Coming into this years EA NCAA 11 game I was pretty harsh. I have said many times that I would never buy this game until they made a lot of changes,gave a shit and fixed numerous bugs. I have NCAA 08. I skipped 09 and 10 and played both a lot at friends houses. Both those games felt like my 08 and 10 felt the worst and looked the worst(shiny players anyone?).

So going into 11 I didnt have much hopes until I played the demo... Lets just say that EA finally gave a shit. No longer do players skate on the field. They looked to be making steps into the turf. Speed isn't king anymore and thank god. The pro-tak system is so cool. It's great seeing players do 3-5 gang tackles. The ESPN presentation is awesome and should have been there from day one(been saying it for years). I will do a bigger review once the game comes out. So here are some pro and cons.



Pro
-New running and blocking system is like butter
-ESPN pres is !!!1111
-No more Corso! Yay!
-Players run with purpose, looks to be planting feet into turf.
-Safeties no longer cover the whole field.
-The Zone read works!!
-Online recruiting(not in demo)
-The spread feels like the spread
-No more blowing up people on every tackle.

Cons
-Not sure if custom sounds will make it into the game.
-a few minor glitches(player froze in place one time).
-The AI did throw 3 picks to me in one game but all were awful throws that should have been picked.
-No Michigan
-Miami players flashing the "U"(no really this is pretty cool).
-Still no coaches



The cons I have found aren't that bad. I'm hyped for this game. So much in fact I traded in my 08 game for like $2 at Gamestop. I plan on buying it on July 13th and I will have a review up a few days after I get into the game. I went back and watched a few NCAA 10 and the game is night and day. 10 looks so ugly while 11 has a awesome polish that the series has begged for so long.





Programming note: No Shred Top 15 this week.

EDIT!: agasp at Mgoboard has posted the Michigan Roster. Most look very fair but no Cam Gordon. I know someone with a lot more time than I will put a very good roster download out.

EA Sports has updated their Teambuilder website which means they have released the base rosters for NCAA 11. Also you can check out a screenshot of Michigan Stadium with the renovations if you go to the stadium selection screen when making a team. To see the Michigan player ratings when creating a team go to roster then select template Michigan.

Check it out at easports.com/teambuilder

Some Notable Ratings:
Tate: 86 OVR, 85 SPD, 88 THP, 85 THA, 32 Elusiveness (WTF?)

Denard: 81 OVR, 92 SPD, 90 THP, 77 THA

Devin Gardner: 76 OVR, 90 SPD, 94 THP, 76 THA

There is a 4th QB listed #14 and Freshman, I assume its Conelius Jones, 66 OVR

Mike Shaw/VIncent Smith: 85 OVR

Martavious Odoms: 85 OVR

Roundtree: 86 OVR

Stonum: 84 OVR

Hemingway: 85 OVR

David Molk: 96 OVR!

Ryan Van Bergen: 86

Craig Roh: 91 OVR! (listed as a DE)

Mike Martin: 90 OVR

Renaldo Sagesse: 87 (a bit high?) OVR

Big Will: 85 OVR

Obi Ezeh: 81 OVR (down from 88 last year)

Mouton: 81 OVR (down from last year as well)

JT Turner: 78 OVR

Woolfolk: 84 OVR

JT Floyd: 81 OVR

Freshman CB #4 (has same measureables as Demar Dorsey, I guess they didn't take him out of the game): 74 OVR, 96 SPD

Cullen Christian (CB #24 I assume): 75 OVR

Vlad Emilien: 84 OVR

Will Hagerup: 81 OVR

No sign of Cam Gordon anywhere.

It seems EA has our safties as Vlad, Mike Williams, Thomas Gordon, Jared Van Slyke (#31), Jordan Kovacs (80 OVR), and Teric Jones

Overall, I think the ratings are pretty fair. Some players are probably overrated (Sagesse, Emilien) and some are just off (Tate 32 elusiveness?). I am disappointed that Cam Gordon isn't in the game, I'll have to edit him in once I get it.