19 county alumni featured in ‘NCAA Football'

July is known for being one of the slowest sports months of the year.

However, for many college football players, one day in July feels almost like Christmas. It’s the day the latest installment of EA Sports “NCAA Football” releases for video games systems.

“NCAA Football 11” hits shelves today.

“I play it all the time,” Texas City grad and current Oklahoma State safety Johnny Thomas said. “I look forward to getting it every year.”

Thomas doesn’t just play the game, though. He’s actually in it.

Sort of.

Because of NCAA restrictions, game developer EA Sports is unable to use players’ names in the game. However, the jersey number, position and measureables all are the same as the real-life players, leaving little doubt as to who the video game athlete represents.

That means the 5-foot-11 Oklahoma State junior free safety who wears No. 12 is actually Thomas.

“It’s like watching yourself on TV,” Thomas said. “I play my teammates a lot. If I get an interception as myself on the game, then I have a lot of bragging rights.”

Friendswood grad and Missouri junior linebacker Will Ebner is one of the 18 other Galveston County alumni in “NCAA Football 11.”

Ebner said he’s not very good at the game, but that doesn’t stop him from picking up a control and manning the middle of the Tiger defense as the video-game version of himself.

“It is weird to think about it sometimes,” Ebner said of being in the game. “But that is also part of everyday life playing college football. I’m just blessed to be playing this game.”

The release of “NCAA Football” creates a lot of excitement in college football locker rooms. It also can create some controversy.

Some players don’t end up being too happy with how their video-game selves are rated in the game. Friendswood grad and North Texas freshman tight end Austin Fitzpatrick joked last week that he was going to have a word with EA Sports after he was given an awareness of 48.

EA Sports Producer Ben Haumiller said it’s nothing personal if NCAA Football rates a player lower than he would like. Because of the licensing issue, the producers have to rate players on a broader level.

“It’s an interesting situation with NCAA because all of the players are amateurs,” Haumiller said. “We end up rating a lot of the players based on themes for the team. For example, we make sure the ratings for the Houston players show the team has a skilled quarterback and a high-tempo offense, but the defense has some holes in it. This way, anyone playing as Houston is going to get into some high-scoring shootouts.”

That doesn’t mean Haumiller and the rest of the producers ignore individual players completely. He said the group tries to make the virtual players authentic, including incoming freshmen.

“Say a team is bringing in a world-class speedster,” Haumiller said. “In dynasty mode, players are going to want a world-class speed man on their roster. We spend a lot of time looking at Rivals and Scout (recruiting websites) and try to make our best guess on how to rate freshmen.”

You won’t hear any complaints on ratings from Thomas this year. He’s the second-highest rated player from Galveston County this year with an 87. He also is second fastest with 94 speed.

Creek grad Jereme Brooks, a senior receiver from Utah, got the best ratings with 96 speed and 88 overall.

Creek grad Brandon Burton (Utah cornerback) and Hitchcock grad Chris Thompson (Houston offensive guard) also had ratings in the 80s.

Haumiller said overall, the feedback from the “NCAA Football” ratings is positive.

“We have it a lot easier than the guys that do the Madden ratings,” Haumiller said. “Those guys hear it nonstop from the players about their ratings. I think college players understand it’s just a representation of them in the game, not them exactly. Every once in a while, we will talk to a player that says something about their ratings. Everyone else takes it in good fun.”

Ebner, who’s rated 73 overall this year, said that’s the way he and his teammates certainly understand it’s just a game. They are more excited to play as themselves than worry about ratings.

“I don’t let it bug me or get to my head,” Ebner said. “Everyone knows it isn’t going to be completely accurate. We just have fun with it.”

Haumiller said as a football fan he hopes one day EA Sports will have the license to use players’ names. When that day comes, he said there will be an increased focus on creating rosters so the ratings will be as accurate as possible.

Until that day, players will just have to have strong enough seasons to catch the attention of EA Sports producers and earn a higher rating in the next year’s version of the game.

“This should be a breakout year for me,” Thomas said. “Next year, I should have an impact player star by my name in the game.”

“NCAA Football 11” is available for the XBox 360, Playstation 3 and Playstation 2 at all video game and electronic stores.

Sports Editor Joshua Buckley still plays an online “NCAA Football” dynasty with his old college friends, much to the dismay of his wife. He can find him on XBox Live under the screen name dabearsman.

+++

Virtual Superstars

Player, High School, Jersey, Position; Overall Rating; Top Rating

BAYLOR
Cameron Kaufhold, Friendswood, #71, RT; 76; 84 strength
Brody Trahan, Dickinson, #13, LG; 67; 84 throw power
Ivory Wade, Dickinson, #78, QB; 72; 84 run block

HOUSTON
Kris Johnson, Texas City, #31, ROLB; 65; 84 hit power
Blake Sargent, Friendswood, #77, C; 74; 83 acceleration
Chris Thompson, Hitchcock, #70, RG; 83; 87 acceleration

KANSAS STATE
Raphael Guidry, Kansas State, #94, DT; 73; 86 strength

MINNESOTA
Logan Hutton, La Marque, #3, WR; 57; 90 acceleration

MISSOURI
Will Ebner, Friendswood #32, MLB; 73; 86 acceleration

NORTH TEXAS
Kelvin Drake, Ball, #68, LG; 78; 88 strength
Austin Fitzpatrick, Friendswood, #85, TE; 62; 75 acceleration

OKLAHOMA STATE
James Thomas, La Marque, #22, LOLB; 78; 87 agility
Johnny Thomas, Texas City, #12, FS; 87; 94 speed

SOUTHERN MISS
Ed Preston, Dickinson, #78, LG; 74; 80 strength

STANFORD
Austin Yancy, Creek, #23, SS; 79; 88 speed

TEXAS TECH
Jacob Karam, Friendswood, #8, QB; 74; 85 throw power

TULANE
Taylor Echols, Creek, #15, CB; 66; 88 acceleration

UTAH
Jereme Brooks, Creek, #85, WR; 88; 96 speed
Brandon Burton, Creek, #85, CB; 85; 90 speed