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Morgan and Zeigler Provide Double Coverage

The life of an intern… Most of us remember having such a gig. Make copies, fax documents, answer phones and occasionally get an interesting assignment. Can’t you remember it like it was yesterday?

Well… Josh Morgan and Dominique Zeigler certainly can. That’s because it was yesterday for them. Literally.

But the pair of blossoming 49ers wide receivers haven’t signed up for your typical apprenticeship.  They finished up another day of their offseason internships at Comcast SportsNet Bay Area on Tuesday night, helping out in the production of Chronicle Live. They also appeared as guests on the show. Host Greg Papa even let Morgan do the interviewing.

The internship idea first came up when Morgan approached 49ers Director of Player Development Ty Knott about getting involved in broadcasting. From there, Knott found an opportunity that worked best with Morgan’s busy offseason schedule.

Once a “special” unpaid internship opportunity arose, Morgan jumped at the chance to learn more about sports broadcasting. And after hearing from his teammate on the quality of his experience, Zeigler asked to be an intern at Comcast as well.

Now, both wideouts are assisting Comcast SportsNet at various sporting events in the Bay Area and have photo credentials with their names written on them to prove it. They visit Comcast headquarters once a week to take part in the special internship.

“It’s been great so far,” Morgan said. “We did the pregame show for the (Oakland) A’s – I was one of the stage managers. I had the headset on, counting the hosts down, five, four, three… all that.”

In addition to getting up close experience in the production of various sports telecasts, the players are getting a better understanding of the business and ultimately if it’s something they’d like to pursue after their football careers.

“I like sports a lot, so getting to find out how they make highlights was great for me,” Zeigler said. “It was pretty neat getting to be back there with the production people. I didn’t know it really took that much just to make a 30-minute show. There’s a lot of yelling if things don’t go right, because if one person is telling someone to “cue B” and he cues “A,” then maybe it messes up the next six clips.”

Just like how football players depend on the other 10 players on the field to execute the coach’s play call?

“Exactly. It might look like they’re just doing TV, but there’s a lot of work that they put into it,” Zeigler said.

The players won’t have too much availability as the offseason rolls along. The duo only have four weeks left in their broadcasting crash course, but will value each new experience as they come.

“Next week we’re going to work on the camera stuff and it’s just a good experience,” Zeigler added. “If you have all day to lift weights, might as well to do something at the end of the day.”

Zeigler’s passion for all sports has rubbed off on Morgan throughout the process. Morgan, a self-described football and basketball lover has opened up room in his heart for other sports because of his internship.

“I don’t know a whole lot, but I’m learning about hockey and baseball. I’ve always been into basketball and football and that type of stuff,” Morgan said. “Zeigler is teaching me a lot about baseball. I’m learning on the run.”

Being on the run shouldn’t be too difficult for Morgan. After all, it’s a big part of his current job.