Jim Brandstatter Jim Brandstatter is an award - winning American sportscaster based in Southeastern Michigan . He is currently the radio color commentator for the Detroit Lions and Michigan Wolverines football teams . Brandstatter is also a sports television show host and radio show host ; both shows are about Michigan football . He played college football for the Wolverines , where he was a standout offensive tackle . Brandstatter has written two non - fiction books about his experiences as a player , both of which were best - sellers in the sports category . His other positions include the two - time president of the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association . Early life . Childhood and family . Brandstatter was born and raised in East Lansing , Michigan , the home of Michigan State University . He was one of 5 boys . His father Art Brandstatter , Sr . was named an All - American fullback for the Spartans football team in 1936 . His father went on to become a Detroit Police officer and later a chairman of the Michigan State University School of Criminal Justice . Sports career . He was an offensive tackle on the Michigan Wolverines football team from 1969 - 1971 during Coach Bo Schembechler ' s first three seasons . Brandstatter later noted one of his favorite memories as a player came in a 1971 victory against Michigan State . Brandstatter recalled , " That was as good as it gets . " He added : " Bo ( Schembechler ) used to say and ( offensive line coach ) Jerry Hanlon might say , I may have played my best game ever as a collegian in that game . " Hanlon said about Brandstatter : " He got so fired up , he took over every defender that came his way . " He added " It was one of the best games a tackle played for me . That particular game , he was an All - American . " Brandstatter made the All Big Ten team in 1971 and played in 2 Rose Bowl s , during his time with Michigan ( 1970 and 1972 ) . Broadcasting career . Television . After graduating from the University of Michigan in 1972 , Brandstatter was hired as the sports director of WEYI - TV in the Flint / Tri - Cities area . In 1975 , Brandstatter got a job at WILX - TV in the Lansing / Jackson area . After two - and - a - half years , Brandstatter moved to Detroit and became a sports producer for WDIV . In 1980 , while working at WDIV , Brandstatter became the host of " Michigan Replay " , a weekly half hour discussion , interview , and highlights program about Michigan Wolverines football . It originally featured his former head coach Bo Schembechler ( until 1989 ) . It later included former head coaches Gary Moeller ( 1990 – 1994 ) , Lloyd Carr ( 1995 – 2007 ) , and Rich Rodriguez ( 2008 – 2010 ) . It currently includes head coach Brady Hoke ( 2011 – present ) . In 2008 , its name was changed to " Inside Michigan Football " ( in honor of the retirement of coach Lloyd Carr ) . After 30 years , Brandstatter remains the original host and the show has grown from being seen only in Southeastern Michigan to available nationwide on cable and satellite . Radio . Former show . Brandstatter formerly hosted a weekly college football radio show , called " Brandy and Bo " with Coach Bo Schembechler . Brandy and Bo talked with coaches previewing upcoming games and discussed issues facing collegiate football . The show ended after Schembechler ' s death in 2006 . Current roles and programs . He can be heard analyzing his alma mater ' s football games on on the Michigan Wolverines Football Radio Network , a role he has served in since the mid - 1980s . On the broadcasts he teams with play - by - play man Frank Beckmann and sideline reporter Doug Karsch . Since 1987 , Brandstatter has been analyzing National Football League games on the Detroit Lions Radio Network , currently teaming with play - by - play man Dan Miller and sideline reporter Tony Ortiz . Brandstatter also hosts the syndicated weekly " Brady Hoke Radio Show " , along with Doug Karsch and varying assistant coaches and players , during the college football season . It is similar to " Inside Michigan Football " except it is broadcast live . He also appears on special football related radio programs such as Detroit radio station WXYT - FM ' s " NFL Draft Day Special " as a football analyst . Other . Besides football , he has broadcast golf on the Michigan Open Golf Championship radio and television network , and was an associate producer on the ' Ameritech Showdown ' , the Emmy Award winning telecast of the state ' s PGA Skins game tournament . Awards and honors . Brandstatter has twice served as the president of the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association . In 2004 and 2008 , Brandstatter was named “ Sportscaster of the Year in Michigan ” by the National Sportscasters / Sportswriters Association . In 2006 , Brandstatter was named by the DSBA as the Ty Tyson Award winner for Excellence in Sports Broadcasting in Michigan . " Brandy and Bo " twice won Michigan Association of Broadcasters ‘ Best in Category ’ honors . " Michigan Replay / Inside Michigan Football " has been nominated for Michigan Emmy Awards . Free - lance work . During the off - season , Brandstatter runs Jim Brandstatter , Inc . , a freelance company in which he can be hired for public speaking engagements , event hosting , voice - overs and local commercials . Author . Brandstatter has written two nonfiction books about Michigan Wolverines football : " Tales from Michigan Stadium " ( published in 2002 ) and " Tales from Michigan Stadium : Volume II " ( published in 2007 ) . Both books became bestsellers in the sports category . Personal life . Brandstatter ' s wife Robbie Timmons has also been in broadcasting ; she recently retired as the weekday news anchor on WXYZ - TV in Detroit , and was the first woman to anchor the evening news in America when she began her career in 1972 at WILX - TV in Lansing . They met in the mid - 1970s while working together at WILX - TV . Timmons graduated from Ohio State University , Michigan ' s fierce arch - rival .