A year after resetting his career by calling a slate of college football games for ESPN, popular commentator Chase Daniel is getting rewarded.
According to a report at Front Office Sports, Daniel is getting promoted to a weekly Thursday night college football assignment alongside Matt Barrie, who he will join on the SEC Network’s SEC Nation desk on Saturday mornings this fall as well.
Daniel will reportedly replace Jordan Rodgers, who has served as a panelist on the show since 2020.
The FOS report suggested Rodgers is due for an “elevated” role on ESPN’s college football coverage, but did not contain specifics. Along with his SEC Nation duties, Rodgers has called the Saturday primetime game on SEC Network since 2017.
The only top ESPN college football booth disrupted this offseason is the Mark Jones-Roddy Jones tandem, with the former retiring from the Worldwide Leader in the spring. However, with tons of college football inventory across the SEC, ACC and Big 12, there are plenty of opportunities for Rodgers to move up. With studio experience, Rodgers could also be a candidate to contribute to studio coverage on college football Saturdays, which Barrie previously hosted and which will need a revamp this fall.
Barrie is set to replace Laura Rutledge as the host of SEC Nation as Rutledge focuses on NFL hosting responsibilities and sideline reporting for top college football matchups.
Daniel hosted an NFL podcast at The Athletic and was a host on FS1’s The Facility before jumping to ESPN to call college football games last season. A media-friendly journeyman as a pro, Daniel played four impressive seasons at Missouri when the Tigers were still part of the Big 12, finishing fourth in Heisman voting in 2007.
The revamped SEC Nation will now feature a former Big 12 quarterback in Daniel as well as a Pac-12 alum in Barrie, though Missouri has since moved to the SEC while Barrie’s Arizona State is in the Big 12. Roman Harper, an Alabama grad, and Tim Tebow, the Florida legend, round out the desk.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.