Tag: Jac Collinsworth

Noah Eagle to fill in on NBC play-by-play for Notre Dame-Navy

Prepare for a different sound Saturday.

There has been much criticism about the Notre Dame NBC broadcasting team of Jac Collinsworth and Jason Garrett. Many Irish fans would rather new blood had been brought in this season, and they were disappointed to find out nothing had changed. Well, the broadcasting team will in fact be slightly different for at least one game. Chicago Sun-Times sports media columnist Jeff Agrest has tweeted the following regarding the broadcast for the game against Navy:

Noah Eagle, the son of Ian Eagle, is one of the most talented young broadcasters in the industry. Having previously called both the NFL and college football for Fox, CBS and even Nickelodeon, NBC scooped him up for its new Big Ten Saturday night broadcasts. He also does radio radio play-by-play for the Los Angeles Clippers.

If Irish fans want to keep watching college football after Irish games during the day, this will be a nice preview of what they can expect, at least on NBC.

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NBC mostly has same Notre Dame broadcast team for 2023

We know some of you don’t want to hear this.

Notre Dame fans who were hoping to hear new voices broadcasting home games in 2023 are out of luck. NBC Sports has announced that nearly every broadcaster from 2022 will be calling the action from South Bend as well as the season opener in Ireland. That means Jac Collinsworth on play-by-play, Jason Garrett as color commentator and Zora Stephenson reporting from the sidelines. The only difference is the departure of coverage host Kathryn Tappen, who will be on NBC’s Big Ten broadcast team.

Despite some sports media critics willing to give the broadcast team a chance in 2022, Irish fans were far more critical. After the season’s final home game, more than a few folks expressed that they were fed up with this group. Although rumors swirled about Garrett and the Stanford head coaching job, that arrangement didn’t materialize. So we’ll have mainly the same people on the call in 2023.

For those disappointed by this, remember that you’re not tuning into games to hear the announcers. They merely provide the soundtrack to what you’re saying. If you really can’t stand them, the mute button is right there on your remote. Problem solved.

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Twitter reacts to Tyler Buchner entering transfer portal

What do you think of this potential loss for the Irish?

Notre Dame fans were stunned to learn backup quarterback [autotag]Tyler Buchner[/autotag] has decided to test the transfer portal. While Buchner left the possibility of returning to the Irish open, it’s worth questioning how realistic that is.

Once the announcement was made, Buchner immediately was connected to Alabama, in part due to Tommy Rees being the new offensive coordinator there. Sure enough, John Brice of FootballScoop.com confirmed Buchner will visit the Tide:

Taking away the fact Buchner might end up in Tuscaloosa, people still had their opinions about his possible departure. The natural thing to do was to take to Twitter and express those opinions. They ranged from logical to speculative to emotional, but many folks had something to say. Whatever you feel about this news, chances are your thoughts accurately are portrayed by at least one of the below tweets from people with varying connections to Notre Dame:

Potential shakeup coming to NBC’s Notre Dame broadcast team?

The broadcasters you saw and heard this season might not all be back in 2023.

To put it very politely, Notre Dame fans were not pleased with NBC’s broadcasters for their team’s games this past season. Jac Collinsworth and Jason Garrett called the game action, and those were the two who received the most wrath. Not receiving quite as much were sideline reporter Zora Stephenson and coverage host Kathryn Tappen, the lone incumbent on the coverage who previously had worked the sidelines.

Now, we know of a couple of news items that could indicate a change in the personnel for NBC’s Irish coverage. Garrett is one of the finalists for the vacant head coaching job at Stanford. Meanwhile, Tappen is giving up her golf assignments to potentially take on a bigger role at the network. There is no word on whether this would affect her Irish gig, but it definitely is worth thinking about.

Irish fans wanted a change in their team’s home coverage, and they just might get it, at least partially.

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Notre Dame Twitter ready for new announcers for NBC broadcasts

Does NBC have a Notre Dame football broadcaster crisis on its hands?

With Notre Dame’s 2022 home schedule complete, the final NBC broadcast of the season is in the books. This was the first season with Jac Collinsworth and Jason Garrett in the booth, and, if Irish fans had their way, 2022 would be the only season they have to listen to them.

Don’t believe us? Look at Twitter.

When Collinsworth and Garrett were announced as the new broadcast team for Notre Dame football before the season, public reaction was lukewarm at best and incredibly negative at worst. Still, Irish fans had no choice but to give them the benefit of the doubt and hope that the two would prove them wrong.

By the time the Irish were done dominating Boston College, it appeared very little about their perception had changed. That’s not a good look for the people at NBC who made the decision.

Here are some of the more brutal assessments of Collinsworth and Garrett with some tweeters commenting more than once:

Twitter reacts to Braden Lenzy’s incredible touchdown catch

Did you see this?!

Just when [autotag]Braden Lenzy[/autotag] seemed forgotten this season, he emerged as a key figure in the first quarter of Notre Dame’s game against Navy. Through two offensive possessions for the Irish, Lenzy was leading all receivers with four catches for 67 yards. One reception came on the first drive for 21 yards. Another was made possible by a 38-yard pass from [autotag]Drew Pyne[/autotag], and it was, well, just look at it:

This catch that you only see a few times a season at most throughout college football gave the Irish a 14-0 lead. Even a few of the sailors in attendance had to look at each other in disbelief. You know you’ve done something special when the opposing fans have no choice but to give you credit for what they just saw. Twitter couldn’t believe what had happened either, and you’ll see it from these folks, many of whom undoubtedly still haven’t picked their jaws off the floor:

Jeff Agrest: NBC’s Notre Dame broadcasts have become ‘training ground’

Has the new broadcast team won you over yet?

As Notre Dame is on the road at North Carolina this week, NBC will not be covering the game. That means the new Irish broadcast team of Jac Collinsworth and Jason Garrett will get a week off. Actually, the team will get two weeks off as the Irish have their bye week after they leave Chapel Hill. The next time we hear them will be for the Shamrock Series game against BYU in Las Vegas.

The long layoff provides an opportunity for observers to critique Collinsworth and Garrett’s performances for the loss to Marshall and the win against California. Those merely are the first two of what could be many Irish games they’ll call together. Most people seem to agree that there’s a lot of room for growth and improvement.

Among them is Chicago Sun-Times sports media columnist Jeff Agrest. In his weekly column, which mainly is available to subscribers, Agrest analyzes what he’s observed so far. He joins a chorus that has reminded people of broadcasters like the late Dick Enberg, Tom Hammond and Mike Tirico who used to call the action from South Bend. While he likes Collinsworth’s Notre Dame ties, he can’t help but wonder this:

“(Collinsworth) doesn’t carry on the tradition, which makes me wonder just what NBC thinks of Notre Dame these days. The Irish still were basking in the golden glow of their 1988 national title when they agreed to a five-year, $38 million deal with NBC. They don’t carry the same heft they used to, but Notre Dame maintains a national following. Its games are a big deal and deserve a broadcast team worthy of them.”

Here are Agrest’s current impressions of the new broadcast team:

“In both games, Collinsworth sounded knowledgeable talking about the teams. But all of his interviewing and studying couldn’t prepare him for live action. The USFL was supposed to be his training ground, not Notre Dame football in front of 2.5 million viewers for the Marshall game and 2.9 million for Cal.

Incidentally, Garrett impressed me. He brought emotion and valuable insight to the broadcast. The former Cowboys coach clearly understood his role. He got in and out with his commentary and didn’t talk over Collinsworth. It likely helped they worked together on USFL games.

Both will have to grow into their jobs on a national stage, but Collinsworth has more to do. He needs to command the broadcast and provide context for viewers. The Marshall game was a missed opportunity for him. Garrett understood, calling it one of the biggest upsets in recent college football history.”

Will the broadcasts eventually improve? We’ll find out as Collinsworth and Garrett continue to call games. If they continue to not impress, maybe they’ll be bumped down on NBC’s depth chart when the network picks up Big Ten games next year. Still, there’s a lot of season left, and they have time to change people’s minds.

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Watch: Notre Dame pays tribute to former broadcaster Mike Tirico

What’s your favorite Irish moment that Tirico called?

For the past six years, Mike Tirico was the play-by-play announcer for Notre Dame home games. He was the latest in a long line of quality broadcasters to  cover the Notre Dame Stadium action for NBC. Now, he has taken off for greener pastures as the regular play-by-play announcer Sunday Night Football, meaning he had to leave the Irish behind. However, his work did not go unnoticed by the Irish, who put together a video montage of some of Tirico’s finest moments during his tenure:

This won’t be an easy person to follow in the booth as Tirico as been in broadcasting since before new play-by-play announcer Jac Collinsworth was even born. Hopefully in time, Collinsworth will grow into the role and be remembered as well as Tirico and all the other Irish broadcasters that preceded him. But for the moment, let’s say farewell to a man who will continue to be a welcome face on our TVs for years to come, even if he’s not in South Bend.

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Watch: Jac Collinsworth video of him walking on Notre Dame campus

Someone is excited about their new job.

When NBC announced Jac Collinsworth and Jason Garrett as its new Notre Dame broadcast team, the reaction was rather mixed. Our editor is among those who doesn’t particularly care for the duo, at least right now. Maybe minds will be changed by the end of the season.

Regardless of how Collinsworth will do, you can’t deny that he feels a lot of pride to be calling home games for his alma mater. Don’t believe it? Watch this video he posted on campus:

Look, you don’t have to love the idea of Collinsworth and Garrett in the booth for these games. At least give them a chance before stranding them on top of the Golden Dome though. Maybe this is the assignment they need to really shine as broadcasters. There’s no denying Collinsworth especially has some big shoes to fill in following Mike Tirico, but contrary to what some might think, it’s not that hard of a task if you have the right skill set.

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Notre Dame on NBC announcers for 2022 revealed

Here they are.

With less than a month before Notre Dame’s first home game of 2022, folks have been wondering who will be on the call for NBC. Mike Tirico is off the broadcasts after six years to focus on Sunday Night Football, and Drew Brees’ relationship with the network was short-lived.

Finally, we have our answer.

Notre Dame alumnus Jac Collinsworth has been paired with Jason Garrett as the new broadcast team for Irish home games. Also, Collinsworth will retain his role with Football Night in America, and Garrett is filling Brees’ role on that same program. Kathryn Tappen will remain on the coverage as the pregame and postgame host despite speculation she would move into the same role with Sunday Night Football. Zora Stephenson will be the sideline reporter.

A new broadcast team is appropriate given the new coaching era for Notre Dame, and Irish fans no doubt will be paying attention to see if this crew lives up to the standards set by Tirico and other previous announcers for the broadcasts.

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