Verne Lundquist to leave CBS in 2017, Brad Nessler to succeed him

Play-by-play broadcaster Verne Lundquist will step down from calling SEC games on CBS after the 2016 season. He will be replaced by Brad Nessler in 2017.

According to the CBS Sports Public Relations Twitter account, long-time play-by-play broadcaster Verne Lundquist will step down from SEC on CBS after the 2016 NCAA football season. He will be replaced by Brad Nessler, best known for calling college football games with ESPN.

Lundquist, who will turn 76 years old in July, has been the lead play-by-play announcer for CBS’ college football coverage since 1998. He previously worked for ABC, TNT, and another previous stint with CBS from 1982 to 1995.

Lundquist is best known for covering the SEC Game of the Week on CBS with on-air partner former Purdue Boilermakers and Detroit Lions quarterback Gary Danielson. With college football being king in the Southeastern United States, Lundquist has had the front seat in calling many of the SEC’s best games over the last decade plus.

Two of Lundquist’s most recent great calls were during the 2013 version of the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry between the Auburn Tigers and the Georgia Bulldogs, which is now known for The Prayer at Jordan-Hare pass from Nick Marshall to Ricardo Louis.

Only to be outdone weeks later, Lundquist called the Kick Six game in the 2013 Iron Bowl between Auburn and their arch rival Alabama Crimson Tide, where Auburn’s Chris Davis returned a failed field goal attempt for a game-winning touchdown as time expired.

The CBS on-air tandem of Lundquist and Danielson has not been without criticism over the last several years, as many diehard SEC fans want a new duo calling their best weekly game. Bringing in Nessler is a sound replacement for Lundquist, as Nessler has done fantastic work with ESPN calling SEC games for years now.

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