Scott Hanson simply can’t contain his excitement. On the eve of the NFL season, he’s also on the eve of returning to his dream job as host of the revolutionary NFL RedZone channel. It’s there that Hanson famously hosts a look into every daytime NFL matchup, providing “whip around” coverage, jumping to any game at any moment and fulfilling the promise to never miss a touchdown.
It took less than a minute for Hanson to burst with exuberance when he sat down with Jerry Ferrera and Matt Leinart for the latest episode of Throwbacks. “You only get 18 of these all year” Hanson screamed, giving the guys a preview of his typical Sunday morning. “I just got goosebumps right now.”
Hanson is a football lifer, once a captain of his high school football team, he eventually chose Syracuse University for his journalistic endeavors. But the jump from a small Michigan catholic school to a storied D1 program didn’t end his football career. Instead, Hanson persevered, joining the Orangemen as a walk on long snapper, playing alongside NFL hall of famer Marvin Harrison. “I loved playing college ball,” Hanson remembered. “The problem is I’m about 5’10 and back then I used to weigh 200 pounds... I used to get jacked up.”
But Hanson’s football journey didn’t end there, and according to him nothing could have ended it. His career took him everywhere from Michigan to Florida before he landed at the NFL Network in 2006 and by 2008 he transitioned to hosting. The call for RedZone came in 2009, and after a grueling five-hour audition he got the job and the rest is history.
“If I was a doctor or a lawyer or any walk of life, I would have four windows open on my screen to NFL websites anyway,” Hanson told Throwbacks excitedly. “I get paid to do this!”
New episodes of “**Throwbacks**” drop every Thursday. Watch on YouTube, or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. Follow the show @ThrowbacksShow on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook for bonus content.