A packed football calendar can leave little room to catch a breath, and Laura Rutledge knows that all too well. With player interviews, game preparations, and television commitments piling up, even an evening at home turned into work, offering a glimpse into the demanding routine behind ESPN’s football coverage.
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“So I was texting with the Bills PR person because next week, this coming Monday, we’ve got Bills-Vikings,” Rutledge said on the Hey Fightin’ Podcast on November 6. “So setting up interviews with players, making sure that’s all ready to go. I mean, that’s like a very quick turn of the page, right? And then also texting with Michael Bonnett here at LSU to set up player interviews for this game. And then the Bills got back to me, and they were like, Hey, we’re going to do it at this time.”
“Michael got back to me. I interviewed T.J. Dottery. I got back home and then was cooking dinner and then stepped away from dinner to go interview T.J. and then had the Bills players the next day in the middle of NFL Live prep and then also in the middle of Alabama calls. So I jumped off the Alabama calls to do the Bills player calls, then got back on the Alabama calls, and then hosted NFL Live.”
Rutledge’s typical weekly work schedule splits her time between college football and the NFL. She hosts NFL Live from Tuesday to Friday, works college football sidelines on Saturdays, and also reports on Monday Night Football. This particular week was extremely hectic for her.
While preparing for the upcoming LSU game, she was also coordinating player interviews with the Buffalo Bills ahead of their Monday matchup against the Minnesota Vikings. The workload followed her home: she recalled pausing dinner to interview LSU’s T.J. Dottery. The interview times were set by team contacts, not by Rutledge, and with game-week deadlines closing in, Dottery’s slot could not be moved. That is what pulled her away from dinner.
The weekend has very important matchups, which will either make or break College Football Playoff dreams for many programs. Out of those are Alabama and LSU, who are both sitting at 6-2 this season.
Rutledge has gotten used to this lifestyle now, not getting any days off during the season. Earlier in October, she did not get to rest on weekends after she had two separate appearances. She returned to the University of Florida, her alma mater, for its Homecoming events on October 9. Then she traveled to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to cover the Georgia-Alabama game from the sidelines on October 10.
Her trip overlapped with Hurricane Isaias, which was affecting parts of the Southeast. Reporters like Rutledge travel, prepare, set up interviews, and deliver live coverage. Viewers usually see the finished broadcast, not all the work required to make it happen.
Fans praised her dedication. A story she reposted on Instagram on October 12 carried the reaction
“Laura finished her Gator Growl skit and immediately drove through the night – & through a hurricane (!) to get to Tuscaloosa. No one works harder,” read the caption.
For Rutledge, a dinner interrupted for an interview is simply part of the job. Her week of Bills calls, LSU and Alabama prep, and NFL Live is the kind of unseen work that goes into every broadcast, and with a Monday night game and a big college football Saturday ahead, there is little sign of a slowdown.