These are good times for Joey Galloway.

And quite busy times, too.

But, it’s just the way the Bellaire Big Reds graduate likes it.

That’s been the case since his prep days in Bellaire. The calendar reads August and Galloway finds himself getting ready for another football season.

In a slightly different capacity, but the preparation remains the same.

After taking some time out of his jam-packed schedule to take part in the inaugural ‘Alumni Bowl’ last week at St. Clairsville’s Red Devil Stadium, Galloway is getting back to work to prepare for the upcoming college football season, which will be his fourth season in the broadcasting realm, working for ESPN.

“I was born to play football and that was just going to happen for me, but this ESPN thing is fun and it’s new,” Galloway said. “I’m learning every time I work.”

Progressing from a guy who was concerned that he’d use “we” or “us” if he had the opportunity to call an Ohio State game, Galloway received a promotion from the World Wide Leader in Sports during the offseason and will be working in the studio this season along with Danny Kanell.

“I am excited to go into the studio, work with some great people and continue to show myself how I was raised and how I was brought up,” Galloway said. “Hopefully, I can speak intelligently and not make a fool out of myself.”

Though he still resides in Columbus, Galloway will find himself in Bristol, Connecticut a lot, too.

Galloway will will work on College Football Final, which was hosted last season by Rece Davis and featured analysts Mark May, who had a tendancy to fire up the Ohio State fanbase, and Ohio Valley native Lou Holtz.

After working with and spending time with May, Galloway shot down the idea that May is simply an Ohio State hater like many Buckeye fans want to believe.

“I had a chance to work with Mark down at the championship game and he’s a great guy,” Galloway said. “He enjoyed the back-and-forth with the Ohio State fans as much as the fans enjoyed giving it to him. It was fortunate that Ohio State won, so they had the last word, but he definitely enjoys the banter.”

It’s kind of ironic that an Ohio Valley native is going to step in and fill the spot vacated by another Ohio Valley native as is the case with Galloway and Holtz, who is an East Liverpool graduate.

“I am sad to see Coach Holtz go,” Galloway admitted. “I really enjoyed when I got a chance to work with him toward the end of the season. He’s still sharp as a tack. After getting a chance to work with him, I am sad to see him (retire).”

Galloway played a big role in ESPN’s coverage leading up to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, making several appearances on SportsCenter and the like.

He got his feet wet for the upcoming season already by working on several platforms from SEC Media Days, which were held last month in Alabama.

“Those were fun because it’s good to see how the SEC does its media days,” Galloway said. “Believe me, it is a circus. Everyone of those coaches comes in and you’d think the President was on his way. It’s great to see and you see why the SEC gets so much respect from top to bottom.”

Galloway will be on the ESPN campus Tuesday for a taping and then the following week he and several college football analysts begin their campus bus tours, which will take them to places such as Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, USC, UCLA, Baylor, TCU, Auburn and Alabam.

“We have to cover those all in one week,” Galloway said. “It’s about to get real.”

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Galloway knows he will spend Sept. 18 and 19 in Columbus since he’ll be inducted into the Ohio State University Athletic Hall of Fame.

While Galloway has never been one to toot his own horn about individual accolades, he called it a “great honor that he’s happy to accept.”

Actually, Galloway kind of looks at the award as one for the entire area since he’s been so humbled over the years with the amount of support he’s received from the entire Ohio Valley.

“It’s great being from the Ohio Valley because the support here, regardless of where I’ve been, has always been terrific,” Galloway said. “It makes me happier for the people of the Ohio Valley to have a guy go into the (OSU) hall of fame than it does me personally.”

Making the event even sweeter is the fact that Galloway won’t be the only Ohio Valley native going in that day. Follansbee High graduate Tim Anderson is also part of the Class of 2015, which will be inducted during a ceremony on Friday, Sept. 18 and then formally recognized during the Northern Illinois game.

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Part of what Galloway has always found impressive about the people of the Ohio Valley is how passionate they are for football as it’s being played, but they’re also able to put rivalries aside to root on one of their own.

Galloway experienced that first hand during his 16-year NFL career that saw him 701 passes for 10,950 yards while playing for Seattle, Dallas, Tampa Bay, New England and Washington.

“The rivalries you have in high school make you closer when you leave,” Galloway said.

Obviously, Bellaire and Martins Ferry are ancient rivals, but Galloway fondly told a story about when he reached out to Purple Riders’ head coach Dave Bruney to see if he could work out on the newly installed turf at the now named Dave Bruney Football Complex during a time when he was in town.

“Coach Bruney came down, unlocked the field for me and allowed me to go out there and run,” Galloway said. “Some of the Ferry players came out and worked out with me. That kind of stuff is special because that’s beyond competing against one another. That is ‘we’re happy for you and happy to see what you’re doing,’ so I’ve always been proud to represent the valley.”

SETH’S SCOOPS

• A WIDELY known auto racing fan, Galloway will serve as the grand marshall at Mid-Ohio Speedway today in Lexington for the Honda 200 Indy Car race.

• BRIDGEPORT senior-to-be Caitlyn Kroll landed her first Division I basketball offer from Saint Francis last week.

• THE TIMES Leader’s annual Pigskin Preview publishes on Aug. 25. The golf preview runs next Sunday. Volleyball will be contained in the Saturday, Aug. 22 edition, while soccer and cross country will run on Aug. 23.