September 22, 2012; Morgantown, WV, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers offensive linesman Pat Eger (76) run blocks against Maryland Terrapins linebacker Darin Drakeford (52) during the first quarter at Milan Puskar Stadium. The West Virginia Mountaineers won 31-21. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
As EA Sports has shown off their highly anticipated NCAA Football 14 more and more, the details of the game have been incrementally leaked. Today, a video has appeared on the internet that quickly combs through all of the rosters in this year’s game. The video is available at operationsports.com.
At the 4:39 mark of the video, you can see the top 10 rated Mountaineers. Needless to say, it is quite surprising who EA sees as the Mountaineers top players:
- RG #76 Pat Eger, 87
- SS #25 Darwin Cook, 87
- CB #23 Broderick Jenkins, 86
- FS #8 Karl Joseph, 86
- LT #67 Quinton Spain, 86
- RE #98 Will Clarke, 85
- HB #13 Andrew Buie, 84
- QB #7 Ford Childress, 84
- CB #16 Terrell Chestnut, 83
- CB #22 Avery Williams, 82
EA Sports, as it seems to be true every year, does not do their homework on the West Virginia Mountaineers. Obviously the defense is going to be vastly improved, but not to the point that the secondary will feature five of the top 10 players on the roster. And when you talk about the Mountaineers defense, two names come to mind: Karl Joseph and Isaiah Bruce.
The fact that EA does not have Bruce in the Mountaineers top five, let alone top 10 players, is a gigantic omission. Bruce is easily one of the best players on the roster.
Another interesting omission on the top 10 list is WR Jordan Thompson who showed some flashes of greatness last year and promises to be the Mountaineers big playmakers this season.
No mention of the other two quarterbacks involved in the competition for starting time: Clint Trickett and Paul Millard. Not surprising that EA went with the guy that many fans had expected to claim the starting job after last season.
Probably the funniest part of this list is that Pat Eger is the top ranked Mountaineers in the game. Eger ended up losing his starting gig at RT last season to Curtis Feigt, obligating Eger to shift inside to center/guard. It is not often that you think of your most talented player losing their starting job.
Even though the folks at EA got the Mountaineers rankings wrong, it will not prevent WVU fans from customizing the roster to their liking when they purchase the game.
NCAA Football 14 is available in stores on July 9.