The main thing the EA Sports team really wanted to do with the return of the College Football video game franchise was make it feel like actual college football. Visually, that meant getting stadiums right, mapping out how bands lineup for run outs, and getting the presentation in line with what it looks and sounds like on TV, but it also meant making the gameplay, well, a bit chaotic.
College football players are far from perfect, and the developers wanted you to feel that. It is infuriating at times playing the game, but it’s true to the spirit of college football, where 19 year olds often make critical mistakes. The EA team has been fairly stingy with the ratings (in a good way) as there needs to be a real benefit to having stars who excel at a skill in a college football game. That’s how it works in real life too, as the variance from top to bottom is so much greater than at the pro level and that needs to be reflected. That means keeping high ratings to an exclusive group. For overall rating, only the top 100 earned 90+, and a 90+ is even more exclusive for some skills.
On offense, plenty of folks have pointed out how hard it is to throw the ball, especially throwing downfield, and having a QB with a strong arm is vital — as is having receivers with speed to create separation. However, defense is just as hard and while some of you may be like me and just toggle the ol’ “offense only” tab when playing Dynasty, folks are learning that the simply getting a guy to the ground is a bit harder than usual, in part because a lot of guys are not very good at tackling.
Tackling is among the most exclusive skill ratings, as only 49 players earned a rating of 90 or better in their tackling (and 20 of those are at 90). That bears out in playing, and having one of these guys that can consistently get guys to the ground is a huge boost for your defense.
99 Tackle
Jason Henderson (ROLB, Old Dominion)
98 Tackle
Jay Higgins (MLB, Iowa)
97 Tackle
Nick Martin (MLB, Oklahoma State)
96 Tackle
Jordan Phillips (DT, Maryland)
Matt Salopek (ROLB, Miami OH)
Bobbie Walker-Smith (MLB, Alabama)
95 Tackle
Walter Nolen (DT, Ole Miss)
Joshua Farmer (DT, Florida State)
94 Tackle
Danny Stutsman (MLB, Oklahoma)
Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy (DT, Texas A&M)
93 Tackle
Jack Kiser (LOLB, Notre Dame)
Nick Jakcson (ROLB, Iowa)
Gabe Powers (MLB, Ohio State)
Marlowe Wax (MLB, Syracuse)
92 Tackle
Bam Martin-Scott (ROLB, South Carolina)
DJ Hicks (DT, Texas A&M)
Kenneth Grant (DT, Michigan)
Jordan Bertagnole (DT, Wyoming)
91 Tackle
Ty Wise (MLB, Miami OH)
Jordan Burch (RE, Oregon)
Ben Roberts (MLB, Texas Tech)
Jacob Manu (ROLB, Arizona)
Derick Mourning Jr. (MLB, Texas State)
Darrell Jackson Jr. (DT, Florida State)
Colin Coates (DT, Charlotte)
D’Von Ellies (DT, Penn State)
Bryun Parham (MLB, Washington)
Zeke Cables (DT, LSU)
Stefon Thompson (MLB, Nebraska)
90 Tackle
Xander Mueller (MLB, Northwestern)
Nazir Stackhouse (DT, Georgia)
Ruben Hyppolite II (MLB, Maryland)
Debo Williams (MLB, South Carolina)
Smael Mondon Jr. (MLB, Georgia)
Jailen Richards (RE, Temple)
Adrian Williams (LE, Utah State)
Landon Jackson (LE, Arkansas)
Travion Ford (LE, Toledo)
Mohamed Toure (ROLB, Rutgers)
Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins (LE, Georgia)
Ernest Hausmann (ROLB, Michigan)
Damonic Williams (DT, Oklahoma)
Dontay Corleone (DT, Cincinnati)
Jhalyn Shuler (ROLB, USF)
Ali Saad (LE, Bowling Green)
Aliki Vimahi (DT, Utah)
Rayshaun Benny (DT, Michigan)
LaMarcus Fox (RE, Alabama)
Xavier McKoy (DT, Alabama)