Off Camera With. . . Randy Scott

Randy Scott ( Joe Faraoni/ESPN Images)
Randy Scott (Joe Faraoni/ESPN Images)

Editor’s note: Welcome to Off Camera with. . ., a Front Row series that introduces you to some of the studio anchors who have recently joined ESPN. Today, we meet Randy Scott, a studio host and SportsCenter anchor who joined ESPN in June of 2012.

Something we don’t know about you: I can do semi-decent impressions — Bill Clinton, Bill Cosby, George W. Bush, Christopher Walken, Harry Caray and Matthew McConaughey. The only ones I’ve ever used in a highlight are Cosby and McConaughey, both for Texas football highlights. There was a receiver named Quan Cosby at UT for awhile, and McConaghey is a Longhorns super fan. I tried my hand at standup comedy when I was living in Tampa, Fla. The high-water mark came in my second night on stage at the Improv in Ybor City. I won a newcomer contest, $100 for five minutes, and told my wife I thought maybe I could do that for a career. She informed me I was, in fact, incorrect.

How did you choose your profession?: When my family finally settled in the Washington, D.C., area after moving around the country because of my dad’s service in the Navy, I remember watching Warner Wolf on the local CBS affiliate and George Michael on the local NBC affiliate. We didn’t have cable TV in our house, so I didn’t “grow up” with ESPN; watching these two lions was how I watched highlights for the first time.

Do you have pets? If so, what are their names?: Cali, aka Cali the Wonder Dog, aka CaliGirl, a Jack Russell/beagle/princess mix my family had passed away a couple years ago. It’s kind of made me nervous about getting another dog.

You know that Google commercial where the Mom texts her son at college and tells him he needs to get home because his dog, Boomer, is really sick and he needs to say goodbye? My mom did the same thing for me with Cali. I flew home from Boston, took her for a walk, spoiled her with treats and the “people food” she was never allowed to have (that I snuck her anyway). I could only come home for a night, but I got to say goodbye to this friend I’d had from ages 16 to 30. She’s just set the bar so high for another dog, plus that ending was brutal.

ESPN audition memories: The interview/audition process is different for everyone, but one theme I’ve come to realize is just how long of a day it is. . . I thought I was nearing the home stretch. I was with [ESPN Talent Office executive assistant] Susan Landry, my guide and shepherd for the day, just inside the security doors in Building 4 — doors I didn’t know could open automatically when pressed from the other side. My back was to the doors, and I was turning around to walk through them – without looking – and smacked the side of my head into an opening door. Several people could see and hear it happen. Susan seemed legitimately concerned. I was legitimately embarrassed.

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