TAMPA, Fla. — (Yahoo.com) Alabama football radio broadcasts will sound quite different to start the 2022 football season.
Rashad Johnson will no longer be the sideline reporter as he is taking a job with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Crimson Tide Sports Network tweeted Wednesday. He has served in that role for four years.
A replacement has not yet been determined, CTSN general manager Jim Carabin told The Tuscaloosa News. Roger Hoover will fill in for the Utah State game. He also filled in as the sideline reporter for the 2020 Iron Bowl and 2021 A-Day game.
Alabama will also have a different voice behind the mic on play-by-play as Chris Stewart fills in for Eli Gold, who is sidelined with health issues to start the season.
Johnson began his Alabama career as a walk-on running back. He eventually switched to safety and became a scholarship player.
Then Johnson thrived. He became a first-team All-American in 2008. He went on to become a third-round draft pick of the Arizona Cardinals in 2009, where he played from 2009-2015. He also spent a season with the Titans in 2016.
Hoover, the temporary fill-in, has been the football pregame-postgame host since 2018. He is also moving into Stewart's game host role this season while Stewart fills in for Gold. Hoover works full-time as CTSN's digital media host and report. He joined CTSN in 2014 as the women's basketball play-by-play announcer. Hoover is also the men's basketball host and reporter.
Alabama football opens its season at 6:30 p.m. CT on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium against Utah State.