The SEC on CBS kicks off another season on Saturday afternoon at the familiar time of 3:30 p.m. ET with a non-conference matchup between No. 17 West Virginia and Tennessee in Charlotte.
For nearly two decades, CBS’ broadcast of SEC games has been a constant for college football fans. CBS has owned the 3:30 p.m. ET window (and, later in the year, adds a few 8:00 p.m. primetime matchups), and there is something of a “same time, same place” comfort in knowing that the best game out of the SEC will be there. From 2005-2013, the same crew greeted you as well, with Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson in the booth and Tracy Wolfson on the sideline.
Since then, there has been some significant shuffling among the crew. Danielson remains the one constant, still offering his insights into the game. He’s now alongside Brad Nessler, who took over for the legendary Lundquist last year. Allie LaForce, who took over for Wolfson when she moved on to lead sideline duties for CBS’ NFL broadcasts, was on the field for four years, but departed the network this offseason for Turner.
Her replacement is Jamie Erdahl, who has been with CBS since 2014 and worked in a number of capacities, from studio host to sidelines for Mountain West football, college basketball, and most recently, the NFL. Erdahl spoke with Uproxx recently about her move to the SEC on CBS crew and where her excitement level is to join one of the great broadcast teams in all of college football.
Uproxx Sports: What were the conversations like and what was your general reaction when they came to you with the idea to move you over to lead on the SEC team?
Jamie Erdahl: Yeah. It was, to use the term “gut wrenching” is often times used in a negative sense, but I would kind of apply it to gut wrenching excitement, only because being in the CBS family now for going on four to five years, you look at these roles, the lead reporter on our various prominent packages as kind of the pinnacle of being a part of this system. And CBS, I believe, is one of the most loyal networks to work for. So to be considered for it in the first place was an honor and really to come full circle as to why I wanted to work for a place like this in the first place.
But it was nerve wracking in the beginning. It’s such a heavy duty task, because SEC football is a juggernaut. And the role in and of itself has such prominence, not just within CBS, but across college football in general, that you always think that when you’re presented with the opportunity, you would grab the bull by the horns and go forward with it, but I certainly was thrilled, I was honored, I was excited, but I was also a little nervous. I mean, when you consider the people, the women that had come before me in this job, from Allie to Tracy and Michelle Tafoya, Jill Arrington. To be part of that group now is amazing, but at the time, you’re kind of like, “Oh my god, am I ready for this?” But I think it settled in. It certainly settled in and I couldn’t have imagined it not taking it, I guess. So it was, I am beyond excited to move forward.
You mention that lineage of people that have held this role. Have you been able to talk with any of them about what the role entails? I talked with Brad Nessler about this when he took over for Verne about this last year, but the passion of SEC fans and the fact that it’s the CBS game, it is going to be the marquee game each week and you have all those eyeballs and those people care so much about those games and how the broadcast is presented. Have you talked to them about handling those pressures and the expectations that come with it?
Of course. I was able to catch up with Allie as she transitions over to Turner, which I really appreciated being able to get close over the years, just by having our different roles. And she wished me nothing but the best and definitely has been able to give me some inside tips on schools and stadiums and how to just work with different people and coaches. And not only from a school perspective, but then also passing the baton with Brad and Gary. I think Gary said it best to me, which was, “We knew we were going to miss Tracy when we got Allie, but now we’re going to miss Allie, but now we have you.” And I think that’s probably putting it best, where these guys, they just get so, they become such a cohesive team that, I’m sure on their side, it’s kind of like, “Well, how is this going to go?” Fortunately, I was able to spend a pretty good amount of time with Brad and Gary in Atlanta for SEC media days. And we got along like beans and rice.
So it was a very smooth transition. I think it made us all really look forward to the season. But speaking to the fans and the power behind the influence of this game, yeah, is it daunting, does it feel like a daunting task? At times, yes. But all I can rely upon the fact is, I’m coming off of three full seasons on the NFL, I have to rely on the way I prepare and the way I present information. And just let that speak for itself at the beginning. And I’m not saying that I’m an expert at anything yet. I am the rookie. I’m coming into this, I’ve done three SEC games before in my career, so I have a taste, a dollop of SEC football, but more than anything, I’m just ready to have eyes and ears open to learn and be a sponge and I’m not going to pretend like I’m an expert yet. I’m not, but I’m going to become one, I hope. And I hope that people can just kind of grow with me in that sense.
You come over obviously from the NFL side, with CBS. But before that, at NESN you did the Bruins, you did the Red Sox, you kind of had a taste of a number of different-
Rabid fan bases.
Yes, exactly. Rabid fan bases. And not just that, but different sports and interacting with different personalities and unique personalities. And obviously the SEC is its own kind of thing. But what are the things you’re able to take from going through various transitions and having to cover different sports that you think can help you in your first year here?
Sure. I think what I’ve learned is, you’re right. We all jump around in this career. It’s not like I’ve done it the most, but I definitely feel like I have dipped my toes in a lot of different products, covering, like you mentioned, in a massive market in a massively passionate market with the Bruins and the Red Sox. There is really where I cut my teeth. And learned that the only way I can be successful, and this is just something that works for me, is to be myself. And people, I hope, will like that. I’m not, I don’t try to be a different person when the red light goes on and when it’s not. And I think that has worked for me so far in my career. That started in Boston, because I feel like people in New England, they can tell right off the bat whether or not you’re being authentic. And I think people can also pick up on when you’re trying to work hard and when you’re trying to learn things about what they are most passionate about. Like I said, I’m not trying to come in there as if I know best. I’m going to learn and I’m going to work my butt off to learn.
So I think that carried me into CBS. And when I first started, I was on Mountain West College Football and a little bit of the SEC. Didn’t know much about that. And then all of a sudden, after one year, it blossomed into a growing knowledge of those games and those coaches and those teams. And then to go to the NFL. Same thing. Every city is different. Every fan base is different. But you learn. And I think, so jumping in and out of all those hoops has definitely taught me a lot about how I want to present myself about learning on the fly, but also I think, when I boil it all the way down is, I’m going to be true to myself and I hope that comes off on camera, and I hope that’s what wins over fans in the SEC.
One thing that I think is interesting about college football, compared to the NFL and really any pro sport is that, more so than any of those you have player stories that are unknown. And you get to tap into these things. The programs are the known, the coaches are the known. You obviously are going to have seniors and juniors that people know about, the NFL draft picks, but a lot of people don’t know much about the players, and that’s kind of an opportunity that you have in this role to tell us some of those stories and give some of that background. Is that something that excites you and as something being maybe a little different from the NFL, where kind of you know who most of these guys are? In college football, there are the top guys, but there are a lot of stories that you get to present that are going to be new to the audience.
Sure. Yeah. That’s definitely going to be something different. You come from the NFL where any player you shake hands with for the first time has already gone through media training. And that is a great thing that the NFL does. But they know how to, they know what being approached by someone like me is like, they know how they want to tell their story, they know that their story is going to be told, so they’re more comfortable with it.
I think when you start to shake hands with these 17, 18, 19 year olds, this might be the first time that someone is seemingly interested in their background or which one of their huge football coaches made the biggest impact for them. And just grasping that is a concept in the first place. And I think that is going to be one of the tall tasks here is, I will be at different schools, I’m going to meet different athletes, but how do I convey to them that, “Hey, I am just here to tell your story and not to throw you under the bus.”, because people really do want to hear your story and it’s never going to be out of something malicious or to unearth something they don’t, a piece of their life that they don’t want to tell. So, that is tricky. And I think that, again, it’s a skill that I’m going to have to tap back into that I had when I first got to CBS.
But I think what I appreciate about my crew, my producer Craig Silver, has already said that, when we go to these campuses or to these athletic departments, I have freedom to maybe approach the wide receivers coach, or the defensive back coach and pick their brains. Maybe while Brad and Gary are doing the Xs and Os, I have the freedom to go off and really dig deeper for stories that I want to tell, because my preparation is vastly different from theirs. So I hope that I can take advantage of that and I already appreciate being told that I am going to be allowed to do that, because I think going that extra mile, beyond just what the head coach thinks of these guys is the way that you earn the trust from the players. When they can see that, “Oh, their position coach is having this conversation with the reporter”, then they feel more comfortable to share their story.
But you’re right, it’s so different. But it’s certainly kind of flipping over a rock that is the exciting part about being a reporter.
The thing that people will see the most in your role is going to be the walk-off interviews at halftime and after the game. That’s something that, obviously doing the NFL, you’ve gotten the chance to hone that craft, hone that skill. What have you learned about the art of the walk-off interview and trying to get information in a short amount of time without, it’s hard to dig deep. How do you get the best answers out of coaches and what are the things you’ve learned about that part of the craft?
Approach. Yeah. Two things always stand out to me when it comes to this scenario. The first is, a lot of the ground work in my opinion for those interviews is laid in the off camera interactions that you have with these coaches. If I get a chance to even have a three minute walk down a hallway chat with a coach, let him know just a little bit about me or ask a little bit about them, they have a face to a name then, so when I’m approaching them in the melee of a postgame interview, at least it’s a mildly familiar face. I think that is one of the most, I try to put myself in their shoes and think about the most intense and exciting time in my life, someone approaching me with a microphone and a camera. If that face isn’t one that I’m used to talking to or I have some familiarity with, think about how much you’ll stiffen up.
So I always try to put the legwork in in advance. And I think that’s what something that people don’t appreciate sometimes is, at least how hard I try and I’m sure, I guarantee you other reporters do this, is just to give that coach a sense of, “I’m a person, I’m working hard, I need to do my job and let’s work together in that sense.” That’s the first thing.
The second thing is, keep it short and sweet. Again, to put the shoe on the other foot and to say, in my most intense time of my life, if someone comes at me and takes 30 seconds to ask me a question, my rule of thumb is, people really only can decipher the last five to seven seconds of what you said. So they’re going to, that’s what they’re going to respond to immediately. So get to the point, get to what people want to hear and hopefully that they just know that, she’s here to do her best job and hopefully I can just get that authentic reaction to what people need to know.
And with that, especially with the halftime interview, I think is the one that’s always the most interesting to me, because you will sometimes be doing that with the coach who’s down. I think some of the most famous ones are Nick Saban bristling as he walks off the field and, how do you approach those? Is there a difference when you have the halftime walk-off and you know the coach is down 10. How do you get him to say something other than “We just have to be better?” Because that’s going to be their stock answer.
Yeah. I think for any coach, what I try to do is pull from something that we have gathered, intel from them in our meetings with the team and the coaches beforehand. “So, coach, you said x, y and z. You had to do x, y and z. But you’re not performing in those categories.” Or pull a number. If Nick Saban tells us, “We have to be able to rush the outside 15 times in the first half in order to have a lead.”, all of a sudden Gary Danielson let’s me know, “You know, they’ve really only been able to get to the outside three times.” Alright, there’s my question. And I think putting a tactical number to something that they have told us in advance is part of their game plan, is in my opinion, the best way to just get … because you’re right. They probably have the propensity to just say, “We just need to be better.” But really identify one factor … because again, it goes back to, they’re in the zone. So if you can just pull one thing from them that they need to improve upon, I think you have a higher likelihood of getting some kind of information that’s beyond just the general statement.
Finally, you’re going to be doing the biggest games, you’re going to have Georgia-Florida. You’ll likely have the Iron Bowl at the end of the year, pending choices. What are the games and the venues that you’re most excited to get to be a part of?
People rattle off those games and those match-ups when I was at SEC media days, and even you say, it just puts a big smile on my face, because as I told people when we were in Atlanta for the week, it was, anywhere I was in the NFL, I was watching this game. And I think that’s kind of, I could have been in San Francisco and I was watching the SEC on CBS. It is a national game, it permeates through any level of football and the fact that now I’m going to be the one that’s there, it’s just kind of, it gives me goosebumps.
But in general, as I mentioned, I have done a couple games. I’ve been to Missouri and Auburn. I think going back to Auburn, I’m very excited about obviously the Iron Bowl, having the SEC championship in Atlanta I think will be, I can’t even look that far ahead, because it’s probably, there’s just so much ahead of that. But I can’t really pinpoint. As I said to a couple of people, I’ve had all my allergy and blood testing done, I am ready to eat anything on these campuses, I want to full blown experience the SEC in its true authentic self. And that goes not only from kickoff, but also just what happens in these college towns. But gosh, going to Alabama, I can’t, I’ve heard amazing things about Georgia’s game day. Going to LSU. I really, I can’t pick one.
