Each week during football season, we’ll be interviewing a different broadcaster. The goal is for readers to gain insight into how broadcasters approach what they do, along with some questions related to the game or task they are assigned that week. Our 13th Q&A subject is ESPN NFL host and college football reporter Laura Rutledge, who hosts ESPN’s daily “NFL Live” show.
Previous weeks on Fox featured Greg Olsen, Pam Oliver and Jay Glazer. Amazon Al Michaels; CBS and Westwood One Audio Kevin Harlan; CBS Gene Steratore; ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky; NBC’s Melissa Stark; NFL Network’s Rich Eisen; ESPN/ABC Joe Buck; AndCBS Charles Davis And Amy Trask.
What do you think is the most important job you have as host of “NFL Live”?
My most important job in all the shows I host is to make everyone around me look their best.
Do you think it takes a certain kind of ego to allow that to happen?
You basically have to be devoid of selfishness. I think the best hosts are the ones who don’t have an ego. The hit show, looking back on it, is where I can say I didn’t really talk much. They (their analysts) asked each other questions. I didn’t have to interfere. I let them do what they wanted. Meanwhile, I’m sitting there constantly thinking. I have directions that I can switch to based on something someone said. We keep it very loose and conversational. For this reason, I don’t write excessively. I write down every word in every show that could be said, and then say maybe part of it. These are the shows that I think are the most successful.
How would you analyze where you are professionally today versus where you thought you might be professionally today?
I actually have a press release from 2017 when they announced that I was going to be the host of “SEC Nation.” I keep this loaded on my phone and my web browser – just as a reminder of where I’m coming from and the progress that’s been made, and I’m really grateful for it all.
The difference between what I do now is that it obviously has a higher status and yet I don’t feel like anything has changed for me. I feel like I’m working just as hard. I feel like I prepare the same way, albeit a little different with two young kids. Yes, I’ve expanded my roles at ESPN, but I’ve always stayed true to some of those original roles. The SEC Network and SEC Nation were the first group to really take a chance and give me a role, a hosting role for one of their flagship shows. This means a lot to me. I can’t overstate how important this is to me, how important it is, and how much I enjoy these people.
One of the interesting parts of your career is that you’ve switched between hosting and reporting on the side. How is preparation different when you’re doing a one-time NFL side mission like Dolphins-Titans (last week’s mission) versus trying to stay on top of the NFL every week?
It’s very different. But I think they work well together, and by that I mean I’m involved every day with NFL content. And not just on the surface level, because on a daily show like “NFL Live,” we pride ourselves on going deeper than when I play the games. There’s already such a familiarity because we have these conversations day in and day out. What I’m trying to do is peel back more layers. So I’m not only going to look at both depths for both teams but then I’m going to say, okay, how can I advance the story? How can I add to it? What angle hasn’t been told?
I have a unique background covering Tua Tagovailoa coming out of college due to all the injuries he had and being close to the SEC and covering Alabama. I covered some of the wildest stories when it came to what was going on with him and I know his family well and was entrusted with a lot of medical information about him that has stayed with me. That’s why it’s so important to me to have a college football and NFL theme. They are so intertwined. Like knowing Will Levis from his time at Kentucky, talking to his family, knowing his parents, sharing concerns with his mother even leading up to the NFL draft and then what happened to him with the draft. Now he is achieving success. It’s a great perspective to know every little thing about these people and what got them to where they are. I’ve become less of a “tee”, for lack of a better way to put it, and more of a storyteller when I’m on the sidelines.
As someone who has covered sideline reports in the NFL and college football, it seems to me that a person in this position could get a lot out of a college game. Is this correct?
I think it’s because of the way NFL games are done. It’s about the established parameters and rules. We might show the injury from a distance if it wasn’t so serious. Obviously we want to protect these people and make sure that we never take advantage of them in any way. But we cannot report anything specific about the injury until we are told about it and until it is reported to the NFL. It’s the whole chain of communication that doesn’t exist in college.
In college, it’s about relationships. It’s about, this team doctor trusts me, so he’ll come to me and say, “This is what’s going on, and this is how I want to present it.” Or I’m on the sideline and I notice the offensive line talking about a change in tempo, or maybe they’re struggling with how to catch the football. These are the things I would alert our staff to in an NFL game. I would say this is happening and maybe we’ll get a camera, and the people in the booth can talk about it, or maybe I’ll add a little bit in there as well. But I wouldn’t necessarily do that report in the NFL. In college, I would have almost 100% done this report. There’s a little more to the free-flowing observational style of college versus the NFL.
Your contract expires next summer. What do you hope to do moving forward if you stay at ESPN?
One of the things that’s become more important is just being at the biggest events, at the biggest games, hosting, reporting, doing whatever he’s asked to do, which I do. I enjoy attending those big events and being a part of them and being a daily presence as well. So wherever that can happen, that’s what’s important to me. …This place means a lot to me. I’ve been here since I was 25, and I’m 35 now. It’s been almost 10 years, and it’s gone by in the blink of an eye it seems.
Go deeper
Laura Rutledge talks about working in ABC’s NFL Draft and doing it while nine months pregnant
What sport do you like to work in and why?
I think (Formula 1) is very cool. I got into it a little more with the Netflix documentary. I’m starting to watch more as ESPN is broadcasting more races and some of my friends at ESPN are covering them. It sounds so cool. I understand I don’t know enough about it yet to cover it. I would never want to go there instead of anyone else. But I would love to go there and learn more. It’ll be something down the road that I’d be really interested in covering.
What’s the worst radio advice you’ve ever received?
I think the worst was someone who was a high-ranking executive at the time, who told me to never laugh on TV. That my laughter was annoying and that I should never laugh. I remember thinking, Oh my God, and feeling self-conscious about my laughter, which may or may not be annoying. Maybe depends on who you ask. I remember deciding that I couldn’t do it because there were some funny things, so I would have to laugh. I’m really glad I didn’t take that advice.
As an SEC alumnus, what’s the best place to eat in SEC?
Oh my goodness, there are so many good sites. Baton Rouge, anywhere you go, is pretty good. Cajun food is unique. So I would say Baton Rouge is probably No. 1, and really any of the locations there. My high school is Athens, Georgia. There’s a great breakfast place called Mama’s Boy. The biscuits are stacked so thick that you can’t even put them in your mouth. It’s like eggs, bacon, sausage, whatever you need. I love this place and I’m a big breakfast person. There are two other good places in Athens that we always enjoy. But I mean man, now we have Texas and Oklahoma going to the SEC, so we’ll find some good spots in Austin and Norman.
Past questions and answers
• Greg Olsen: On Tom Brady and his future at Fox, Jordan Love, Justin Fields, and more
• Al Michaels: As for cash, he had dinner with John Madden, who works with Kyle Shanahan
• Kevin Harlan: On his Super Bowl streak, the Buck Family and the Speedy Dolphins bond
• Pam Oliver: On radio longevity, what her job is like, Eagles fans’ joy and more
• Gene Steratore: On how to be an NFL rules analyst, staying on top of the rules and more
• Dan Orlovsky: On ESPN, I watch every NFL game, and the viral video that started it all
• Melissa Stark: On the art of field questions, Eagles fans and Taylor Swift
• Rich Eisen: On Chiefs-Dolphins, play-by-play, and an alternate reality on Turner
• Jay Glazer: In his 3,912 phone calls, how he does his job and fights anxiety
• Joe Buck: On Eagles-Chiefs, 22 with Troy Aikman, covering Taylor Swift
• Charles Davis: On the Steelers, Bengals, calling NFL games without playing in the NFL and more
• Amy Trask: On her transition to television, how she views the NFL and the John Madden story
(Photo: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Laura Rutledge is a familiar face to sports fans everywhere, particularly those tuned into ESPN. As one of the rising stars at the network, Rutledge has made a name for herself as a versatile and knowledgeable reporter, covering everything from college football to the NFL. In a recent Q&A, Rutledge shared insights into her career trajectory at ESPN, the unique challenges of reporting on different sports, and even dished on her favorite SEC food. With her engaging personality and deep understanding of the sports world, Rutledge continues to make her mark as a respected sports journalist.