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• ABC’s Saturday Night Football: Maria Taylor Joins Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit
• Veterans and Newcomers Round Out Roster of More than 70 Commentators

College football fans will be entertained and informed by ESPN’s roster of more than 70 well-versed commentators, ranging from veterans to newcomers, as they watch the sport’s most compelling games across the company’s various networks this season.

Maria Taylor Joins 2016’s Most-Watched College Football Franchise
Maria Taylor will join Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit, ESPN’s lead play-by-play commentator and analyst, on the call of ABC’s Saturday Night Football, the most-watched franchise on any network last season. As it was announced in May, Taylor will be the reporter on the telecasts, as the former Georgia Bulldog shifts back to college football sidelines after hosting SEC Nation on SEC Network last football season. For Fowler and Herbstreit, it is their fourth college football season working together.

New Season, Similar Faces Across ESPN and ABC
Fans will hear familiar voices in the upcoming season on ESPN and ABC, with several broadcast teams remaining the same from last season, including ESPN’s prime-time commentators Joe Tessitore, Todd Blackledge and Holly Rowe. The trio comes off their first year working together which concluded in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.  

Steve Levy, Brian Griese, and Todd McShay are among the other trios returning, as well as:

• Dave Pasch, Greg McElroy and Tom Luginbill
• Bob Wischusen, Brock Huard and Allison Williams
• Mark Jones, Rod Gilmore and Quint Kessenich

Huard, Gilmore, Luginbill, and McElroy all signed new contracts with ESPN, which was announced last week.

Beth Mowins, who is set to become the first female to call an NFL game since 1987, will once again work with Anthony Becht and Rocky Boiman this season.

Tommy Tuberville, Dusty Dvoracek Among Commentator Changes; Thursday Night Gets New Twist
A familiar face becomes a new voice as Tommy Tuberville, a head coach for more than 20 seasons, becomes an analyst, joining Mike Patrick and Paul Carcaterra this year. Additional elements to look for:

• Friday Night Lights: Dusty Dvoracek, a former two-time captain at Oklahoma, will be an analyst on ESPN’s Friday night telecasts, teaming up most weeks with Adam Amin and Molly McGrath, who return for their second season to call Friday night games. Mack Brown will be an analyst on a number of Friday night telecasts, appearing mostly in weeks which ESPN has multiple games on the night. The former national champion head coach’s game analyst work is in addition to his ABC studio work, which was previously announced. A second play-by-play person for Friday nights will be named in the coming weeks.
• Thursday Night Twist: New this year, ESPN will rotate analysts to be paired in the booth with play-by-play voice Dave Flemming. Flemming, who returns to the Thursday night telecast with a new contract this season, will be paired with a variety of personalities. Laura Rutledge will be the sideline reporter each week in addition to her new gig hosting SEC Nation each Saturday.

Additional Notes:

• SEC Network: In addition to the SEC Saturday Night team – Tom Hart, Jordan Rodgers, and Cole Cubelic –   which was announced at SEC Football Media Days, SEC Network will have two additional regular commentating teams: Taylor Zarzour, Andre Ware, Olivia Harlan and Dave Neal, Matt Stinchcomb, Dawn Davenport
• Longhorn Network: Former Texas Longhorn Ahmad Brooks will be the analyst alongside play-by-play man Lowell Galindo to call Longhorn Network’s two games this season: vs. San Jose State (Sept. 9) and vs. Kansas (Nov. 11).

2017 College Football Commentator Teams

Commentating groups subject to change; Game assignments for week 1 will be announced soon

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Media contact: Derek Volner at 860-384-9986; [email protected] and @DerekVolner