Former Pitt quarterback Max Browne eager to call Pitt's game at Boston College for The CW

In the moment, the torn labrum in Max Browne’s throwing shoulder hurt. Of course, it did.

But the immense physical pain was only part of his story. He hurt personally for himself and collectively for the Pitt team of which he was the starting quarterback.

Yet the injury might have indirectly pointed Browne toward his current career as the lead color commentator for The CW’s college football games. That will be his job Saturday in Chestnut Hill, Mass., when Pitt, his former team, plays Boston College.

The life-changing date in question was Oct. 7, 2017. The site was the Carrier Dome, with Pitt playing Syracuse in the season’s sixth game.

Syracuse’s 260-pound defensive lineman Alton Robinson drove Browne to the turf, ending his season. Sadly, the injury occured one week after Browne had crafted one of the most productive and efficient games by a quarterback in Pitt history. He completed 28 of 32 passes — three incompletions were dropped — for an 88% completion rate, with 410 yards and four touchdowns against Rice at Heinz Field.

Three weeks later, coach Pat Narduzzi handed him a mic and told him to provide play-by-play at an off-week scrimmage for freshmen and other young players inside Pitt’s practice facility.

With his arm in sling, he remembers calling out, “Thomas MacVittie drops back, 10-yard pass to Quadree Henderson, first down for the Pitt offense.”

“I was kind of joking around,” he said.

It’s no joke today, though. Pitt-Boston College will be Browne’s 15th game of 2024, and he’ll conclude his season Dec. 28 with the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl in Tucson.

“It planted the seed of like, ‘Hey, whenever the football days end, I want to give this commentating thing a run.’”

At one time, Browne was one of most promising high school quarterbacks in the nation, named Gatorade National Football Player of the Year and Parade All-American, among many other accolades. After graduating from Skyline (Wash.) High School, he went to USC before transferring to Pitt in 2017 for his final season of eligibility.

In the wake of the injury, he went down swinging. He endured 15 months of rehab before attending Pitt’s Pro Day in 2018 and getting invitations to several NFL minicamps that he was forced to skip because of the shoulder. Eventually, he worked out for the Washington Commanders and Pittsburgh Steelers.

“I walked out of those workouts and kind of knew that was probably the end of the road for me,” he said.

Yet Browne is not cursing his misfortune.

“I don’t want this story to be, ‘I got screwed by an injury,’ because that’s not what it is,” he said.

He was at peace then and moreso now.

Browne, 29, who worked in commercial real estate for 2½ years, lives in Santa Monica, Calif., with his wife Victoria, a former USC volleyball player who has a significant social media presence in the areas of women’s body image and mental health.

“She has a much bigger following than me,” Browne said.

Another Paul Skenes/Livvy Dunne partnership, perhaps?

“Something similar, a much smaller version,” he said, “with no NL Rookie of the Year award.”

These days, Browne looks back fondly on his short time at Pitt. He played for five head coaches in college, but Narduzzi was the only one to reach out with congratulations on his wedding weekend. Pitt associate athletic directors Chris LaSala and E.J. Borghetti send him annual birthday greetings.

“Little things like that mean a lot,” Browne said.

He ran into Narduzzi four months ago at ACC Media Days in Charlotte N.C.

“It was the first time I’ve seen him in six or seven years. He was wearing his big ACC championship ring and I made some comment like, ‘Sorry I wasn’t able to get you one of those.’”

Without hesitation, Narduzzi answered, “Sorry, we weren’t able to protect you (in the Syracuse game).”

Browne still thinks about what might have occurred in 2017 under more fortunate circumstances.

“Nothing that keeps me up at night, but definitely,” he said, listing the names of eight players on that 5-7 team who have gone on to earn NFL paychecks.

Browne said he has been an “Xs and Os junkie” for many years. Now, he uses that knowledge to earn a living.

“I feel really confident in my ability to bring high-level Xs and Os and distill them down to the everyday football fan on the couch,” he said. “What are both coordinators trying to do from a scheme standpoint? That sometimes gets lost in broadcasts. I hope it doesn’t in the games that I call. I take a lot of pride in that aspect.”

Clearly, he loves his job.

“Calling games in the booth is my North Star,” he said.

Part of a commentator’s duties in the days leading up to a game involve studying both teams and speaking to the head coaches. He spent an hour on the phone Wednesday with Narduzzi, a conversation distinctly different from the ones the two men used to have seven years ago.

“I’m kind of a nostalgic guy,” Browne said. “So, it’s almost like a full-circle moment, just kind of a cool checkpoint in my life and my career. It doesn’t feel like that long ago that I was putting on the pads for him and you blink and seven, eight years go by.”