by Travis Normand

Okay, so the press release from ESPN doesn’t say that Samantha Steele is actually replacing Erin Andrews.  However, College Gameday did have a vacancy due to Andrews’ departure and Samantha Steele does look strikingly similar to EA.  I guess this means that EA wasn’t as great/unique as some thought she was.

July 18, 2012

Samantha Steele Joins College GameDay on ESPNU

Samantha Steele will join the first hour (9 – 10 a.m. ET) of College GameDay Built by The Home Depot on ESPNU each Saturday this college football season. In addition, she will provide features and updates for the 10 a.m. – noon hours of GameDay on ESPN.

Alongside host Chris Fowler and analysts Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, Desmond Howard and David Pollack, Steele will preview the week’s best matchups, teams and storylines from the site of that weekend’s biggest game. She will travel to GameDay at the conclusion of the ESPN Thursday Night Football game, where it was announced earlier this month she will serve as the sideline reporter with the booth of Rece Davis and analysts Jessie Palmer and Pollack, who will also be in his first year with the Thursday night crew.

“In a short time, Samantha has established herself as a credible host and reporter,” said Lee Fitting, ESPN senior coordinating producer. “Her enthusiasm, energy and connections within the college football landscape will be a great addition to our already deep and talented lineup.”

Prior to this role, Steele had been a reporter for Longhorn Network. Her LHN replacement will be announced in the coming weeks.

Samantha Steele’s Official Website:    http://samanthasteele.com/