Brock Huard: Northwest sports voice

By Steve Turcotte, Inside Golf Editor
Brock Huard may be the master of wearing many hats at the same time.

There is the family hat, with his wife Molly and three kids. There is the ESPN 710 Seattle hat, where he is a co-host of the morning sports show. Then there is the ESPN hat where he works on college football broadcasts. And, of course, there are the hats of being a former quarterback at the University of Washington and in the NFL for the Seattle Seahawks and Indianapolis Colts.

There might be a couple of more hats to wear, but there is one particular hat he wants: To be able to be a guy who breaks 80 in a round of golf.

“I’ve been lucky because there has been a lot of things I have been able to do, “ said Huard. “But the one thing I would like is to one day is break 80 for a round of golf. I’ve never broken 80 and that’s the goal.”

If it seems like Huard’s life is a free-for-all, you are right, it is. He has been able to juggle everything from being a dad to kids Haley (12), Macey (9) and Titus (5). He has become one of the most popular sports broadcasters on the Seattle airwaves working with Mike Salk on the Brock and Salk Show every morning and his work as a color broadcaster on ESPN’s college football games is solid.

Huard is a true Pacific Northwesterner. He was born in Puyallup and played high school football for his dad Mike and grew up with a couple of football playing brothers Damon and Luke. Huard was a three-year starter at quarterback in high school and then a three-year starter at the University of Washington.

He was a third-round pick by the Seahawks in 1999 and played with the Seahawks for four years and the Colts for two. He was a back-up to Matt Hasselbeck in Seattle and Peyton Manning in Indy. No earth-shattering numbers but Huard did complete the first pass he threw in the NFL during a pre-season game for a touchdown. He retired after the 2004 seasons with a back injury.

But it was in Indy when the golf bug bit. He played with some of the players on the team including punter Jeff Feagles and quarterback Trent Dilfer, both who carry low handicaps. It was also about that time that the broadcast booth started to call.

He worked for the Seahawks pre and post game shows on radio and then eventually landed at ESPN 710 Seattle and at ESPN college football games.

“A lot of it was right place, right time,” said the 39-year-old Huard. “And it helped that it was a Super Bowl year in 2005. That got me going.”

The one hat that Huard will definitely not drop is the one where he breaks 80 on the golf course. He’s had his share of good shots, but he knows there is always a bad one lurking around the corner.

During a round at Glendale Country Club in Bellevue, Huard showed off his new Nike sticks and a game that should one day break 80. On the first hole, he hit a nice greenside bunker shot to 15 feet but missed the putt. On the third hole, he knocked a chip to 10 feet. But the shot that proved to him that a sub-80 might be close was his hybrid to 20 feet on the 200-yard seventh hole. The putt wobbled in and out of the hole, but he couldn’t stop talking about the tee shot.

Huard hits the ball so high that it helps him with carry and gets him out of trouble. On the third hole he said, “You’re going to like this shot” as he launched an 8-iron over the tallest trees on the course, landing near the green.

When Huard and his family were looking for a retreat, they landed at Suncadia Resort, where there are three golf courses and even more chances to break 80 down the road.