Colt McCoy acknowledges shortcomings as broadcaster: ‘Listen, broadcasting is hard’

Much like Tom Brady, former NFL quarterback Colt McCoy is learning on the fly in his first year as a broadcaster. And similarly, McCoy has had his fair share of growing pains in the booth thus far this season, which he is well aware of.

McCoy has served in both a studio analyst role on the Big Ten College Countdown pregame show and as a game analyst at times for NBC Sports’ coverage of the Big Ten this season.

NBC didn’t waste time in seeing what they have in McCoy, throwing him to the wolves on the call for the Week 2 primetime game between Colorado and Nebraska, which largely exposed McCoy’s inexperience in the booth.

Still figuring things out as a broadcaster, McCoy discussed his weekly process during an appearance on the Always College Football podcast with Greg McElroy on Wednesday.

“Listen, broadcasting is hard,” said McCoy. “How you do it, how well you do it. I mean, you are a true pro. I enjoyed listening last week, that was a good game. Went into overtime, that was awesome. But I think you’re right, developing a routine is key. I’ve tried it a bunch of different ways. I’ve only called three games. I think definitely you see improvements each week.”

As far as things McCoy knows he needs to improve on, he noted that adding more of his perspective into broadcasts and better conveying excitement after big plays are areas he is working on.

“The one thing that stays the same is how much I enjoy going up there and getting to talk football. That’s a lot of fun. You get to add your perspective to it. Probably should do that more. I don’t ever want to feel like I’m talking about myself too much. I’m learning each week, it’s definitely an art.

“There are guys that are really good and have set the bar at being an analyst calling these games. They went through the growth process like I’m going through. It’s not easy. But if you can still keep that enjoyment and fun factor. When you get up in the booth, have some excitement. My problem is, a lot of times I feel like I’m at like a ten. You know, we played quarterback so we usually don’t get too high. So when I do, it’s like your ten is like a two. We need even more. So I’m trying to figure out that part of it as well.”

Perhaps the biggest complaint about McCoy from viewers has been about his lack of excitement in the booth thus far. So it is at least a positive to see that McCoy is self aware about what he is and isn’t doing well as a game analyst so far.

Talking with someone like Greg McElroy is actually the perfect thing for McCoy to do, as McElroy similarly parlayed his fantastic collegiate career into a broadcasting career.

At this point, it’s unclear whether McCoy will end up having as much success in broadcasting as McElroy has had. But at least McCoy isn’t unrealistic about where his on-air abilities are at currently.

[ESPN College Football on YouTube]