Former Missouri star quarterback Chase Daniel will return to the college football scene by working as a color commentator for ESPN, Front Office Sports reported Tuesday.
Daniel will partner with play-by-play announcer Clay Matvick. He’ll debut on Aug. 30 when Pitt hosts FCS Duquesne. He will also work in the studio as an NFL analyst.
Daniel, 38, is three years removed from his last work as an NFL player, when he was Justin Herbert’s backup on the Los Angeles Chargers and got into four games in 2022, throwing for one touchdown in relief.
He was a journeyman who served as a backup for the New Orleans Saints (2010-12, 2017), Kansas City Chiefs (2013-15), Philadelphia Eagles (2016), Chicago Bears (2018-19), Detroit Lions (2020) and Chargers (2021-22). Of his 74 games in the league, only five were starts, three coming for the Bears. He totaled 1,746 passing yards, nine TDs and seven interceptions.
Daniel is perhaps better known for his four-year college career at Missouri, where a stellar junior year in 2007 led him to win the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year award and finish fourth in Heisman Trophy voting. That season, he racked up 4,306 passing yards, 33 touchdowns and 11 picks while adding four touchdowns on the ground.
This won’t be Daniel’s first media gig — he appeared as a co-host of the FS1 show “The Facility” that’s since been canceled, and he’s done studio work for NFL Network and a podcast for The Athletic.