Eli Gold on John Parker Wilson’s Addition to CTSN

Going into his 30th season as the voice of Alabama football, the talented pipes of Eli Gold has graced the ears of listeners across the Yellowhammer State with the story of Crimson Tide football during football Saturdays in the fall.

Earlier in the summer, John Parker Wilson was announced as the Crimson Tide Sports Network's next color analyst.

Wilson joins Doug Layton, Kenny Stabler and Phil Savage in the ranks of color analysts that have ridden shotgun in the CTSN football broadcasting booth alongside Eli Gold.

The voice of Alabama football stepped Inside the Locker Room to discuss the former Alabama quarterback's addition to the CTSN broadcast team.

While many present day viewers of college football are accustomed to the work of color analysts such as Gary Danielson of CBS and Todd Blackledge of ESPN, the veteran voice of the Crimson Tide explained the fundamental role of the color analyst on a radio broadcast.

"It's a little easier for me than it is for the color man who truly has to see what has gone on. He has to analyze it. He has to explain it to the listeners and then get out and be done so the play-by-play guy can set up the next play." Gold said.

With John Parker Wilson making his CTSN debut September 1 in Orlando, Gold listed the qualifications that the former Crimson Tide signal caller brings to the color analyst microphone.

"What he's going to bring is the 'been there and done that'.  I've never taken a snap in the SEC. I've never taken a snap in the National Football League. John Parker Wilson has done both of those." Gold said. "I can study and study and study and study until I'm blue in the face, but I can never tell you what it's like to have been there and done that 'cause I've never been there. He will bring that element to the table plus a very strong knowledge of the game."

The veteran voice of the Crimson Tide also touched on the process involved in selecting Wilson, handling the commentary of the dynamics at quarterback between Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa during a game and Nick Saban's impact in Tuscaloosa.

Catch Inside the Locker Room every weekday from 7-9 AM on Tide 102.9/100.9 and the Tide 102.9 app.