Not just fun and games: Players take video skills to field

Many college athletes spend their spare time playing video games, booting up everything from Halo — the science-fiction, first-person shooter preferred by Mayfield — to the always-popular Madden NFL.

On the surface, it's just the modern-day version of athletes sitting around playing cards, an obvious conduit for bonding with teammates and satisfying that competitive drive away from the field.

Clemson running back Wayne Gallman, whose team will meet the Sooners in the Orange Bowl national semifinal on New Year's Eve, is convinced that video games help improve his performance on the real-life gridiron.

Another of Clemson's avid gamers, defensive tackle Carlos Watkins, believes he is honing skills he can take to the field when he plays his favorites, including the military-based shooter Call of Duty.

In particular, he points to the hand-eye coordination needed to maneuver a controller while looking at a video screen, which is not entirely different from using his hands to beat a blocker while keeping an eye on the guy with the ball.

Long viewed as nothing more than a mindless pursuit, video games have become increasingly complex and lifelike — so much so, there are actually colleges offering scholarships to play them, a de facto league known as Major League Gaming, and a growing number of big-time networks willing to televise competitions such as League of Legends.

"When you start using Madden's NCAA plays, I don't know if they're necessarily going to work out here," said Darien Harris, a Michigan State linebacker.

[...] he acknowledges that the complexities of Halo can enhance the decision-making skills needed when he is dissecting defenses, calling an audible and making sure all his teammates are lined up in the right spots.

AP College Football Writer Ralph Russo and Sports Writer Stephen Hawkins in Arlington, Texas contributed to this report.