Merritt Named Color Commentator on Clemson Football

June 12, 2003

Former Clemson All-ACC offensive guard Will Merritt will provide color commentary on radio broadcasts of Tiger football games in 2003. The announcement was made by Clemson Tigers Sports Properties and Learfield Communications.

Merritt will join veteran play-by-play broadcaster Jim Phillips, who will be in his 36th year covering the Tigers home and away. Merritt replaces former Clemson quarterback Rodney Williams, who resigned his position with the network earlier this year to spend more time with his family. Pete Yanity, sports director at WSPA TV in Spartanburg, will return as the sideline announcer and host of the postgame show in 2003.

Merritt played for the Tigers from 1998-2001. He was a starter in 2000 and 2001 when he was named second-team All-ACC. Those are the most productive Clemson teams in history in terms of total offense. He played on three bowl teams at Clemson, including the 2000 team that finished the season ranked 15th in the final AP poll with a 9-3 record. He also was named to the All-ACC Academic team each of those seasons. He graduated from Clemson in December of 2000.

Merritt worked on the Clemson Radio network pregame and postgame shows last season, his first fall out of school. He also provided color commentary on the television tape-delay broadcasts of selected Clemson games in 2002. The native of Easley, SC is the host of “The Morning Drive”, a morning sports show that airs from 6:00 AM to 9:00 AM each morning on WCCP (104.9 FM) in Clemson.