After a celebrated high school career at St. John’s Jesuit, five decorated years at Ohio State, and four seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, Jack Mewhort was burnt out and wanted nothing to do with football.
“You give your heart and soul to everything all day every day,” the former offensive lineman said. “The structure, the pressure, I wanted to do something else and divert that energy into other things.”
■ Who: Toledo (9-5 last year) at Illinois (8-5 last year)
■ When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
■ TV: Big Ten Network
■ Series: First meeting
■ Line: Illinois by 9½
The diversion plan, however, didn’t last forever. Two years ago, BCSN program director Justin Feldkamp inquired about Mewhort’s interest in providing analysis during high school football broadcasts. Low to nonexistent was the answer.
But Feldkamp was undeterred. Mewhort finally acquiesced the following year and joined BCSN’s high school football coverage, which led to an opportunity to fill in on University of Toledo radio broadcasts. When Learfield and UT were searching for Mark Beier’s full-time partner, Mewhort became the obvious choice.
“We are thrilled to have Jack on the team for the upcoming season,” said Rob Rice, general manager of Rocket Sports Properties. “Jack is a well-known name in the Toledo community and his experience at the collegiate and professional levels will be a major asset to our broadcast team.”
Beier and Mewhort will debut on Saturday at Illinois. Pre-game coverage begins at 6 p.m. on AM 1370. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. Audio streaming is also available on UTRockets.com.
The 70-year-old Beier and 32-year-old Mewhort have discussed their impending partnership and have been around the team this summer to familiarize themselves with the Rockets — and each other. Beier, a pro’s pro, has enjoyed the budding friendship and believes Mewhort has a bright future in broadcasting.
“I’ll tell you what, I had a chance to listen to him do a game last year and I was really impressed,” Beier said. “I think he’s going to do a terrific job. He’ll bring a lot of insight.”
The journey to this moment was unforeseen for Mewhort, who was so detached from football in the first few years of retirement that he barely even watched Ohio State games. Once he started watching with a headset and providing feedback for viewers and listeners, it allowed Mewhort to re-enter the sport on footing that he thought was conducive to how he wanted to interact with the game.
“You’re talking about things that you see,” Mewhort said. “You aren’t necessarily worried about having the patience to coach guys and transfer your knowledge of the game into a player. And your future isn’t teetering on an 18-year-old kid making a play. Being on the radio has been a really cool avenue for me to fall back in love with the game of football on my terms.”
The first game Mewhort worked for BCSN was a full-circle moment for the former Titan. Anthony Wayne played at Findlay in Week 1 last year, the same stadium where Mewhort made his first career high school start. During a recent discussion, he showed evidence of goosebumps recalling the flashbacks.
“It’s special to revisit these places where you’ve had these big experiences,” Mewhort said. “When you’re 15, 16, 17 years old, that’s your world. To go back there having lived a little bit more life, it gives you more perspective and you realize how special it is for those kids in the moment. That’s what makes it fun to be around the game.”
Mewhort, who works at Midland Title, can only fish and play golf so much. Occupying some of his time by watching football isn’t a bad gig. Despite positive reviews for his BCSN work and the few UT games he worked last season, Mewhort doesn’t have ambitions to go beyond the local market.
Scratching the football itch by watching games up close, attending practices, and having conversations with players and coaches has reignited the passion that had receded to the background. The sights, sounds, and smells have triggered Mewhort’s inner football mind.
“It’s like looking under the hood of a sports car, to be able to see the methods to their madness,” he said. “Obviously coach [Jason] Candle has been really successful. To see how he’s building the program from the inside out is cool as a player and a guy who’s done it.”
First Published September 1, 2023, 3:56 p.m.
