He does not watch football the way you do, but you should watch Todd Blackledge at work this season.
It should be good.
Blackledge, the veteran college football TV analyst and the first quarterback to lead Penn State to a national championship, has a different home this season. After years at ESPN/ABC, and before that CBS, Blackledge moves to NBC this season as the analyst for their No. 1 broadcast team focused on college football.
He’ll team with play-by-play man Noah Eagle and sideline reporter Kathryn Tappen. Of course, they will make their debut when West Virginia visits Beaver Stadium. It’s a well-publicized change for the sport — with the Big Ten Conference happily pocketing the network’s $350 million annual investment for weekly Saturday night games.
Blackledge’s deal had expired with ESPN after last season and he planned to remain with the network, until NBC made its pitch. He sloughed off a comparison of the move to recruiting, but it’s clear he was the network’s primary target for building its broadcast team.
His experience and track record give the broadcasts immediate credibility.
Eagle, who’s worked college football in the past (finishing lasts season in Beaver Stadium for Michigan State-Penn State on FS1) made his NBC debut with Navy-Notre Dame last week in Ireland. He sounded good, steady and strong. Of course, he sounded young, with no sense of what a shillelagh is, but that’s nitpicking.
Blackledge said he rarely focuses on the ball when working a game. As a former quarterback, his first reads are the defense as he tries to determine coverages and intent by the defense, and then countermeasures that might be coming from the offense. He’s levelheaded, proven and serves viewers well. It’s rarely about him, which typically means good things for viewers.
Blackledge said he believes viewers should expect strong broadcasts from the NBC team, and his colleagues think so too.
From the broadcast team to the big production staff, they think their spot as one of the last games on TV each week should allow them to present a big game while framing events in college football in general. Plus, with Big Ten teams, as well the network’s ongoing relationship with Notre Dame, they should attract viewers.
There will be duds — it’s hard to expect much from Charlotte-Maryland next week, for example — but “Big Ten Saturday Night” should generally live up to its name. When it does, that’ll mean good things for viewers.
More good things should begin with the network’s pregame show. The crew for “College Countdown” includes host Maria Taylor, who seems like a better fit for college football than the NFL, as well as budding superstar Michael Robinson (yes, the one who led Penn State to an Orange Bowl victory, earned numerous individual accolades and delivered one of the hardest hits in Beaver Stadium history) and standout analyst Joshua Perry.
Robinson, who was fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting as a senior in 2005 (Blackledge was sixth in 1982), played eight years in the NFL as a fullback for the Seahawks and 49ers. He earned a Super Bowl ring with the Seahawks and the work ethic and humility he needed to thrive as a fullback has impacted his approach as a pro on TV.
He’s engaging, funny, prepared, relaxed and a team player. He can be both disarming and deadly serious, doing it all with a deadly smile and a level of comfort that allows viewers to feel they’re part of the conversation. It’s all based on hard work.
When he first started on TV, with the NFL Network, he was one of the few former players on the roster who did not have a Hall of Fame jacket, Because of that, he knew he had to work harder. He did, and it’s worked well — for him, and for viewers.
That humility and viewer-first approach works for both Blackledge and Robinson. Best of all, it works to make the broadcasts stronger as well.
So when Blackledge is working games, or when Robinson is on the studio set or in the broadcast booth (he’ll work as the analyst for Delaware-Penn State on Peacock next week), we all benefit. That’s a rare thing in TV sports, and something worth enjoying this season.
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