I hadn't looked at Deadspin in a while, so I missed the news that EA Sports had named its cover boy for NCAA Football 2008.

Last year, EA Sports signed Reggie Bush, the electrifying, Heisman Trophy-winning running back from perennial powerhouse Southern Cal. Previous editions of the game featured Desmond Howard, Larry Fitzgerald, Carson Palmer, among others.

But for NCAA Football 2008? The video game company has put Boise State quarterback Jared Zabransky on the cover. That picture above is not a joke.

I'm guessing this is the first time a player from the WAC has been on the cover of the NCAA Football game, unless there's a limited edition Tim Rattay cover from NCAA Football 1999 that no one told me about.

I'm assuming good players from other obscure teams from non-BCS conferences, such as Houston's Kevin Kolb or UTEP's Johnnie Lee Higgins, couldn't pose for the cover since they were too busy preparing for the NFL Draft, an event in which Zabransky will probably not be involved in any way, shape, or form other than in advertisements for the game.

I like the idea of turning to marquee players who don't play for the traditional powerhouses. I don't like the idea of turning to Zabransky.

I won't hold it against him that he looks like a poor man's Kevin Federline. But Zabransky isn't spectacular. He wasn't even the best player on that offense last season. Ian Johnson was. And don't forget: Zabransky plays for Boise State. Yes, Boise State has blue turf. Yes, they beat Oklahoma last season in quite possibly one of the five greatest college football games of all-time. But Boise State got enough national exposure from the sports radio goons for the next week after the Oklahoma game (until the infatuation shifted back to Tom Brady and Peyton Manning). And Oregon beat Oklahoma too last season. No one from EA Sports is calling Dennis Dixon to be on the cover (though it would be totally cool if Oregon backup QB Brady Leaf -- brother of Ryan -- was on the cover).

Maybe the CEO of EA Sports has a winter home in Sun Valley.

Maybe they're just acknowledging the fact that this year's batch of superstars were some of the most forgettable in memory. (With apologies to the incredible Calvin Johnson -- it's only a given that he was passed over because one of the EA Sports guys was a Cowboys fan and will never forgive Georgia Tech head coach Chan Gailey for those awful seasons he had in Dallas)

Maybe they want to help convince less-savvy gamers that there really is a Division 1 football team called Boise State, or less geographically-savvy gamers that there really is a state called Boise.

This could explain why Brady Quinn was in such a bad mood at the combine.

Now, some people are thrilled about the move. I see his points.

And continuing to look on the bright side of this gaming revelation, at this rate, maybe standout quarterback Adam Shaffer of Division III Mississippi College will have a chance to make the game's cover in a couple of years. If this trend carries over to Madden 2008, I hope they'll put Cleo Lemon on the cover.