The biggest moves can be measured in a few feet.

It is Robin at the steering wheel of the Batmobile, Rooster replacing Maverick at the Boeing Super Hornet’s controls, and John Veneri narrating radio broadcasts of University of Hawaii football games.

“I have a full range of emotions,” Veneri said of his move from color analyst to play-by-play announcer for KKEA’s broadcasts this football season. “I’m excited, but a little nervous because it is a main position. But I’m excited to do it.”

Bobby Curran called UH football games for 32 years and 406 broadcasts. But Curran, who recently signed a three-year extension with the station, decided to step away from football broadcasts because of health issues. Curran will continue to serve as host of a popular morning radio show and call UH men’s basketball games.

Veneri’s interest in the play-by-play job was somewhat surprising, mostly because he appeared to be comfortable in a supporting role.

Veneri’s hang-loose, fun-loving demeanor belies a drive fueled with the fear of failing, of letting down others. He was genetically built to make others feel better. “I wasn’t shy as a kid,” he said. “I was a class clown.”

As a UH slotback with quick feet and quicker wit, Veneri filled passing routes and reporters’ notebooks. His dead-on impersonation of head coach Bob Wagner was the hit of the Rainbow Warriors’ talent shows each training camp in the 1990s. A year after he completed his UH eligibility, former teammates invited him to revive his Wagner. He never impersonated offensive coordinator Paul Johnson, who was in charge of his playing time.

Soon after earning a degree in 1995, Veneri joined KHON’s “Hawaii Sports Final,” a weekly show focused on local events and personalities. Learning from cohorts and mentors Bob Hogue and Ron Mizutani, Veneri eventually ascended to KHON sports director. But the coat-and-tie attire starched his aloha-shirt personality.

“I heard those things, and it bothered me,” Veneri said. “There’s a certain respect you have to give the position … there’s a certain seriousness when you’re doing the news.”

KHON then started a “Go, Johnny, Go” side segment in which Veneri was videoed doing different tasks, such as performing in a kids’ ballet and cleaning the elephant’s cage at the Honolulu Zoo. After handling the station’s marketing for seven years through 2017, he returned to the airwaves as co-host of KHON’s “Living808” and “Sam Choy’s in the Kitchen.”

“He’s very quick,” Choy said of Veneri’s one-liners. “I’m so blessed to have him as part of my team.”

Veneri said those shows “allow me to be me more. I don’t feel so stuffy.”

After working as a sideline reporter for UH football broadcasts for 14 years, Veneri has been the color commentator the past 12 seasons. His role allows him to blend analysis with humorous observations.

Veneri, who turns 50 in September, said it was time to pursue the lead role. Veneri did play-by-play announcing last October after Curran suffered altitude-related, oxygen-intake problems in a game in Reno, Nev. Veneri earned widespread praise for his narration.

Of this opening, Veneri said, “I felt this was the next step. This is what I wanted to do. Instead of turning over the reins, I would take it myself.”

Veneri, a self-styled tech geek, welcomes the preparation for a game. For “Living808,” he researches for hours to create casual conversations with guests.

For Choy’s show, meals are prepared using only ingredients in chosen viewers’ homes. Ahead of the five to seven hours of filming, Veneri will meet with the families. “If you’re a local guy and a crew comes into your house,” Choy said, “you’re going to be like, ‘Is everything clean?’ John wipes that all out. He goes in earlier. John makes them feel so comfortable. That’s the joy of John. He has a knack with words and people.”

Veneri said he has personal ties with members of the UH coaching staff and administration. But he said he will not hesitate to provide observational critiques, based on his football background.

“My responsibility is to deliver what’s happening on the field to the listeners,” Veneri said.

He said he will adhere to the basics: describe the action, frequently mention the score and time, and allow his color analyst — his brother Mark Veneri — freedom of expression. “I have a certain plan I have to follow, and that’s the play by play,” Veneri said. “Where it deviates, I haven’t quite figured out yet.”

While UH football broadcasts draw thousands of listeners, Veneri is targeting Harriet Veneri.

“I have always set a rule for myself, and that is to make it understandable for my 95-year-old grandmother,” Veneri said. “And for anybody who doesn’t quite understand football the way we do, I want them to understand and follow the game just as much as the person who loves football and has followed it forever. That one rule is my only rule right now.”

Former UH quarterback Michael Carter said: “John Veneri was made for this. He was an entertainer from the first day I met him (as Warriors teammates). He could hold a crowd, the toughest of crowds, big strong people like Taase Faumui and Maa Tanuvasa. They would sit there and laugh at his jokes. … There’s no better person. The Hawaii people are going to get what it is. He will tell you exactly what happened.”