Greg McElroy to Join SEC Network

quote:

---

McElroy joins analysts Jesse Palmer and Tim Tebow and commentators Paul Finebaum, Brent Musburger and Joe Tessitore.

The deal was too good to pass up for McElroy.

"You grow up wanting to play in the NFL and loving playing the game," McElroy told AL.com. "I started playing this game when I was 8, and for the first time in 17 years, I won't be putting on shoulder pads and a helmet every day in the fall. It will be difficult, but I know that with the opportunity to work for ESPN and cover a conference I'm so passionate for, there were just too many positives to overlook."

He was a guest on the ESPN networks at the 2011 BCS National Championship coverage of Auburn's win over Oregon.

"I can't say I was really nervous because I felt like I was doing something that I loved so much," McElroy said. "I felt like I was doing something I was passionate about, and that's talking football. Anybody that's ever been around me, they know I have a difficult straying from the subject if that's the subject we end up on."

But his responsibilities will take him to the other 13 SEC schools as well. That includes Auburn.

"I hope they know that when I go down there, I'll be going with a very professional manner," McElroy said. "I'll be going to cover the game and be unbiased and tell what I really think. I think the world of every one of those schools and there's not one school I like more than any other. Of course, I went to the University of Alabama and I loved my time there, but at this point going forward, I'll have an unbiased opinion and will enjoy covering the game in a neutral way."

---