NCAA Football 2009 is right around the corner, and art director Jason Renfroe has decided to post a bit of news on the visuals over at easports.com, and he gives us a scoop on what to expect from future screens.  Here’s a link to the work in progress screenshots, along with the info from Jason:

On player models:

"We’ve done a lot of work this year to improve the player models. They have a much more dynamic body shape. A key example here is what we’ve done with our linemen. In years past all of the linemen were big, fat guys. This year we have added lineman body types that are much more athletic. This really helps make the players look more authentic. We also added extra padding to accentuate the players’ form and see the pads and their movement."

On improved lighting:

"In the past we had one lighting model. This year we have two. One model is for environments and one is for players. This does a lot to help the way players look better when they are in the shadows.
We also added a subtle rim light around the players so they pop more on screen. To improve the look of the stadiums, we’ve saturated our crowds and really brought in a lot of color to better bring out the college atmosphere. Our skies and field art are new as well."

Keep in mind that these are work in progress screenshots, but they are turning out rather nice.