VideOTEGames: Reviewing the Indiana Roster

The last time I played a college football game was probably when I was actually in college, putting it no earlier than 2013. When I purchased that college football video game, it had Carson Palmer wearing a USC jersey on the cover. It’s been a while, is what I’m saying. Of course, this is OTE, where the sports knowledge is made up, and the arguments are already going in the comments, so perhaps I’m the perfect person* to judge how well someone else sized up this year’s digital Hoosiers.

*I am not, but we’re doing this anyway.

The Offense

Quarterbacks

This actually turned out much closer than I expected. What this actually tells me is that I may need to go look up game film for Jack Tuttle, because I did not think he would beat Penix in this many categories. It does explain why Tuttle thought transferring to Indiana in the first place was a worthy gamble, though. This might be underrating Penix’s arm strength a bit (I’d consider 85 to be the potential high point), but on the whole I feel like these are about in line with what they should be.

Running Back

Stevie Scott and Sampson James are the perfect complementary duo. The stats show it, and if you didn’t already know, you do now. I think Sampson’s Break Tackle is actually a little low, but not by so much that I’m concerned.

Wide Receivers

Welcome to the only player on the entire roster who qualifies for the overall “Impact Player” designation from the intro article. Indiana is quietly trying to become Wide Receiver U, and while everyone other than Whop here doesn’t really look like it, that’s still a whole lot of decent overall talent. My only complaint here is that David Ellis, who is also our primary kick returner, only has a 74 catching stat. I think 80 would fit just as well, and wouldn’t totally disrupt the overall balance.

Tight Ends

Show of hands, who had Peyton Hendershot as the second best player on the Hoosiers? Everyone other than 87RAS, put your hands down, you liars. I sure didn’t, and I actually watch this team some of the time. That said, I can’t really argue with the numbers here, though I do find it funny that Hendershot is faster than Ty Fryfogle, which is maybe a complaint back in the section above.

Offensive Line

On the whole, the big boys up front are statted out pretty accurately. However, Matthew Bedford has much better awareness than 74, and is only going to increase that now that he is the expected starter from day 1. 80, maybe 85, would not be out of range, especially in comparison to the rest of the line.

The Defense

Defensive Line

Depending on who you believe, there’s a very good chance that one of our starting defensive ends was only rated 71 overall. Of course, the general Hoosiers defensive scheme seems to rotate the defensive line a lot, so maybe this isn’t as big of a concern as I think it is. Either way, put some respect on Sio Nofoagatoto’a’s name (and maybe 5 more points into his tackle ability).

Linebackers

Yeah, this all checks out. No complaints, no suggestions, let’s keep moving.

Defensive Backs

Call me spoiled if you must, I think Marcelino Ball’s awareness is too low. Every time I listen to or watch IU football, it feels like he’s flying to the ball if they throw anywhere near him. 85 or higher, easily.

The Kicking Game

There are 6 people on the roster rated ahead of Haydon Whitehead. We had better hope that #PuntingIsWinning carries over into video game land, or otherwise we might be in soooooooooooooo much trouble.