Notre Dame football radio analyst Ryan Harris leaves to focus on law

SOUTH BEND — Ryan Harris, the former Notre Dame football offensive tackle and Super Bowl champion with the Denver Broncos, is leaving the Irish radio booth after eight seasons.

Harris, 41, made the announcement on social media Friday afternoon, May 15. He said he was stepping away to finish his final semester of law school while pursuing NFL and television opportunities.

The 2020 Colorado Sportscaster of the Year, Harris has been an analyst on Broncos preseason broadcasts while also filling assignments from CBS Sports and Westwood One NFL Radio.

Inspired by former Notre Dame All-American and Pro Football Hall of Famer Alan Page, a Minnesota Supreme Court associate justice from 1993-2015, Harris is enrolled at the University of Colorado Law School.

Harris, who completed a summer internship at the public defender’s office in Denver, told the Denver Gazette in October of 2025 it has been his dream to become a lawyer since he was 16.

The affable Harris, who played parts of nine seasons in the NFL from 2007-16, succeeded longtime radio analyst Allen Pinkett for the 2018 season. Harris provided an energetic and informative radio partner for Paul Burmeister and more recently Tony Simeone.

Harris called his tenure “an incredible and life-changing experience,” saying he cherished “the opportunity to grow as a broadcaster while sharing my love for ND football with the world.”

He concluded his missive with a typically upbeat signoff: “Be positive, spread love, Go Irish.”

Notre Dame has employed just two other full-time radio analysts over the past four decades.

A record-setting Irish running back during the Gerry Faust years, Pinkett handled analyst duties from 2001-2017. Ara Parseghian’s former assistant coach Tom Pagna worked alongside play-by-play man Tony Roberts for 16 seasons (1985-2000).

With Harris’ career move, Notre Dame will look to hire just its fourth permanent radio analyst in the past 42 seasons.

Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame football radio analyst Ryan Harris moves on after 8 years

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