GAINESVILLE, Fla. – After providing color commentary in road games last season, Gator Great Shane Matthews joins the Florida football radio team as the full time analyst, the University Athletic Association and Florida Gators Sports Properties announced Thursday. Matthews and newly hired ‘Voice of the Gators’ Sean Kelley, will be in their first season in the booth this fall, debuting on Sept. 3rd when Florida takes on Utah in the season opener at 7 pm
“It is a tremendous honor,” Matthew said. “I have big shoes to fill with Lee McGriff. He and Mick Hubert had great chemistry, but I’m excited for the new opportunity that I have with Sean Kelly and new era of Gators football.”
Matthews is replacing Lee McGriff, who was a staple in the Gator radio for 27 years and retired this past Spring. The former Gators quarterback threw for 74 touchdowns and over 9,000 passing yards in his career. The Cleveland, Mississippi native was the SEC Player of the Year in 1990 and 1991, finishing fifth in the Heisman during the 1991 season.
After signing with the Chicago Bears in 1993, he went on to have a 13-year NFL career, playing for six different teams during that span.
Matthews also hosts the “Pod Up With Matthews In The Morning” podcast Monday-Friday every week on YouTube and Facebook Live, and is on the “Inside the Huddle” radio show every Tuesday on ESPN 98.1 / 850 WRUF.
Pregame, halftime, and postgame show host and former Gators baseball player Jeff Cardozo and sideline reporter Tate Casey, who won the 2006 and 2008 BCS National Championships with Florida, will both return to their roles this season.