can benefit our student-athletes and help in recruiting should be a priority. The day will come when we will expand Martin Stadium, just when is still in question.
Makes sense, right? I mean Moos is the guy who was in place in Duck-ville, when Oregon did a full renovation of not just Autzen but the entire locker room experience was transformed into something even NFL teams would envy.
The question is, what would benefit recruits and eventually student athletes more? An upgraded stadium with luxury seating, where players would perform in six or seven Saturdays a year? Where hey, at least the alums are happy enjoying the upgrades-n-such? Or does the recruit, and eventual student athlete, benefit more with things like top-notch weight rooms and locker rooms, you know, behind-the-scenes type "stuff"? And if the recruit and/or eventual student athlete is more impressed with things that will be a direct benefit to them, well, shouldn't a program with limited resources (at least right now) use said resources for attracting and maintaining top-shelf talent?
It's a double-edged sword. I mean in an ideal world, where every Coug you know is happily writing checks and donating their discretionary income to WSU Athletics, you CAN have both an upgraded stadium and top-notch facilities. But we live in the real world, don't we? WSU is 10th out of 10 in many financial categories in the conference, we don't need to rehash all of that right now. It's still a brutal economy, and we may only now be hitting the bottom before we can dig out of this mess. We might still be a few years away before things can get back to some sort of "normal". Conference expansion is certainly going to help the cause, and if all the projections are right in regard to a TV network and conference title game, as well as a big game at Qwest Field every year, the revenues will increase. But that is still a few years away before WSU can reap those rewards of being in the new Pac-12. So there is still a lot of ground to cover before WSU can take that next step and compete with the conference superpowers, at least financially anyway.
And, as we are all aware, Martin Stadium Phase III does need to happen at some point. The first two phases have been a real strong change to the stadium, and if you have been able to experience all the new concessions and restrooms on the student side of the stadium, as well as the endzone facilities and new scoreboard, you know what I'm talking about. It's night-and-day better compared to what we used to deal with on gameday. But Phase III, with the premium seating and all that, is vital for increasing revenue. You know that ultimately it will happen while Bill Moos is in town, that much we can be sure of. Like Moos says in the quote above in regards to Martin Stadium, this isn't a situation of IF, but WHEN the upgrades will occur.
All that said, the good news today is that WSU's newly-renovated weight room is fully up and running, filled with student athletes working as hard as they can. WSU just released a video yesterday of the new Strength and Conditioning complex, and it's pretty nice! Check it out:
It might not be Oregon's super locker room experience, but it's a very good step towards enhancing the student-athlete experience! And maybe, just maybe, a facility like this is already reaping benefits in areas like recruiting, where WSU already has 12 commits for this year, including four all the way from Florida? So far so good! It will be interesting to see what's next.
Some other stuff out there today:
ESPN Gameday is expanding to THREE hours! Why? To appease Erin Andrews, of course. EA will now get an expanded role at the Worldwide Leader, where she will handle the first hour as a host on ESPNU. Then she'll shift over to reporter for the final two hours.
Hooray more Gameday, hooray more EA! (and thanks to Michelle for the picture).
A happy Monday to you, Cougs, and a quick round-up to start your week. First, I snapped that picture last week while I was on vacation. I LOVE that Cougar, and it is about 1000 times more impressive in person. Just curious, as many of you have probably seen it before, but can you name where that Cougar picture was taken? The answer is below. Anyway, here we go:
A lot of good pub lately from the newest WSU QB commit, QB Cody Clements from La Habra high school in La Habra, CA. Clements just led his team to a passing camp title over the weekend, and looked great doing it as they won 25-24. As Cougfan reported yesterday, Clements' coach threw around some praise for the young man, stating:
"Clements threw fantastic. Those colleges who were border line on him missed out. He can make all the throws," said Frank Mazzotta.
Most of you have seen the video on Clements, but if you haven't, here it is again:
It isn't hard to see some of this anyway and not be excited. You don't want to get too far ahead of yourself, after all it's only JULY. A lot can happen between now and signing day. But the kid looks like he has some moxie, I guess, is the best way to say it. Maybe the lack of offers are based on the measurables, or in Clements' case, lack thereof? He's about 6-1 1/2, 190 right now. He's well put together and looks strong, not exactly like an Alex Brink, who showed up in Pullman as a frosh looking like a cross-country runner. But he might have some room at add a little more size and strength without losing his mobility.
He doesn't blow you away with his frame, and might not have the 90-mph fastball that makes the scouts drool. But he does move well, with a lot of his throws on those designed rollouts and such. But there are some good ones who have come through the NCAA who didn't have the arm and height of a Peyton Manning, and they did just fine, thanks. I don't know, but the kid just makes plays, racks up impressive stats, and oh yeah, his team WINS games. Sounds good to me! Moving on....
Anyways, last night I was about to post a long winded rant about what a brutal two years it has been for those of us who root for Seattle teams, and the Cougs. Almost depressing, if you live and die with your teams like I do.
And the good news is it appears Cliff Lee is about to be dealt to the Yankees. Go figure, right? Lee looks to be the Number 3 starter in the Bronx. In return the M's appear to be getting the AAA 1B/Catcher, Jesus Montero, who is hitting a modest .253, with 6 HR and 35 RBI. To his credit, the native Venezuelan is only 20 years old, and was named the #4 MLB prospect by Baseball America heading into this year, behind Strasburg and Heyward. Larry Stone has more. Lee is scheduled to pitch tonight against the Yankees, in Seattle, after he threw a complete game in the Bronx last week.
If it were my choice, I would rather break the cardinal rule and deal him to our division rival Texas Rangers for Justin Smoak. Smoak was drafted 11th overall, only two years ago and is already showing a bit of pop in 235 at bats so far this season. Given the Rangers financial uncertainty, there is very little chance they would re-sign Lee in the offseason, thus making him a two month rental.
It's too bad Lee didn't pan out in Seattle, or should I say it's to bad Seattle didn't pan out after acquiring him. Anyways, read on for more on the newest Cougar commit!
Premium article, but apparently we landed a pretty...
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