Archive for June, 2009

UPDATE (July 14, 2009): EA has implemented its roster fix and it contains several new freshman. They are:

• QB #19 – AJ Highsmith
• TE #42 – Stephen Plein (change number to #82)
• RG #67 – Malcolm Bunche (change number to #77)
• DE #93 – Olivier Vernon (change number to #35)
• DT #59 – Luther Robinson (change number to #93)

What’s up NCAA fans, it’s your boy bg1906, DaOne Coach of the Miami Hurricanes, and I have got an AWESOME NCAA 10 update for fans of The U here today.

NCAA 10 is slated for official release on July 14, but one of the awesome new features of this year’s NCAA 10 game is a feature called TeamBuilder. TeamBuilder is EA Sports marketing lingo for the former Create-A-School feature in their NCAA video game series. However, this isn’t your last gen create-a-school; it is 100% next gen, as EA is opening up an entire gamet of possibilities with TeamBuilder. One of the neatest features of TeamBuilder, is the ability to view the default rosters for your favorite team, in my case, The Miami Hurricanes. I did just that and true to EA form, there are several numerical and roster/depth chart related mistakes. But never fear, your resident Cane-a-holic and NCAA madman bg1906 has dissected the roster and will direct you into Canes heaven on NCAA 10. First, let’s take a look at the roster and some key ratings for each player.

NCAA 2010 – Miami Hurricanes Default Roster

1 – Brandon Harris

2 – Graig Cooper (Starter: HB)

3 – Travis Benjamin (Starter: WR2)

4 – Aldarius Johnson (Starter: WR1)

5 – Javarris James

6 – Randy Phillips (Starter: SS)

7 – Vaughn Telemaque Note: Listed as SS

7 – Lamar Miller

8 – Demarcus Van Dyke (Starter: CB2)

9 – Sam Shields

11 – Arthur Brown

12 – Jacory Harris (Starter: QB)

13 – Ryan Hill (Starter: FS) Note: Listed as FS

16 – Cannon Smith

17 – Taylor Cook

18 – Dedrick Epps (Starter: TE)

20 – Mike James Note: Incorrect number edit to #22

22 – Prince Kent  Note: Incorrect number edit to #33

24 – Chavez Grant (Starter: CB1)

25 – Matt Bosher (Starter: Punter)

26 – Aravious “Ray Ray” Armstrong

27 – Brandon McGee  Note: Incorrect number edit to #21

28 – Theron Collier

30 – Patrick Hill (Starter: FB)

31 – Sean Spence (Starter: ROLB)

32 – Lee Chamber

36 – Kylan Robinson

39 – CJ Holton Note: Incorrect number edit to #34

44 – Colin McCarthy (Starter: LOLB)

45 – Ramon Buchanan

47 – Laron Byrd

49 – Courtney Harris

50 – Darryl Sharpton (Starter: MLB)

54 – Micanor Regis

55 – Ben Jones

56 – Marcus Robinson (Starter: RE)

57 – Allen Bailey

58 – Jordan Futch

61 – Joel Figueroa (Starter: RG)

62 – Andrew Smith  Note: Incorrect number edit to #48

63 – Tyler Horn

64 – Jason Fox (Starter: LT)

65 – Matt Pipho

66 – Harland Gunn (Starter: C)

68 – Ian Symmonette

70 – AJ Trump

74 – Orlando Franklin (Starter: LG)

77 – Brandon Washington Note: Incorrect number edit to #72

81 – Davon Johnson

83 – Kendal Thompkins

84 – Richard Gordon

85 – Leonard Hankerson

86 – Tommy Streeter

88 – Billy Sanders

90 – Steven Wesley

91 – Joe Joseph (Starter: DT1)

92 – Josh Holmes

94 – Eric Moncur (Starter: LE)

95 – Gavin Hardin

96 – Curtis Porter

97 – Adewale Ojomo

99 – Marcus Forston (Starter: DT2)

As you can see from the default roster, there are some numerical mistakes. Here is a quick list of those mistakes and the corrections for each player.

Number Edits

HB #7 – Lamar Miller – change to #27
HB #20 – Mike James – change to #22
CB #22 – Prince Kent – change to #33
CB #27 – Brandon McGee – change to #21
SS #39 – CJ Holton – change to #34
RE #62 – Andrew Smith – change to #48
LT #77 – Brandon Washington – change to #72

Notes: I recently confirmed with Christopher Stock of Inside The U, that Prince Kent is going to wear #33. Chris Stock also confirmed that indeed, Billy Sanders will wear #88 at Miami, as it has been reported on several occasions that Sanders is a huge Jeremy Shockey fan.

bg1906’s Depth Chart Recommendations

As I said earlier, EA also had a few position/depth chart errors. Depth charts and position changes are totally subjective, so please don’t feel these are set in stone. Feel free to experiment and use the depth chart that makes the best use of the way you like to play. Based on ratings alone, this is what I think I’m going to do, as it maximizes the style of football I like to play.

OFFENSE

QB

1. QB #12 – Jacory Harris – Impact Player
2. QB #17 – Taylor Cook
3. QB #16 – Cannon Smith

RB

1. HB #5 – Javarris James
2. HB #2 – Graig Cooper
3. HB #27 – Lamar Miller (Changed number from #7 to #27)
4. HB #22 – Mike James (Changed number from #20 to #22)
5. HB #32 – Lee Chambers

FB

1. FB #30 – Patrick Hill

WR

1. WR #4 – Aldarius Johnson – Impact Player
2. WR #47 – Laron Byrd
3. WR #3 – Travis Benjamin
4. WR #28 – Theron Collier
5. WR #85 – Leonard Hankerson
6. WR #86 – Tommy Streeter
7. WR #81 – Davon Johnson
8. WR #83 – Kendal Thompkins

TE

1. TE #18 – Dedrick Epps
2. TE #84 – Richard Gordon
3. TE #88 – Billy Sanders

LT

1. LT #64 – Jason Fox
2. LT #55 – Ben Jones (Moved from RT to LT)

LG

1. LG #74 – Orlando Franklin
2. LB #68 – Ian Symmonette

C

1. C #70 – AJ Trump (Moved from RG to C)
2. C #63 – Tyler Horn

RG

1. RG #61 – Joel Figueroa
2. RG #66 – Harland Gunn (Moved from C to RG)

RT

1. RT #72 – Brandon Washington (Moved from LT to RT, Changed number from #77 to #72)
2. RT #65 – Matt Pipho

DEFENSE

LE

1. LE #94 – Eric Moncur
2. LE #90 – Steven Wesley
3. LE #95 – Gavin Hardin
4. LE #49 – Courtney Harris

RE

1. RE #56 – Marcus Robinson
2. RE #87 – Adewale Ojomo
3. RE #48 – Andrew Smith (Changed number from #62 to #48)

DT

1. DT #99 – Marcus Forston
2. DT #57 – Allen Bailey
3. DT #91 – Joe Joseph
4. DT #92 – Josh Holmes
5. DT #54 – Micanor Regis
6. DT #96 – Curtis Porter

LOLB

1. LOLB #44 – Colin McCarthy
2. LOLB #58 – Jordan Futch (Moved from ROLB to LOLB)
3. LOLB #36 – Kylan Robinson

MLB

1. MLB #11 – Arthur Brown
2. MLB #50 – Darryl Sharpton

ROLB

1. LOLB #31 – Sean Spence
2. LOLB #45 – Ramon Buchanan

CB

1. CB #8 – Demarcus Van Dyke
2. CB #1 – Brandon Harris
3. CB #24 – Chavez Grant
4. CB #13 – Ryan Hill (Moved from FS to CB)
5. CB #21 – Brandon McGee (Changed number from #27 to #21)
6. CB #9 – Sam Shields
7. CB #33 – Prince Kent (changed number from #22 to #33)

FS

1. FS #7 – Vaughn Telemaque (Moved from SS to FS)
2. FS #26 – Aravious “Ray Ray” Armstrong (He’s already 2nd on depth chart here)

SS

1. SS #6 – Randy Phillips – Impact Player
2. SS #26 – Aravious “Ray Ray” Armstrong (Also backs up Phillips as SS…Gotta love Ray Ray…He’s the future!)
3. SS #34 – CJ Holton (changed number from #39 to #34)

Special Teams

K

1. P #25 – Matt Bosher
2. K #40 – Jake Wieclaw

KOS

1. K #40 – Jake Wieclaw
2. P #25 – Matt Bosher

KR

1. WR #3 – Travis Benjamin
2. CB #9 – Sam Shields
3. RB #27 – Lamar Miller (Changed number from #7 to #27)
4. RB #32 – Lee Chambers

P

1. P #25 – Matt Bosher
2. K #40 – Jake Wieclaw

PR

1. WR #28 – Theron Collier
2. WR #3 – Travis Benjamin
3. RB #2 – Graig Cooper

Depth Chart Comments

Fans of the series know that speed and athleticism are both rewarded in the NCAA series. That fact alone directed some of my choices in starters, for example, starting Arthur Brown instead of Darryl Sharpton. Sharpton is only rated 1 pt higher than Brown, but Brown has superior speed, acceleration, and power ratings. I also like having power backs in opposed to speed backs, so I start Baby J over Coop, however, I use Coop at various positions (HB, FB, Slot WR) on the offense to maximize the potential he has in creating mismatches.

Also, I moved Travis Benjamin to the slot as he’s a very skinny guy, and is also being used on special teams to return kicks. I don’t want TB taking too many hits (increasing his chances for injury), and there is also an advantage in using his speed, acceleration, and elusiveness in the slot. Lastly, I also move Laron Byrd into the starting line-up opposite Aldarius Johnson, and move Theron “Pimp” Collier to the #4 WR spot. This presents some match-up problems for opposing defenses, as I’ll have 2 tall, fast receivers on the outside (6-4 214lbs and 6-2 205lbs respectively) and 2 fast, shifty/elusive WRs on the inside.

Impact Players

Based on footage of the Canes in NCAA 10 over at Operation Sports, it appears as though, QB Jacory Harris and WR Aldarius Johnson are the Impact Players on offense in NCAA 10. In NCAA 2009, Graig Cooper was the Impact Player on offense, but apparently, EA feels Jacory and Aldarius are the 2 guys to watch on offense in NCAA 10. On the defensive side of the ball, Randy Phillips appears to be the lone Impact Player on defense. Are you kidding me??? Can you say SEAN SPENCE! Though I love Randy Phillips too, he was out for the entire season last year with an injury he suffered in the 3rd game of the year vs Texas A&M. At the very LEAST, Spence should have been an Impact Player along with Phillips. As far as freshman, Lamar Miller, a blazing fast RB out of Miami Killian HS, and Aravious “Ray Ray” Armstrong, a physical FREAK (Sean Taylor clone) of an athlete, from Sanford Seminole HS get top billing as the top rated freshman on offense and defense respectively.

Well, I hope that you enjoyed this Canes preview as much as I enjoyed writing it. As you all can see, I bleed Orange, Green and White, and therefore nothing brings me more pleasure than talking about my team….

The U

Go Canes!

- bg1906
C.C.M.J.T.K.O.