Just because football came to him naturally doesn't mean he'll be a natural at calling it.
Kole McKamey, UNM's new radio football analyst, understands that he won't be a golden throat when he steps in the booth for the first time, that it'll take fine-tuning and learn-on-the-fly improvisation to perfect the craft, especially since he's never done it before. But the three-year quarterback, who will perform with second-year play-by-play announcer Scott Galetti, said with a little work he and Galetti will hopefully be like Batman and Robin.
"I feel like I can do (my job) without having a lot of broadcast experience," said McKamey, who played quarterback for the Lobos from 2004-06. "I'm not doing play-by-play. I'm not the 'what' guy. I'm the 'why.' I'm looking forward to feeding off Scott Galetti."
UNM and Lobo Sports Properties announced on Wednesday that McKamey would succeed former UNM player and color analyst Josh Bazinet.
Darren Dunn, Lobo Sports Properties' general manager, said he spoke to more than five players about the position but that McKamey fit what the group was looking for, which was a former player with expertise on the offensive side of the ball.
"When we hired a new football coach, it made sense to us to hire a (commentator) that would know the type of offense (Locksley's going to run)," Dunn said, adding that the decision to replace Bazinet had "nothing whatsoever" to do with his performance.
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Instead, the move was strictly about logistics and reflected the coaching change, Dunn said. Because he operated in three different offensive schemes while at UNM, including the spread, McKamey will be able to quarterback listeners through the game while giving them a fly-on-the-ball perspective of the action, Dunn explained.
McKamey said he's confident that he'll be able to pick up on and adapt to Locksley's system, and the Lobos will provide him all the necessary resources, including access to the film room.
"A lot of the spread offense stuff is a lot of the same," McKamey said. "Now everyone's got their own unique touches. That's something that Locksley and I have already talked about - about me coming in and learning exactly what he likes to do."
Like the man he's replacing, McKamey comes without a background in broadcasting, though he does, as Dunn suggested, have extensive experience conversing with the media from his time as a player. But for the most part -
"They're throwing me in there with the wolves," McKamey said.
For that reason, Galetti said Lobo fans will need to be patient and not rush to judge McKamey.
"Broadcasting is kind of a unique medium," he said. "Everyone thinks that they can do it, but not everyone can. It takes a lot of training. It's just a matter of how you sound on the air. You can't just put a microphone in front of someone and make them a polished professional."
Bazinet found that out firsthand, having dealt with public criticism after he and Galetti replaced longtime Lobo announcer Mike Roberts last year.
"A lot of people (think), 'Oh, I'm just talking about football. What's so hard about that?'" Bazinet said. "But when you're thrown into something that's not scripted, you have to find out who the player is and, all of a sudden, you're talking about something that just happened. When you're hanging with your buddies at the bar and you're talking about something, it's kind of easy, because there's no pressure on you."
Saying that he "doesn't know if he could be a color commentator," Galetti explained the crux of being an analyst isn't just about preparation, firsthand knowledge or being pro-Lobo. Still, he couldn't pinpoint exactly what McKamey will need to do to be accepted by listeners.
"If I knew what made fans tick, I'd be a millionaire," he said.
While McKamey acknowledged that not everyone will share or enjoy his opinion and analysis, he wasn't put in the position to please everyone. He's been put in the booth to educate fans, from those who know little about the game to the know-it-alls.
"There's lots of armchair quarterbacks out there," McKamey said. "What I mean by that is that there's lots of people that never played at the collegiate level - maybe never even played at the high school level, maybe never even played the sport - that think they know exactly what they're talking about by watching SportsCenter. I'll try to be conscious of the people that have no clue what the game of football is about and, at the same time, try to give an understanding to those that think they know everything about it."
Yet, before he can pass on that knowledge to Lobo fans, he'd be wise to be the student first. And his former teammate, Bazinet, had some sound advice for him.
"The one piece of advice I would give Kole is just ask questions. Get critiqued every week," he said. "The best thing for you to do is - instead of going cold feet - get one of your old game films, shut (the volume) off and record a whole game. Pretend you're there in the booth for three hours. Record it. Listen to it, so you get comfortable with the microphone."
And the microphone might come with a few drawbacks, but it's something McKamey says he's prepared for.
"It's my passion. It's something I have very strong opinions about," he said. "To get back into it and to be a part of it - it's exciting for me. I'm going to do everything I can do (to) make sure I'm a success at it."
