Kirk Herbstreit Biography
Kirk Edward Herbstreit (/hrbstrit/; born August 19, 1969)[1 is a former collegiate football player and American sportscaster. He gives color commentary for college football games on ESPN and ABC as well as Thursday night NFL games on Prime Video. He also works as an analyst for ESPN’s College GameDay, a television program that covers college football. Herbstreit has received five Sports Emmy Awards for his television work in various categories. Up until the series’ interruption after NCAA Football 14, he made yearly appearances as a pundit in EA Sports’ NCAA Football video game.
Herbstreit played quarterback for the Ohio State football team from 1989 through 1993. He participated in a number of contests during his junior season and started at quarterback all through his senior campaign.
Playing career and subsequent activities in Ohio
Herbstreit completed his education at Centerville High School in the Dayton suburb of Centerville, Ohio. He won the Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior quarterback for the Elks. He was a prodigious baseball and basketball player as well.
Following the appointment of John Cooper as head coach in 1988, Herbstreit was the first player to make a commitment to the Ohio State Buckeyes. From 1989 to 1993, Herbstreit lettered four years at Ohio State University as a quarterback. Herbstreit eventually took the team’s captaincy in 1992 as a senior, having previously waited his time behind Greg Frey and Kent Graham.
Along with linebacker Steve Tovar, he served as co-captain that season and was chosen as the team’s MVP. Before falling to the Georgia Bulldogs in the Florida Citrus Bowl, Herbstreit passed for 1,904 yards throughout that season, including four games with 200 or more yards. Herbstreit threw for 271 yards in a 13-13 draw versus Michigan to set the Ohio State record for pass completions (28). The record remained in place until Troy Smith, the 2006 Heisman Trophy winner, shattered it. Herbstreit earned a business administration degree from Ohio State in 1993.
Herbstreit’s father, Jim Herbstreit, co-captained the 1960 Ohio State squad alongside offensive tackle Jim Tyrer. He later served as Woody Hayes’ assistant coach at Ohio State. In 1992, Herbstreit was selected as co-captain, making the two the only father-and-son combo to have led Ohio State as captains. The first couple was James and Jeff Davidson in 1989, and the third couple was Pepper and Dionte Johnson in 2007.
He is particularly well-known for a 2009 lawsuit he filed against the IRS for allegedly modifying an implied rule that permitted tax deductions for contributions of homes to the fire department for training reasons.
Herbstreit participates actively in a number of charities, such as the Buckeye Cruise for Cancer.[5] and the Ultimate Sports Auction for the Make A Wish Foundation.
He has given his name to events in Arlington, Texas, and Columbus, Ohio, including the Kirk Herbstreit National Kickoff Classic. The Kickoff Classic, which takes place over Labor Day weekend, “pits high school teams from the states of Ohio and Texas against prep football powerhouses from across the nation,” according to the website. While AT&T Stadium hosts the Texas games, Ohio Stadium typically hosts the Ohio matchups.
Kirk Herbstreit Broadcasting career
Herbstreit started working for ESPN in 1996 and has since progressed to become the show’s principal commentator alongside Rece Davis, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee, and Lee Corso. Together with his longtime friend and fellow analyst Chris Fowler, a former GameDay presenter, he serves as the commentator for ABC’s Saturday college football primetime games.
In 1997, Herbstreit was nominated for a Sports Emmy Award for his work as television’s top studio analyst and for his weekly in-season piece, “Inside The Game With Kirk Herbstreit,” which appeared in The Sporting News.
Herbstreit has worked as a color commentator for ESPN’s Thursday night college football games. Herbstreit is a regular contributor to ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine
Herbstreit joined Keyshawn Johnson and Michael Wilbon on a panel for the television program Who’s Now in July 2007.
Herbstreit contributes to the 97.1 The Fan, an Ohio-based ESPN Radio station.
As Gruden left to rejoin the then-Oakland, now-Las Vegas Raiders in 2018, Herbstreit was named to take Gruden’s position for night one of ESPN’s NFL Draft coverage. Herbstreit and his GameDay coworkers switched to ABC’s coverage of the Draft when they acquired the rights to telecast the first two nights of the Draft.
Herbstreit and Chris Fowler will announce the first match of the Monday Night Football Kickoff Week doubleheader in 2020. A week later, on the night when Monday Night Football celebrated its 50th anniversary, Herbstreit and Rece Davis worked a special Monday Night Football MegaCast on ESPN2 for the Saints-Raiders game, the first-ever NFL game to be played in Las Vegas. In 2022, during the final week of the 2021 season, Fowler and Herbstreit once more called the opening game of an MNF doubleheader.
Herbstreit and NFL play-by-play announcer Al Michaels were introduced as the new color commentators for Thursday Night Football on Prime Video on March 23, 2022. Herbstreit decided to extend his contract with ESPN the same day in order to continue hosting GameDay, Saturday Night Football, and the NFL Draft in addition to his new NFL responsibilities for Amazon.
Kirk Herbstreit Personal life
At Ohio State, where she was a cheerleader, Herbstreit met his future wife Alison. They wed in 1998 and have four sons together. The Herbstreits, who originally relocated to Nashville from Ohio in 2011, now spend time in Cincinnati, where their youngest son Chase plays quarterback for St. Xavier High School.[13] Jake and Tye, his identical twin sons, were Montgomery Bell Academy athletes. Tye is currently a walk-on football player at Clemson University, while Jake was a walk-on at Clemson before transferring to Ohio State to concentrate on his studies. Zak Herbstreit, another son of Herbstreit, played tight end for the Ohio State football team in 2021 as a preferred walk-on.
Kirk enjoys dining out and is a fan of Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouses. He enjoys fishing, working out, and playing EA Sports video games. Herbstreit enjoys horse racing and sports teams from Ohio, such as the Cincinnati Bengals, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Cincinnati Reds. How We Lookingin’?, a documentary about the life and work of legendary Reds commentator Marty Brennaman, notably featured Herbstreit. Along with that, he adores spending time with his golden retrievers.
Awards and honors
- Five-time Sports Emmy Award winner
- Three Outstanding Studio Analyst (2010, 2011, 2019)
- Two Outstanding Event Analyst (2018, 2020)
Where was Kirk Herbstreit from?
Herbstreit, a native of Centerville, Ohio, graduated with a degree in business administration in 1993 from The Ohio State University, where he also lettered for the Buckeyes for four years (1989–1992). He was a starter and team captain as a senior, and he was also named team MVP and most inspirational player.
Who calls games with Herbstreit?
Herbstreit started working for ESPN in 1996 and has since progressed to become the show’s principal commentator alongside Rece Davis, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee, and Lee Corso. Together with his longtime friend and fellow analyst Chris Fowler, a former GameDay presenter, he serves as the commentator for ABC’s Saturday college football primetime games.
How much is ESPN paying Kirk Herbstreit?
How much money does Kirk Herbstreit make per year? Herbstreit’s total pay in 2022, according to a report from Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, should be close to $18 million.
Does Kirk Herbstreit still work for ESPN?
Herbstreit, who has been with ESPN for 26 years, will continue to serve as the College Football Playoff’s lead analyst while also contributing to the network’s broad, multi-platform sports programming. Herbstreit will start calling NFL games exclusively for Amazon in the fall, it was also confirmed today.
Who is Kirk Herbstreit?
Kirk Herbstreit was born in Centerville, Ohio, on August 19, 1969. He went to Centerville High School, where he played quarterback for the football team. During his senior year, he was chosen as the Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year. Kirk played basketball and baseball as well. His father Jim was a staff member at Ohio State.
