Todd Blackledge

Todd Blackledge, who returned to ESPN in 2006, is an analyst for many of the network’s college football events, including College Football Primetime. As the standout quarterback at Penn State, Blackledge started for the Nittany Lions from 1981 to 1983, going 31-5 through three seasons. After leading Penn State to the national championship in 1982, Blackledge won the Davey O’Brien Award as the nation’s most outstanding quarterback. In the 1983 NFL Draft, Kansas City selected Blackledge seventh overall. He played for the Chiefs for five seasons before joining the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1988. He retired in 1989. Blackledge began his broadcast career as a sports-talk radio host in Ohio, while also doing analysis for the Indianapolis Colts’ preseason, the Big East Network and for ESPN. In 1994, he joined ABC Sports as a college football analyst. He then was named CBS’ lead analyst in 1999. In 2006, he joined play-by-play announcer Mike Patrick and sideline reporter Holly Rowe for ESPN’s Saturday primetime college football series. He has been featured during Saturday college football games since 2007 in the popular “Todd’s Taste of the Town,” during which he visits a local restaurant near the site of the game he’ll call that day, and discusses the culinary appeal of the establishment and more. Since the 2009 season, Blackledge has been an analyst alongside play-by-play announcer Brad Nessler, with sideline reporter Holly Rowe. He also is a regular contributor to College GameDay, SportsCenter and ESPN Radio. A graduate of Penn State, Blackledge received the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2009. He is a member of Penn State’s Board of Visitors for the Center for Sports Journalism.