A back injury suffered in high school prevented Jac Collinsworth from chasing his dream of playing football at the college level and in the NFL. Unlike his father, Cris Collinsworth, he did not get to live out his boyhood dream of catching a pass in the Super Bowl.
He did follow in his father’s footsteps in another facet, though. And that’s why many reading this may have some familiarity with the younger Collinsworth.
Much like Cris, Jac has become a prominent NBC Sports sportscaster. On Sunday Night Football, Dad often defers to his son on the sideline…where Jac gives viewers intel on what insight he’s able to glean from his on-field vantage point. He also conducts in-game and post-game interviews with standout players and coaches.
Many football fans were already familiar with that facet of Jac Collinsworth’s life. But what don’t they know about him?
Who Is Jac Collinsworth?
Jac was born to Cris and Holly Collinsworth in Fort Thomas, Kentucky, in February of 1995. He graduated from Highland High School in 2013. Jac was a standout wide receiver for the football team in 2011, catching 26 passes, 495 yards, and five touchdowns. But the aforementioned back injury suffered in 2012 caused him to pivot his focus away from playing football collegiately.
But Collinsworth grew up around the game and cultivated a passion for it. His father was a prominent broadcaster from the moment Jac was born. Combine that with an older brother, Austin, who played football at Notre Dame, and it’s not hard to connect the dots regarding the path Jac’s taken to this point in his life.
Jac would go on to study at Notre Dame, graduating in 2017. He’d quickly establish himself as a legitimate source for Fighting Irish news, catching on with NBC’s sideline production team for Notre Dame football broadcasts.
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He earned himself some very impressive opportunities in the process, handling sideline coverage duties for the team’s annual Blue-Gold game in the spring and covering two Notre Dame pro days for NFL Network.
Collinsworth would catch on with ESPN after graduating college, appearing regularly on Sunday NFL Countdown as well as NFL Live in the offseason. But he’d eventually depart the “worldwide leader in sports entertainment” for an opportunity to return to his old stomping grounds at NBC. This time, covering the NFL and entertaining the masses alongside his father.
That, of course, is the role most know Collinsworth for now. He continues to take on more and more responsibility with NBC, including stepping in to co-host the Super Bowl LVI pregame show. In addition to football, Jac is also slated to cover some of the biggest events at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games with the Network’s Gold Zone.
NBC Sports' @JacCollinsworth to join @peacock's "Gold Zone" whip-around show during NBCUniversal's coverage of Olympic Games Paris 2024
Details:https://t.co/14vnHyLSzC
— NBC Sports PR (@NBCSportsPR) July 17, 2024
At just 29 years old, Collinsworth figures to be a prominent voice in the football realm for decades to come. Consider that a testament to his perseverance after a setback he suffered in high school drastically altered his future plans.
In the process, it enabled him to hone what’s now obviously a very finely-tuned skill set.