BOONE, N.C. – With a little over three months until kickoff of the 2018 college football season, Appalachian State has finalized its plans for on-air talent in its radio and television booths this fall.
Joining play-by-play announcer
Adam Witten on the Appalachian State IMG Sports Network will be former Mountaineer wide receiver
Simms McElfresh to provide analysis. Fellow App State football alum
Pierre Banks will shift over from his radio seat to serve as analyst for the ESPN3 home game broadcasts alongside play-by-play announcer
Harrison Battle.
McElfresh graduated in 2015 after a standout four-year career in the Black and Gold. A former walk-on, the Charlotte native was a full-time starter his last three years and led App State in receptions in both 2014 and 2015. Many will remember his finger-tip 8-yard touchdown catch at Michigan in 2014 and his 7-yard TD haul in the 2015 triple-overtime win over Troy, among others.
"When I was approached with the opportunity to join the App State radio team, it was a great honor," said McElfresh, who is a sales representative for Stryker, a FORTUNE 500 medical technology company. "I am looking forward to the fall. It is a great way for me to stay connected and passionate about App State Football."
Witten, a 2004 App State grad who works in the audio division at IMG College, enters his third season as the voice of the Mountaineers.
Molly Cotten, a 2015 App State grad, returns for her second season as the football sideline reporter.
Steve Zushin returns for his sixth season as the network's on-site engineer.
As part of the Sun Belt Conference's newest agreement with ESPN, every league school will now be responsible for its own ESPN3 home game productions, which includes providing the announce team. App State is pleased to have alums Battle (play-by-play) and Banks (analyst) ready for the task.
Battle, who graduated from App in 2017, has served for several years as a play-by-play announcer for the Mountaineers in baseball and basketball on both the IMG Sports Network and ESPN3.
Banks, a three-time national champion and four-time Southern Conference champion as a linebacker on the football team from 2004-08, enters his third season as an analyst for his alma mater, serving the previous two alongside Witten in the radio booth. While his day job includes being the Mountaineers' Director of Student-Athlete Development, the two-time App State grad also provides analysis for ESPN3 basketball broadcasts and has hosted a variety of videos and podcasts.
