Nessler Knows Harvin

Working from the broadcast booth for ABC and ESPN for the past several seasons, former Vikings radio broadcaster Brad Nessler knows what a dynamic presence 1st-round pick Percy Harvin can bring to the football field.

As the lead play-by-play man for ABC college football, Nessler has seen his share of great players in big games. For him, Harvin is right at the top of the list of players coming out of college in recent years.

“I’d have to say Percy is the most exciting player I’ve covered since Reggie Bush,” Nessler said. “I had the Florida-Florida State game this year and the things that he and Tim Tebow did were just on a different level from everyone else on the field. He’s an electrifying dude and he’s going to be a perfect compliment to Bernard Berrian and Adrian Peterson in that Vikings offense. I think coach Childress is going to have lightning in a purple bottle with Percy Harvin.”

Nessler was on home soil for draft weekend, visiting his alma mater - Minnesota State University, Mankato - to receive a Distinguished Alumni Award. Nessler was one of 12 MSU alums who were recognized for “exceptional achievement and contributions to their professions and communities.”

Nessler attended the Mankato campus in the mid 1970s, graduating in 1977 from the Mavericks mass communications program. A native of St. Charles, MN, the former Vikings radio voice in 1988 and 1989 was teamed with former Vikings TE Stu Voigt to carry Vikings games in those seasons.

From the booth, Nessler has been calling college football for ABC since 1997 and has worked for ESPN as an NBA play-by-play man as well. He called the 2003 NBA Finals and has risen the ranks to the pinnacle of college football broadcasters, now working in a 3-man booth with Bob Griese and Paul Maguire.

Never far from his roots in Southeast Minnesota, Nessler will again play host to a cause close to his heart. The Nessler family will welcome friends to the St. Charles Golf Course in June for the 18th Annual Bob Nessler Memorial Cancer Research Classic in honor of Brad’s father, Bob. Notable guests over the years at the event have been Vikings Scott Studwell and Brad Childress. The event brings Nessler to his hometown for a weekend of socializing and working toward a cure for the brutal disease.