Dailon Huskey Steps Down as St. Al Football Announcer

VICKSBURG, Miss. – After twenty years under the Friday night lights in announcer’s booths across the state, Dailon Huskey is trading in his announcer’s headset for a stadium cushion. His daughter, Darcy, is a sophomore at RCEC, and plays clarinet in Warren Central’s Big Blue Band, and he wants to spend his Friday evenings in the bleachers supporting his daughter.

“I get to see my daughter Darcy play in the Warren Central band on Friday nights, that’s one of the main reason’s I’m doing it,” said Huskey.

Learning the Ropes

Huskey is the program director at 101.3, 104.5 and 92.7, and hosts a weekday morning show on KHits 104.5, The Early Show with Shaggy. He also is a co-host to a French Radio show, Country Music USA, and a wedding DJ.

Not long after he started at River 101.3, Huskey shared an interest in announcing the local games with his mentor and longtime radio personality, Ron Anderson. Anderson gave him a chance and sent him to learn the ropes with Ricky Mitchell and Mark McCoy, the announcers for Warren Central.

“I carried the gear for them, I hooked it up for them, and I’d just sit and watch. Because, what I was doing was learning so that I could do it, and the best way to do that was go in there and be a part of the booth,” said Huskey, “They (Ricky Mitchell and Mark McCoy) taught me and brought me along.”

After a season of learning the ropes with Mitchell and McCoy, Huskey ventured out on his own and began announcing for St. Al the next season.

“I remember listening to games on the radio when I was a kid and thinking that would be cool to do that. Not ever thinking I would ever do that one day,” reflected Huskey, “Some things you dream about, but there’s no way I’ll ever do that, and then Boom, you do. So it was literally every game almost that I was pinching myself thinking ‘I’m really doing this, that’s cool.'”

“The last eight years or so, I was able to call a game and keep up with the stats all by myself,” said Huskey.

Who is Number 7?

Over his tenure as an announcer, Huskey has called games for St. Al, Warren Central, and Vicksburg. His three year tenure announcing Vicksburg High games, as luck would have it, lined up with Malcolm Butler’s sophomore, junior, and senior years as a Gator.

“I got to see him develop into a really good high school football player. By the time he was a senior, it was almost after every game people were asking me ‘who is number 7? That guy’s so good.'” said Huskey, “When you looked down on the field there was no question he was the best player on the field every game he played. I don’t think anyone of us thought he was going to be a Super Bowl hero in the NFL, you can’t look that far ahead.”

His time in the booth also afforded him chances to see other Mississippi football players that would go on to play in the NFL like Cam Akers, and Gardner Minshew.

No Matter What

Over Huskey’s twenty years as sports announcer, he learned that adaptability is key. From tornado warnings, late buses, or even getting lost on the way to the game, he found nothing was guaranteed.

“You can only go into a game so prepared, because you don’t know what’s going to happen. And it will blow your plans right out of the water,” Huskey said.

Huskey has called games in places of all shapes and sizes across the state of Mississippi. He’s done games from the bleachers, the woods, and shared press boxes.

“I’ve had games where I’m sitting in this really nice press box and they are catering food from Outback, and then one time I was sitting in the woods up on a hill in the dark surrounded by spiders. Thankfully I like spiders,” Huskey joked.

Huskey’s critter encounters also include bats in the press box and numerous wasp stings.

“It was almost like something I could count on. Sometime before the game I’m going to get stung by a wasp,” recalled Huskey, “but at the end of the day it’s getting the game on the radio no matter what. No one cares about your excuses, you’ve got to get the game on the radio.”

Every Minute of the Ride

Huskey said he has enjoyed every minute of this ride, and is grateful for the support his wife Jana and his children have given him over the years.

“Essentially I leave at 3:30 in the morning for work. So if I had a football game, I might not get back until 10 at night, sometimes midnight,” said Huskey, “and I don’t get to see my wife and kids that day.”

Once, he didn’t get home from a travel playoff game until 3 a.m., a full twenty four hours away from his family.

“I got home from that game, walked in, laid on my couch and went to sleep, and left the door wide open. Thankfully no one had bad intentions that night,” laughed Huskey, “working from three to three will do that.”

There’s no rest for the weary as the saying goes, and for Huskey, not even Saturdays afforded him any rest after the long Fridays.

“On Saturdays I would turn around and DJ weddings. I’m at a point now where between co-hosting the show in France, doing my normal show on KHits Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., I don’t even know how I fit this in there,” wondered Huskey, “I basically have just gotten used to Sundays being my only day off.”

“I had a whole routine on Fridays that’s going to be super weird now. Just certain things I went about in a certain way. Now when it’s Friday I don’t have to do that,” he added.

Full Circle

Over the years, Huskey has made many fond memories, and never felt like the work was actual work. Being able to reminisce with players turned coach, remembering games of yore, watching legends in the making, and having the fortune of some shared experiences made the time go down smooth.

“When I did Warren Central Football, I was there when they made Josh Morgan the Head Coach. I was teammates with him at Warren Central. Then a few years later I’m doing the coaches show with him, asking him questions before the game. It came full circle in that respect,” recalled Huskey.

On the subject of ever returning to the sports announcer seat after his daughter graduates, Huskey said he was unsure.

“I’ll revisit it for sure. It may be different then, I may be Djing less, or whatever the case may be,” he said.

Ryne McCallum will take over duties for Huskey at the St. Al games. McCallum has previously been part of the broadcast team for Porter’s Chapel Academy games.