Today we salute you, Mr. NCAA Football 11 Roster Creator!

Mr. How Do You Type on a Gamepad?!

You sit in your mom’s basement, for days straight after the game is released, and type in nearly 10,000 names – for free.

No time for a job!

Tens of thousands of gamers hold off on starting their dynasties, because they have to have realistic names on the rosters, even though they only know the names of the starters on their team, and about 15 other players around the country.

Who’s the third string quarterback at Akron?!

Realism is a must for your gamer brothers, who have won 61 straight games and 4 Heismans with their created player with all 99′s – in their likeness, of course.

Archie Griffin who?

Because it’s no fun reading the dynasty news, to see your ahead of RB #22 from ALA in the Heisman voting, or to see that the player of the week is QB #2 from OSU.

Who is that guy?

So crack open a Red Bull, Mr. Carpal Tunnel, because thanks to you, thousands of other gamers in their mom’s basements can get mad at you for forgetting the 5th string junior walk-on kicker, who’s out for the season due to injury.

Mr. NCAA Football11 Roster Creator!

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I kid, I kid…  Let me formally thank guys like FairdaleKings who unbelievably get the rosters edited within a week or so of the release of the game.  It really does make the game more enjoyable.  Usually, I just print off a roster and edit the Zips and Buckeyes, and stick with the “fake” names for the rest of college football.  There’s always a handful of players I can’t figure out, due to roster changes, new recruits, and so forth.  I did the Zips again this year, and checked them against FK’s, and I must give him credit – his were much more accurate.  And I’m a Zips alum!  He’s got the main new recruits in there (I didn’t, because they’re not on the roster because fall camp hasn’t started yet), and reconciled some of the other errors between EA and the official U of A roster.  In all seriousness, hats off to you guys!

As far as the game goes, I’m about 4 games into my “Road to Glory” season and 1 game into my dynasty.  I’m doing it online, because of the new dynasty “web hub” EA offers.  It’s really cool – it’s a “one stop shop” for a lot of the info that you normally would have to get in-game, like rosters, schedules, stats, highlights, and so on.  You can even recruit over the web, too!  That will be a big time saver for me, since my wife and kids own the TV until well into the evening. 

I’ve noticed some pretty impressive improvements, too.  A lot of the “realism” problems have been corrected, like “suction blocking,” “Mario running,” and so forth.  Following your blockers and squeezing through holes is much more lifelike, and guys actually reach out and tackle you off of the block if you get too close!  Good stuff.  The QB’s are more realistic, too, with a lot more inaccurate passes, realistic INT’s, and deflections/throwing while getting hit.  Overall, I’m impressed so far.  I’ll have many more thoughts to share as I get into the game in the coming weeks.  If you have the game, go out there and download those rosters!  And, don’t forget to say “thanks” to the folks who took the time to do it, for free.