Ex-Jackets migrating to the microphones

Syracuse has earned the nickname “Sportscaster U” from its academic track that has shepherded students to prominent careers gabbing about games, matches, races and bouts.

Georgia Tech? The ‘Cuse’s bipolar opposite. The Institute has nary a broadcasting course, yet metro Atlantans cannot click the TV remote or punch radio buttons without stumbling across a bygone Yellow Jackets athlete yakking into a microphone.

The biggest ex-Techie is the most ubiquitous. John Salley, an inch shy of 7 feet but hardly shy on-screen, parlayed a 12-year NBA stint into a long-running gig as co-host of cable’s “Best Damn Sports Show Period.” Reality TV has beckoned with a role on NBC’s “I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here.”

Jon and Drew Barry share the same employer and dad. Jon dissects the NBA on ESPN; Drew pontificates about college hoops on ESPNU. Ryan Stewart’s radio circus, “2 Live Stews” with brother Doug, is syndicated on the Sporting News Radio network, and they get occasional face time on ESPN2. Ryan’s old Tech teammate, Dorsey Levens, analyzes games on ESPNU. They and others pop up locally on the flat-screen and across the dial.

The eldest among Techsters is Charlie Rymer, a three-year PGA Tour player who started talking golf part-time on ESPN and USA Network in the mid-1990s. He had befriended many broadcast golf types and ultimately decided he wanted to Be Like Mike (Tirico).

“When you miss about 23 consecutive cuts, TV looks real intriguing,” said Rymer, now with The Golf Channel, whose self-deprecating humor is a calling card. “As my game deteriorated, I became more and more interested.”

Seasoned golf analyst Gary McCord coaxed Rymer to sample the biz with this uplifting recommendation: “You’re an idiot, and that qualifies you to do TV.”

Rymer concurred, eventually landing a multi-year deal with ESPN. Just before first going on-air live under the new deal, “All I could think of was that I’d made a ‘D’ in public speaking at Georgia Tech.”

Its athletes accrue applicable skills less directly, according to Wes Durham, the mellifluous voice of Tech sports (and Falcons) and a mentor to many sports rap aspirants.

“If you come to school here and leave with a degree, you just about know how to do almost anything professionally,” said Durham, citing assets gained such as work ethic, time management and preparedness.

Durham was still matching names with faces as a new arrival at Tech in 1995 when Stewart, a senior defensive back, asked him for announcing pointers. Durham’s standard lesson begins, “Saying you want to do it and doing it are two different things. I tell these guys, ‘You’re going to be amazed at how much this is like playing.’ They are surprised at the end of the day how taxing it is.

“It’ll never be like playing as far as sweat, dirty, physical contact, but mentally it can be kind of the same thing. Preparation is the key.”

He told Stewart 14 years ago, “Be ready to work.” So the football-playing Stew spent offseasons in Detroit, where he played with the Lions, serving unpaid internships at media outlets.

Upon returning to Atlanta, he and Doug pitched a show to 790 The Zone, performed gratis. The radio station liked their debut enough to offer $50 per subsequent airing.

Stewart, operating a fitness center then with Levens, told his partner that a new commitment meant he must resign as the club’s general manager.

“You mean the broadcast thing that pays you 50 bucks a show?” Levens asked incredulously.

Now Stewart’s salary is climbing toward NFL rookie status.

“I think I was bred to be a leader, but Georgia Tech, they got me ready to be a leader in whatever I wanted to do,” said Stewart, who obtained his degree between NFL seasons.

A newbie to Durham’s informal school of broadcasting is Houston Texans safety Nick Ferguson. Gearing up for his 13th pro season, 11 in the NFL, since fleeing The Flats, Ferguson co-emceed a weekly TV football chat session while with the Denver Broncos. He is angling for a radio show this fall in Houston.

“I never thought I would decide to do this,” Ferguson said. “In this business, though, you get used to having a camera always in your face. I started to like it.”

Enough for a post-playing career? “I would love to.”