The return of the NCAA Football video game is scheduled for next summer, and that gives us the perfect opportunity to highlight some players who didn’t get a chance to appear on the series during its hiatus.
Thanks to a rating system that includes individualized college player ratings that we discussed on the Rock Chalk Podcast, we can correct that oversight. This rating combines your baseline level of talent with your actual college production to get an overview of your performance.
A reminder that our Video Game All-Stars series will look at recent Kansas players who played well in Kansas but never had a chance to be captured with a virtual version of themselves. We’ll break down your runs and include a projection of what your overall rating would have been had the games existed.
Our series concludes today, and it was fitting that the best player on defense last season who finished his career and was drafted was our last player here. That’s right, we’re highlighting EDGE Kyron Johnson.
With two players to cover, we’ll take a short look at these two players before we get into the ratings.
Other notable players in this series:
daniel wise
mike lee
joe dineen
andrew scroll
Pooka Williams
Hassan Defense
dorance amstrong
Bryce Torneden
hakeem adenji
Readers’ Picks: Steven Sims and Fish Smithson
recruitment biography
A 6’1″, 188-pound outside linebacker from Lamar High School in Arlington, TX, Johnson was a lightly drafted high school player who impressed Kansas coaches with his blistering speed.
He originally came to Kansas when he graduated from high school early, which gave him an advantage compared to the rest of the members of his recruiting class. And he made a first impression with his speed and awareness at linebacker. He was committed to the Jayhawks for another offer from SMU.
Production in Kansas
| Season | games played | total tickets | solo tickets | tickets for loss | sacks | passes defended | forced fumbles | Fumbles recovered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2017 |
8 |
fifteen |
12 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
2018 |
10 |
18 |
12 |
4 |
two |
two |
two |
1 |
|
2019 |
12 |
55 |
36 |
5.5 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
2020 |
9 |
42 |
27 |
4.5 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
|
2021 |
12 |
63 |
41 |
8.5 |
6.5 |
1 |
4 |
two |
Johnson began his first season on the special teams, appearing in 8 games in a limited role. But he jumped out as a sophomore and immediately began to make a big impact.
Johnson’s versatility was evident early in his career, as he played big minutes in a multitude of roles, both at linebacker in 3-4 sets and later as lineman in 4-3 sets. And he continued to improve as he played more, with his best season by far coming in his super senior year in 2021.
The best game
It was actually hard to pick him, because I’m sure there’s one game that everyone remembers from his career, both because of how recent it was and how big of a step forward he was in that game. But the second standout was much harder to find, in part because his best games came in big losses or he had hits that didn’t necessarily show up on the stat sheet.
Sept. 10, 2021: 49-22 loss at No. 17th Carolina Coast
Stat line: 7 total tackles, 5 solo tackles, 0.5 sacks 1 fumble recovery.
This game was a late struggle, but Johnson led a solid defensive effort in the first half that kept the game from spiraling out of control early. He jumped on a Malcolm Lee-forced fumble deep in Kansas territory, and a late-first-half touchdown gave the Jayhawks a chance to be in contention early in the second half.
Unfortunately, Coastal Carolina’s offense was too good with too many options, and the Chanticleers were able to trick Johnson and the rest of the Kansas defense out of the way.
Nov. 13, 2021: 57-56 OT win at Texas
Stats: 8 total tackles, 6 solo tackles, 2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery
Johnson was a force in this game, putting pressure on both Casey Thompson and Hudson Card. Every Texas quarterback fumbled after being sacked by Johnson, and Texas struggled to get things going early.
While Texas was able to adjust away from Johnson for much of this game, he was always enough of a threat to open things up for everyone else as well.
after kansas
Johnson was selected 181st overall by the Philadelphia Eagles in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. They made a trade to ensure they could select him.
Early indications are that Johnson is expected to be an immediate impact player on special teams. He will also have the opportunity to contribute as a rotational player on defense.
video game classification
Basic rating: 77
Production Bonus: 30
Overall rating: 100
Johnson got a pretty high grade right out of school, giving him a good base score to build on. He was able to shine on the pitch, giving him a whopping 30 production points. Unfortunately for him, the rating system tops out at 100. But it’s fair to say that Johnson was a standout player for Kansas at multiple positions throughout his career, and he deservedly has the highest video game rating of the entire slump.
While the ratings we have don’t break down into the individual attributes you’d normally see in a game like the Madden series, it’s possible to guess which attributes would be the highest. His sheer speed, both coming out of high school and in his career, would make him an easy pick. I’ll pass with agility like the second, as he has shown the ability to use his hand position and quick reflexes to redirect the opposing offensive lineman.
A reminder that our video game ratings are provided by CFB Winning Edge, which is an independent outlet focused on college football analysis that has developed team, player, and coach ratings based on a wide range of current and historical data.
Patreon followers have access to their FBS team profiles, which include ratings for more than 11,000 individual players on all 131 FBS teams, as well as ratings for every head coach, offensive coordinator, and defensive coordinator, and team strength metrics. timeline. In addition to stats, draft data, injury reports, and player movement information, they also offer three sets of projected point spreads for each FBS game based on separate projection models, as well as projected earnings totals.
You can find out more about what they offer by going to their Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/CFBWinningEdge
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