NCAA Football 10: Familiar Faces on the Cover

NCAA Football 10 (see official website) for the Playstation 3 (PS3) and Xbox 360 is the latest in a long line of college football games. If you compare it to some of the sports video games even a few years ago, you can see that a lot has gone into making this the premiere video game when it comes to college football. The question, though, is whether they succeeded or not at making the game great. First, though, a little info about the players who grace the covers of the games.

Michael Crabtree, formerly of Texas Tech University, graces the NCAA Football 10 Xbox 360® cover. A top 2009 NFL Draft prospect and two-time recipient of the Biletnikoff and Paul Warfield Awards, Crabtree is a highly recognized wide receiver who led Texas Tech in a close race for the BCS National Championship up until the final weeks of the 2008 season. Texas Tech’s victory over Texas in Lubbock is considered one of the defining moments of 2008.

The Playstation 3 cover features University of Utah’s former quarterback, Brian Johnson. In 2008, under Johnson’s leadership, the Utah Utes became the only undefeated NCAA Division I team, boasting a 12-0 record heading into the 2009 Sugar Bowl. In that game, #7 Utah upset #4 Alabama to finish the season with a perfect 13-0 record. Johnson was named the Most Outstanding Player in the 2009 Sugar Bowl.

The PSP  (PlayStation Portable) version of NCAA Football 10 will showcase University of Southern California’s former quarterback, Mark Sanchez. In his only season as USC’s starting quarterback, Sanchez led the Trojans to a near perfect 12-1 season, narrowly missing the opportunity to compete for the 2008 BCS National Championship title. Sanchez was named the Most Valuable Offensive Player in the 2009 Rose Bowl.

University of Texas’ former defensive end, Brian Orakpo, is featured on the PlayStation®2 cover. In 2008, Orakpo was unanimously selected as a first-team All-American and named the Associated Press Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. In his final season with the Longhorns, Orakpo won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, the Ted Hendricks Award and the Lombardi Award. Under Orakpo’s leadership, the Longhorns were one of the most dominating teams in the college football last year, defeating numerous top 25 teams including eventual Big 12 Champion and BCS National Champion contender Oklahoma in a memorable Cotton Bowl confrontation.

Familiar faces indeed.