ESPN football analyst Tim Hasselbeck learned a thing or two about the logistics of starting a new job in his first profession.
Hasselbeck, part of a famous New England football family that includes father Don (ex-Patriot tight end) and brother Matt (20-year NFL quarterback and fellow current ESPN analyst), spent seven seasons as a quarterback in or on the fringes of the NFL.
In those seven years (2001-07), he actually played for four teams, 12 games total, including five starts, all for the 2003 Washington Redskins. But he was with seven teams, not including his time with the Berlin Thunder of NFL Europe.
One could say that, as a player, he put the journey in journeyman. His new wide-ranging role at ESPN, where he has worked since 2008, is going to be something of new journey too.
Hasselbeck, a 2001 Boston College graduate and two-year starter at quarterback for the Eagles, will be part of ESPN’s college football coverage this season as well as continuing his NFL studio work.
“I wasn’t sure I’d have to learn a bunch of 19-year-olds’ names,’’ he said with a laugh, “but that’s what I’m doing.”
He will serve as a color analyst alongside play-by-play voice Dave O’Brien (best known around here as NESN’s Red Sox play-by-play broadcaster) on ACC Network broadcasts this season. The ACC Network, owned by ESPN, officially launched Thursday night.
Meanwhile, he’ll continue to have prominence on the network’s NFL studio programming, including “NFL Live,” “NFL PrimeTime,” and “SportsCenter.”
“I’ll continue to do the stuff I’ve been doing [with the NFL],’’ he said. “And maybe calling college games after a while becomes more routine. I’ll give you an example. I have Virginia twice within the first three weeks of the season, so hopefully the second time around I’ll be a little more ready to talk about Virginia.
“Whereas doing ‘SportsCenter’ on Sunday morning, or recapping the Sunday NFL games or something on ‘NFL Primetime,’ those are things that I’ve been doing for a while and have a pretty good routine down.”
The prep for his college football work is daunting, in part because there are so many players to learn, let alone the styles and strategies of the various teams.
“So the first game I’ve got is Georgia Tech-Clemson,’’ he said. “Clemson is obviously unique in that a lot of people know about them, even the casual fan, whereas Georgia Tech, obviously the program is in a different spot.
“There’s a lot to learn when you have rosters of 100 kids and there’s a lot of changeover. There’s a lot of that that goes into it, and the hope for me is that when Dave says ‘No. 22 makes a tackle,’ I’m able to talk about, ‘Hey, that’s a converted running back and they’ve asked him to move to that spot.’ ’’
Hasselbeck analogized the quest to learn what he needs to know as a college football broadcaster to something he faced in his NFL playing days.
“I liken it a little to joining a team in the middle of the season,’’ said Hasselbeck, whose college football contributions in the past usually focused on the NFL Draft. “People talk about how you have to learn an offense, and the truth of the matter is, look, you have to learn where the meeting rooms are and like, where you go to the bathroom, what’s the equipment guy’s name?
“There are just so many of those things that once you get settled and comfortable in your environment, then hopefully you can just kind of be yourself and talk about the game, because that’s really what it’s about.”
There is at least one logistical challenge in his new dual role: the travel.
“Some of these ACC schools aren’t super easy to get to,” he said, “and then getting from Charlottesville [Va.] to Bristol [Conn.] before kickoffs on Sunday is not that easy.”
Hasselbeck’s own college career mostly overlapped with Tom Brady’s, who is a year his senior. Hasselbeck said Brady’s statistics might be down somewhat this year without Rob Gronkowski at his disposal, but he still expects him to excel in his usual ways.
“Guys that are as good as he is don’t fall off a cliff, because there’s too many redeeming qualities about their game,’’ he said. “If they’re losing arm strength, sometimes that happens, sure, but he’s also so smart and plays with such good anticipation that that’s OK if it happens to him.
“I think the only way where it can change is with an injury. You look at Brett Favre in his last year, who had an issue with a biceps injury and his arm strength was one of his best qualities. You know, Peyton [Manning] with the neck injury, it really limited his arm strength. But he still played winning football after that.
“Unless there’s an injury, there’s no doubt [Brady] can play at a level that will certainly help you win Super Bowls into his 40s.
“It’s crazy because I’m a year younger than him and I can’t stay healthy coaching fifth- and sixth-grade football. If my brother and I played Horse, we would both be hurt. It’s remarkable that he can stay healthy like this, but it’s a tribute to what he puts into it.”
Chad Finn can be reached at finn@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeChadFinn.