Denard Robinson Voted Cover Athlete for NCAA Football 14 Video Game

Denard "Shoelace" Robinson will represent the Michigan Wolverines as the cover athlete for EA Sports' hit video game NCAA Football 14, EA Sports announced.

"

Former Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson will grace the cover of NCAA Football 14 after prevailing in a tense final vote against former Texas A&M wide receiver Ryan Swope...

"

Michigan's polarizing QB becomes the third Wolverine to ever grace the cover of EA Sports' highly-regarded video game. Charles Woodson (NCAA Football 99) and Desmond Howard (NCAA Football 2006) were also featured front and center.

Robinson took to Twitter this morning to express his gratitude on the honor:

Michigan Football's official Twitter account released more from Robinson:

After some controversy arose surrounding some potentially invalid votes for Texas A&M's Ryan Swope, EA Sports sorted through the mess and named Robinson the winner of the game's cover vote.

On March 8, news broke that some Texas A&M fans had potentially compromised the voting process with fake Facebook accounts to boost Swope's vote total, per PastaPadre.com and further reported by the Detroit Free Press.

EA Sports wrote this response to the controversy on their Facebook page:

"

We are aware of the voting irregularities around the NCAA Football 14 Cover Vote. We are in touch with the players and schools involved in the final round voting, and in the spirit of integrity and fair play, are in agreement that only votes from legitimate accounts will be counted in the cover vote.

"

After enjoying a huge lead over Swope early in the final vote, Robinson saw his lead shrink quickly. This led to some suspicion, the investigation and ultimately the resolution. This could have been a mess, but EA Sports handled the issue well and in a timely manner.

It's great to see the right guy win and represent his school on the cover.

Gamers and football fans worldwide are already itching to get their hands on the latest college football sim. Easily one of the most anticipated video game releases each year, EA Sports' NCAA Football franchise is renowned for its graphics and increasingly smooth gameplay and features.

The hit game is expected to be released this summer (NCAA Football 13 was released last year on July 10, so many expect the game to hit shelves within the first two weeks of July this year).

Congratulations to Robinson and the Wolverines on the victory for the program.

Follow Brian Mazique and Franchiseplay on YouTube and Twitter for reactions, analysis and news from the world of sports and sports video games