The 2012 season did not go as quickly as I’d hoped. That’s because it got interrupted by Life Events™. My wife quit her job, we sold the house, got new jobs, relocated, and are still recovering from all of it. But on the plus side, we live in Minnesota now!
Now I have a sweet new setup with a basement office where I can make my professional PS3 era sports videos. And while I still have unpacking to do, schoolwork to attend to, and about a million contracts and transactions to deal with in the Immersion, I finally took some time to get back into my pretend football. It’s for the love of the game.
If for some reason you were also busy (maybe even too busy to breathlessly anticipate each video drop), then read on for a sweet recap of the 2012 season.
2012 Eastern Michigan Eagles
After going 7-5 in 2011 and winning their Bowl Game, the Eastern Michigan Eagles went from being a one-star program to a two-star program. With more prestige came more expectations, and the Eagles struggled at times to meet those. They lost lots of seniors after 2011 and their recruiting class was only ranked 104th – so many 3-star dudes were replaced by 1-star guys. There would be some growing pains in 2012.
Coach Keron Day has never shied away from a challenge, and they opened their season 0-4 thanks to facing a murderer’s row of ranked teams. They found their footing somewhat in the MAC, but didn’t have the firepower to stay with the top teams. Ultimately they finished 6-6 (6-2 in the MAC) on the year and lost their Bowl Game to Clemson. They were in it until the very end, though, so there are some silver linings to be found in the disappointing end to the season.
Stats Leaders
True Freshman quarterback Jared Tolbert was promised a lot of playing time and that’s what he got. He supplanted the senior, Gabriel Hubbard, and didn’t look back. Tolbert threw for 2,999 yards and had 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He added four touchdowns on the ground.
In 2011, Adam Dowdell was the third string running back and he ended up leading the team in rushing thanks to injuries. In 2012 he was promoted to the starting running back as transfer Bo Gordon waited in the wings. Dowdell’s efficiency took a nosedive as his rushing average went from 7.6 yards per carry to 4.5. He rushed for 675 yards on the season and scored 7 touchdowns. His backup, Anthony Crum, was even less efficient, but he did add 5 touchdowns of his own. Let’s just say Coach Keron Day and all of the boosters are looking forward to the 2013 season and the debut of Bo Gordon.
The passing game got a big boost, however, from Jared Tolbert. Whereas they had no 1,000 yard receivers in 2011, the Eagles managed to have two of them in 2012. Senior Anthony Gillett managed 79 receptions for 1,311 yards and 12 touchdowns, which was good enough for First Team All-MAC honors. Blair Guidry stepped up his game as well, with 66 catches, 1,258 yards and 6 touchdowns. He was a Second Team All-MAC selection.
Strong Safety Calvin McIntosh led the way with 56 tackles. He also led the team with 5 interceptions. He was named to the Second Team All-MAC. The sack leader was defensive tackle Russ Reid who had 6.5 sacks on the season. This year we had two defensive touchdowns, one from Brian Carter and the other from Jason Williams. Williams’s versatility led Coach Keron Day to switch his position to strong safety for the 2013 season, since they didn’t have a replacement for Calvin McIntosh, who graduated.
Recruiting
Coach Keron Day was quite a bit more successful in recruiting this season. In his first year, he only landed two 3-star recruits. This year he was able to land 14 of them! He even landed a 4-star athlete, Mike “Going for Six” Hicks, but he turned out to be a bit of a dud as far as 4-stars go. I think he’s only a 65 overall so he’ll likely sit out his freshman season. Overall, the recruiting class was ranked 53rd in the nation.
As for the Immersion Owner recruits, WR Josh Hammond had a very subdued season at Oklahoma. QB Adam Franssen was ultimately recruited by Alabama. We’ll see how he does in 2013. I’m excited to add a new Immersion Owner every year. I can’t wait until these guys start going pro.
Offseason
Nobody from the Eastern Michigan Eagles went pro. We’re probably a few years away from that. Coach Keron Day was able to land quite a few 3-star recruits so the team is getting better, as several of the one-stars from the prior recruiting class had to be cut, even after redshirting.
The Heisman Trophy went to a junior: Halfback Jay McBride. He did not appear in the draft class so perhaps he will be back for his senior season at Virginia Tech.
2012 Batavia Colliders
The Colliders took a major step backwards, despite having their top-rated quarterback, Greg McLain, for the whole season. They struggled mightily on offense, and Jyhe Holliday followed up his Pro Bowl season with a clunker. No running game put a lot of pressure on the passing game, which also folded. Ultimately the Colliders went 9-7 and didn’t even win their division (it went to the Cleveland Battery at 11-5). I let the computer take over for the playoffs, and they won 3 games in a row to put me in Super Bowl XLVII. I decided I’d play in the Super Bowls if the sim got me there, at least until I win one.
After starting 4-1 last season I increased the difficulty. I didn’t feel it last year, but I sure felt it this year. After moving I pretty much forgot how to avoid interceptions and I threw a whole bunch of them, including some soul crushing pick-sixes. I do think I’m at the right spot, though, because I still finished 9-7 so it wasn’t impossible. I think it makes sense that a 78-overall running back with 85 speed running behind a line of 80s or less should struggle to 3.1 YPC. I’m hoping that with better players I’ll have better results.
Stats Leaders
Your starting quarterback was Greg McLain. He led the team in passing yards (2,523) and passing touchdowns (10). He led the entire league in interceptions (20) and sacks (42). Reader, he sucked. I’ve had some trouble engineering trades (teams are always at the roster limit) but I will trade the whole farm to replace McLain with Adam Franssen in a few seasons.
Jyhe Holliday only managed 648 rushing yards this year, but he did score 9 touchdowns. He was often stoned in the backfield and whenever there was a hole he seemed to run away from it.
Our all-pro tight end, Brad Gillespie, was replaced by the rookie Ron Lewis. Lewis did not match Gillespie’s output of 2011, but he did manage to post 965 yards to lead the team and make the Pro Bowl. Our receptions leader was first round pick Morgan Montoya, who caught 65 passes for 886 yards. He also dropped 12 passes to lead the team in that department.
On defense, middle linebacker Jaquese Price set the pace with 68 tackles. Price also recorded not one, but two safeties on the season. Both of our starting corners made the Pro Bowl: Demarcus Coleman led the league with 8 interceptions and Sintamuel Cheeseboro came in second with 6 interceptions (two of which he scored touchdowns on). In addition to his Pro Bowl berth, Coleman was named the Defensive Back of the Year. The defensive line also played well. Once again, Shawn Arnold led the team in sacks (11) and was named Defensive Lineman of the Year. Their 2nd round draft pick, Alexander Williams, pitched in 9 sacks from his defensive tackle position. He was also named to the Pro Bowl.
And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that CB Rommell McBride blocked TWO field goals (in all my years of playing Madden I’ve never blocked one before.)
The Draft
The 2013 Draft featured far fewer top quarterbacks so a tight end went number one overall. Whereas zero fullbacks were drafted in 2012, 2013 saw five of them go off the board, including one in the first round. And the Wisconsin Badgers sent 15 players to the pros in the draft!
The Colliders tried to address their moribund offense with their first two picks, getting a new starting running back in Brian Harris and a new slot receiver in AJ Muse. Though the Colliders were pretty strong at defensive tackle, they couldn’t pass up the skillset of Leon Stewart, who turned out to be an 84-overall, a steal in the third round. They also improved at the fullback position in hopes of having a bit more flexibility on offense. Dwayne Davis is a punter with a big leg, and their project QB is TJ Lyles out of Michigan (he has 95 speed but has F-potential. Last year the left tackle I drafted with F-potential regressed 23 points in the offseason, so Lyles might just be a one-year gadget player.)
No Eastern Michigan players were draft-eligible.
Thoughts on Year Two
When I was a kid I had this tabletop hockey game and each of the plastic players had a jersey number. In my notebook I gave them all names and kept their stats. Now I’ve got a database to keep stats, but it’s not much different. Just me doing my little pretend sports stories. Still fun, not gonna lie.
In my last post on this topic I mentioned how I needed to make better YouTube thumbnails. I’ve accomplished that. And as a result, my subscriber base has skyrocketed from 25 to 29. I’m hoping this virality doesn’t interfere with me leading a normal life. I do not want to sign autographs in public.
Have a great day everyone, and thanks for reading!
© 2025 – 2026, Josh Hammond. All rights reserved.
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