 Herbstreit in 2024 | |
| Ohio State Buckeyes – No. 4 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | (1969-08-19)August 19, 1969 (age 55) Hamilton, Ohio, U.S.[1] |
| Career history | |
| College |
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| Bowl games |
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| High school | Centerville (Centerville, Ohio) |
Kirk Edward Herbstreit (/ˈhɜːrbstriːt/; born August 19, 1969)[2] is an Americansportscaster and formercollege football player. He serves as an analyst forESPN'sCollege GameDay, a television program covering college football, and providescolor commentary on college football games on ESPN andABC and Thursday nightNFL games onPrime Video. For his TV work, Herbstreit has won fiveSports Emmy Awards in various categories. He appeared annually as a commentator inEA Sports'NCAA Football video game series, including after a ten-year hiatus.
From 1989 to 1993, Herbstreit played football as aquarterback for theOhio State Buckeyes. He played in several games his junior season, and was the starting quarterback throughout his senior season.
Herbstreit graduated fromCenterville High School inCenterville, Ohio, a suburb ofDayton. As a quarterback for the Elks, he was the Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior. He also was a standout basketball and baseball player.
Herbstreit was the first player to commit to theOhio State Buckeyes after the hiring ofJohn Cooper ashead coach in 1988. Herbstreit was a four-year letterman as aquarterback atOhio State University from 1989 to 1993. After waiting his turn behindGreg Frey andKent Graham, Herbstreit finally led the team as a senior in1992. That year, he was a co-captain (along withlinebackerSteve Tovar) and voted team MVP. Herbstreit passed for 1,904 yards that season, including four 200-plus-yard games, before losing to theGeorgia Bulldogs in theFlorida Citrus Bowl. Herbstreit set the Ohio State record for pass completions (28) in therivalry game againstMichigan, throwing for 271 yards in a 13–13 tie in 1992. The record stood until 2006, when it was broken by Heisman Trophy winnerTroy Smith.[3] Herbstreit graduated from Ohio State in 1993 with adegree in business administration.
Herbstreit's father, Jim Herbstreit, was a co-captain (along withoffensive tackleJim Tyrer) of the1960 Ohio State team, and later an assistant coach at Ohio State underWoody Hayes. When Herbstreit was named co-captain in 1992,[4] the two became only the second father-and-son duo to have each been Ohio State captains. (James andJeff Davidson were the first in 1989;Pepper andDionte Johnson became the third in 2007.)
He also is known for a 2009 case in which he sued the IRS for changing an implied policy of allowing deductions for house donations to the fire department for training purposes.[5]
Herbstreit is actively involved in multiple charities including the Buckeye Cruise for Cancer[6] and The Make A Wish Foundation Ultimate Sports Auction.[7]
He has lent his name to the Kirk Herbstreit National Kickoff Classic inColumbus, Ohio, andArlington, Texas. According to the website, the Kickoff Classic "pits high school teams from the states of Ohio and Texas against prep football powerhouses from across the nation" over the Labor Day weekend. The games in Ohio are usually held atOhio Stadium, while the games in Texas are held atAT&T Stadium.
Herbstreit joined ESPN in September 1995 as a college football sideline analyst.[8] The following year he joinedCollege GameDay, an ESPN program with which he has become almost synonymous, as a lead analyst. He continues to serve in that role alongside hostRece Davis and fellow analystsDesmond Howard,Pat McAfee,Lee Corso, andNick Saban. He also serves as the lead game analyst for ESPN and ABC, a responsibility that sees him travel to ESPN's biggest game that week forABC Saturday Night Football to call the marquee game alongside formerGameDay host and longtime colleagueChris Fowler and sideline reporterHolly Rowe.
Herbstreit was nominated for a 1997Sports Emmy Award as television's top studio analyst[8] and wrote a weekly in-season column, "Inside The Game With Kirk Herbstreit," forThe Sporting News.
A frequent contributor to ESPN.com andESPN The Magazine,[8] Herbstreit has worked as acolor commentator forESPN's Thursday night college football games.
In July 2007, Herbstreit served as a panelist for the seriesWho's Now alongsideKeyshawn Johnson andMichael Wilbon.[9]
Herbstreit contributes to the97.1 The Fan, anESPN Radio affiliate out ofColumbus, Ohio.
In2018, Herbstreit was announced to replaceJon Gruden for night one of ESPN'sNFL Draft coverage, as Gruden left to return to the then-Oakland, nowLas Vegas Raiders. When ABC picked up rights to air the first two nights of the Draft, Herbstreit moved to ABC's coverage with hisGameDay colleagues.
In 2020, Herbstreit announced the first game of theMonday Night Football Kickoff Week doubleheader alongside Chris Fowler.[10] A week later, Herbstreit and Rece Davis worked a specialMonday Night FootballMegaCast on ESPN2 for the Saints–Raiders game, the first ever NFL game to be played in Las Vegas, on the night in whichMonday Night Football celebrated its 50th anniversary. In 2022, Fowler and Herbstreit again called the first game of anMNF doubleheader, this time during the final week of the2021 season.
On March 23, 2022, Herbstreit was announced as the new color commentator forThursday Night Football onPrime Video, alongside NFL play-by-play announcerAl Michaels.[11] That same day, Herbstreit agreed to an extension of his contract with ESPN to allow him to continue onGameDay, Saturday Night Football, and the NFL Draft, to go along with his new NFL duties for Amazon.
Herbstreit met his wife Alison at Ohio State, where she was a cheerleader.[12] They were married in 1998 and have four sons.[13] The Herbstreits moved from Ohio to Nashville in 2011, but now split time between there and Cincinnati where their youngest son, Chase, plays quarterback forSt. Xavier High School.[14][15] His twin sons, Jake and Tye, were athletes atMontgomery Bell Academy.[16] Tye played football as a walk-on atClemson University;[17] Jake walked on at Clemson before transferring to Ohio State to focus on academics. Herbstreit has another son, Zak, who joined the Ohio State football team as a preferred walk-on in 2021, as a tight end.
Herbstreit is aChristian. When asked about the role faith plays in his life, he said, “Everything. I try to every day walk that path.“[18]
His hobbies include playing EA Sports video games, and working out. Herbstreit is a horse racing fan, and also follows Ohio sports teams like theCincinnati Bengals,Columbus Blue Jackets, andCincinnati Reds. Herbstreit was featured prominently inHow We Lookin'?, a documentary about the life and career of longtime Reds broadcasterMarty Brennaman.
Herbstreit was a vocal advocate of bringing back theNCAA Football series,[citation needed] which had not had a new entry since 2013. When theseries returned in 2024, Herbstreit was included as one of the in-game commentators.
He has fourgolden retrievers, one of whom,Ben, traveled with him to games.[19][20] Ben, who was a certifiedemotional support animal,[20] was considered a "fan favorite" until his death in November 2024 due toleukemia.[21][22]Joe Biden sent Herbstreit a letter offering his condolences.[23] Following Ben's passing, Ben's younger brother Peter started to travel with Herbstreit and began appearing onThursday Night Football andCollege GameDay.[24]
Gale Document Number A700265015
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