Da’Quan Bowers’ vision was right on back in the fall of 2008.

A self-professed EA Sports NCAA football addict, the then-Bamberg-Ehrhardt star was already trying to imagine what his ranking in the game would be when he stepped on the field as a freshman for Clemson University. Continuing his rise up the national recruiting ranks -- he eventually ended up as the top-ranked player in the ESPN rankings after earning MVP honors in the Under Armour All-American game -- the big boy from Raiderville was thinking highly of himself. Because of NCAA rules, the game can’t use players’ names, but it does use prototypes. For example, Bowers is pretty darned good, wears number 93 for Clemson, and is a 6-4, 265 pound -- some reports say he’s a little bigger these days -- freshman. Guess how big 93 is on EA Sports’ game, which was released July 15? Guess what year he is? If you said number 93 is a 6-5, 265-pound freshman you are right, and oh yeah, he’s pretty good.

The game ranks players, with the top players leveling off at 99. The better the player, the better the ranking. The worse the player, the worse the ranking. Bowers was thinking he was going to be something special -- and his two sacks in Clemson’s spring game and unbelievable athleticism indicate he was probably right. But, he was coy in predicting his protoype’s freshman ranking in the game.

“That would be out of sight to actually be able to play as myself on a video game,” Bowers said back then. “Coming up as a child in Bamberg there’s not a lot to do. All we did was play video games.

“Matt (Raysor) was the first one that was on a video game, and then Ricky (Sapp),” he continued. “To play with them was pretty fun. I’m hoping to have a pretty good rating as a freshman on NCAA next year.”

Indeed, Bowers’ rating is pretty good for a freshman. His overall rating is an 85, historically, an impressive mark for a freshman. The game gives his protoype an 84 ranking on strength and speed and an 80 on agility.

“Well, the max rating you can get on a video game is 99,” he said last fall of his four-year rating expectations. “I expect to be a 99...at least a 98.5.”

His freshman ratings indicate he is well on the way to achieving that goal. Now, there’s just one problem, teammate and fellow former Bamberg-Ehrhardt standout Ricky Sapp, a junior defensive end for Clemson is rated just a little better.

NCAA 09 ranks Clemson’s junior defensive end, number 7, 90 overall with 90 speed, 86 agility and 70 strength.

T&D Sports Editor Brian Linder can be reached via e-mail at blinder@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5553. Check out his blog, Welcome to Linderland, at www.thetandd.com.

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