Cleveland, OH (92.3 The Fan) – The Cleveland Browns will have a pair of new, yet familiar, voices in the broadcast booth for their preseason telecasts this year.
Cleveland native and former ESPN broadcaster Jay Crawford along with former Browns quarterback Tim Couch will call the three locally televised preseason games this summer.
“It's a dream come true,” Crawford, who anchored SportsCenter for a decade at ESPN, said. “I'm a lifelong Browns fan. I remember all of the heartaches of Red Right 88, The Drive and The Fumble. I've experienced all of the highs and all of the lows. For me to get an opportunity to call the team that I grew up watching, and even through my adult life have followed and loved, is really a ‘pinch me’ moment. I couldn't be more excited.”
The 30-year broadcast veteran, who is a Bowling Green graduate, will be reunited with one of the first players he covered in the state of Kentucky – Couch before he became a college star.
“Of all the athletes I covered,” Crawford said, “Tim Couch was one of the best.”
The Browns drafted Couch with the No. 1 pick in the 1999 NFL Draft.
Couch started 59 games over five seasons, including leading the team throughout its last regular season that ended with a playoff berth in 2002. He combined to throw for 11,131 yards and 64 touchdowns during his Browns career, the most by any of the team’s 28 starters since 1999.
Unfortunately, mismanagement and injuries stunted Couch’s career in Cleveland, but the Browns still remain near and dear to the former Kentucky Wildcat.
“I'm super excited about it,” Couch said. “I haven't been back in Cleveland since I left there. It's going to be nice to get back up there and be around the organization again.
“The fans are tremendous. They're some of the best fans in pro football. They show up and support the team no matter what. Last year was a really tough year for them, but I think they've made some great moves in the offseason. They're on the right track now and they've got some really talented players in there and have some great draft picks coming up. The opportunity is there to get better really fast.”
Couch has served as an analyst for the SEC Network among other broadcast ventures since retiring.
The 3 preseason games featuring Crawford and Couch will be broadcast locally on News 5 in Cleveland.
