Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1022027
6 SEPT. 10, 2018 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY LOU SOMOGYI O n Aug. 22, in conjunction with JMI Sports and Legends, the Uni- versity of Notre Dame introduced its new radio broadcast crew for the 2018 football season. NBC Sports' Paul Burmeister will handle the play-by-play duties, 2003-06 Notre Dame offensive tackle and 10- year NFL veteran Ryan Harris will be the color analyst, and longtime Notre Dame football and basketball an- nouncer Jack Nolan will begin his 37th year covering the Fighting Irish with his role on radio as a sideline reporter. Burmeister and Harris replace play-by-play man Don Criqui and color analyst Allen Pinkett. Criqui, a Notre Dame graduate, and Pinkett, an All-American running back for the Irish from 1982-85, had worked together since 2006. Paul Burmeister The Iowa City, Iowa, native played quarterback for head coach Hayden Fry at Iowa from 1989-93, earning team MVP honors as a senior captain for the 6-6 Hawkeyes. He received a tryout with the Minnesota Vikings following his graduation. One of his teammates at Iowa was linebacker Bob Diaco, Notre Dame's defensive coordinator from 2010-13 who won the Frank Broyles Award in 2012 as the nation's top assistant. This will be his first foray into ra- dio since the late 1990s when he cov- ered high school football in his native state. He joined the NFL Network and was involved in myriad duties for 10 years before expanding and joining NBC Sports, serving as an NFL studio host and play-by-play commentator in various venues, from water polo or ski jumping in the Summer and Winter Olympics, to football in the Mountain West and Ivy League, to basketball in the Atlantic 10. On NBC Sports Network, he han- dled the play-by-play for the Notre Dame-Miami (Ohio) game last Sep- tember and also each of the past three Blue-Gold Games. Like predecessor Criqui, Burmeis- ter says speaking to a radio audience instead of one on television will be his primary adjustment. "My background is football on television, so there certainly will be a learning curve," Burmeister admit- ted. "On TV, your words are enhanc- ing what people can already see. On radio you have to advance that three or four levels. You are creating the picture, you're not enhancing it. "The constant reminder for me is the listeners can never be deprived of time, score, down, distance, location — that has to be constant. Once the play hap- pens, your description of what's hap- pening has to be quicker, it has to be more consistent and more active. "It's going to be a challenge when I'm used to being on the booth in TV." Nevertheless, bypassing this op- portunity would have been ridicu- lous to Burmeister. "This is the kind of job people get and hang on to as long as they can," he said. "I feel super fortunate to be here … I know what this brand means and the kind of interest that it attracts." Ryan Harris Notre Dame has become "Left Tackle U." under head coach Brian Kelly, who has had a first-round selection at the position start for him for all of his 103 games with the Irish: Zack Martin (2010-13), Ronnie Stanley (2014-15) and Mike McGlinchey (2016-17). One should not forget Harris, though, whose college (2003-06) and NFL (2007-16) career does not take a back seat to any of them. He cracked Notre Dame's starting lineup in the fifth game of his fresh- man year and started the remaining eight that season at right tackle. He then started all 37 games at left tackle the next three campaigns, with trips to the Fiesta and Sugar Bowl his last two. The third-round pick's 10 years in the NFL were highlighted as the starting left tackle for the Super Bowl 50 champion Denver Broncos. A loquacious and erudite figure with the media in college and the NFL throughout his playing career, Harris is the current host of The Kreckman and Harris radio show on Denver's Alti- UNDER THE DOME A CHANGE OF VOICES New but recognizable figures will now handle Notre Dame radio broadcasts NBC Sports' Paul Burmeister (center) will handle the radio play-by-play duties, while 2003-06 Irish offensive tackle and 10-year NFL veteran Ryan Harris (right) will serve as the color analyst and veteran Notre Dame announcer Jack Nolan (left) will be the sideline reporter. PHOTO BY COREY BODDEN