Mason Zandi is coming home. Instead of playing, the former Chapin High and University of South Carolina offensive lineman will appear Friday at Cecil Wool-bright Field as a color TV commentator.

He will be paired with longtime sports personality and play-by-play analyst Stacey Hough for the 5th season of WACH Fox Sonic Friday Night Rivals telecast of high school games.

For Zandi, it’s part of a career transition.

After playing 49 games with the Gamecocks, he signed a free agent contract with the Los Angeles Chargers after graduation. He spent last school year as a Palmetto Prep Academy offensive line coach.

This past July, WACH 57 announced Zandi’s hiring for its 5th season of high school football.

After debuting this past Friday with the call of the Lugoff-Elgin/Westwood game, Zandi is headed back to familiar territory. It’s the site of the Game of the Week between Chapin and longtime rival Mid-Carolina.

Q. Lets talk about the transitions you made from playing, to coaching and now broadcasting.

A. Yes, it’s about being around the game. That’s the big thing. Coaching was a great opportunity. I really enjoyed it but I still want to stay around the game as much as possible.

Q. How does working on tv allow you to do this?

A. Just being able to get around our community, involve myself with a lot of the young people that play football and be able to share some of the knowledge that I learned through my years of playing.

Q. How did this opportunity come about?

A. WACH presented the idea. I thought it was a great opportunity. It fits with my lifestyle at the moment. I thought it would be something worthwhile.

Q. How much will it help to work with a veteran media personality like Stacey Hough?

A. He’s going to be an extremely valuable asset. Learning what it takes behind the camera from somebody with his experience, it’s definitely going to make the transition easier.

Q. Looking at the schedule, which games are you excited about?

A. I’m excited about seeing my hometown team Chapin. Coach Justin Gentry is a good friend. He’s been a mentor for many years. I’m just really excited to get back in my hometown and really call that game.

Q. What makes this a unique program?

A. It is the community and that’s what I think is a unique aspect. It’s really rewarding to give back to our community and highlight things on and off the field.

Q. How do you think center Hank Manos of Chapin High will do in his first full season with the Gamecocks?

A. Hank is a guy that I’ve followed since he was in high school. He’s got tremendous body strength. He’s really worked on his footwork for the last few years and he has a natural grit and aggression that’s going to bode well.

Q. And what do you see for South Carolina football?

A. I see opportunity. You play 3 of the Top 5 teams in the country (Alabama, Georgia and Clemson), I think that you’ve got a great opportunity to go out and prove that you have a veteran-led team with quarterback Jake Bentley. You have the opportunity to prove a lot of people wrong.