Much of the attention on this Saturday is being given to the retirement of the iconic Lee Corso of ESPN’s College GameDay. Corso is making his final picks on the Saturday pregame staple as he officially heads into retirement after this week, following the live broadcast from Ohio State for the big showdown with the Texas Longhorns. But in Happy Valley, Penn State is paying tribute to another notable college football analyst preparing for retirement.
CBS Sports college football analyst Gary Danielson will be retiring at the end of the 2025 season, and he will begin his final season by calling the action from the TV booth in Beaver Stadium when Penn State hosts Nevada for the 2025 season opener. On Friday, Penn State head coach James Franklin met with Danielson and presented him with an honorary game ball in recognition of Danielson’s Emmy-caliber broadcast career.
While many will now associate Danielson more with his commentary on the SEC after years of covering the SEC’s game of the week with CBS, Danielson is still a Big Ten guy at heart. The Michigan native played quarterback for Purdue and played professionally in Big Ten territory with stints with the Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns.
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Danielson started covering college football with ESPN in 1990 for Saturday night football games on the network and eventually moved to the booth for ABC Sports. Danielson later moved to CBS in 2006 to take on the lead analyst role for the network, where he quickly developed a beautiful broadcast relationship with the legendary Verne Lundquist, and now continues in the role alongside Brad Nessler.
Danielson will hand off his role to Charles Davis following the 2025 season.
This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: James Franklin gives gift to CBS Sports analyst Gary Danielson
