1. Kirk Edward Herbstreit is an American sportscaster and former college football player.
31 Facts About Kirk Herbstreit
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Kirk Herbstreit serves as an analyst for ESPN's College GameDay, a television program covering college football, and provides color commentary on college football games on ESPN and ABC and Thursday night NFL games on Prime Video.
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Kirk Herbstreit appeared annually as a commentator in EA Sports' NCAA Football video game series, including after a ten-year hiatus.
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From 1989 to 1993, Kirk Herbstreit played football as a quarterback for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
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Kirk Herbstreit played in several games his junior season, and was the starting quarterback throughout his senior season.
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Kirk Herbstreit graduated from Centerville High School in Centerville, Ohio, a suburb of Dayton.
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Kirk Herbstreit was the first player to commit to the Ohio State Buckeyes after the hiring of John Cooper as head coach in 1988.
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Kirk Herbstreit was a four-year letterman as a quarterback at Ohio State University from 1989 to 1993.
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Kirk Herbstreit passed for 1,904 yards that season, including four 200-plus-yard games, before losing to the Georgia Bulldogs in the Florida Citrus Bowl.
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Kirk Herbstreit graduated from Ohio State in 1993 with a degree in business administration.
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Kirk Herbstreit's father, Jim Kirk Herbstreit, was a co-captain of the 1960 Ohio State team, and later an assistant coach at Ohio State under Woody Hayes.
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When Kirk Herbstreit was named co-captain in 1992, the two became only the second father-and-son duo to have each been Ohio State captains.
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Kirk Herbstreit 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.
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Kirk Herbstreit is actively involved in multiple charities including the Buckeye Cruise for Cancer and The Make A Wish Foundation Ultimate Sports Auction.
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Kirk Herbstreit has lent his name to the Kirk Herbstreit National Kickoff Classic in Columbus, Ohio, and Arlington, Texas.
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Kirk Herbstreit joined ESPN in September 1995 as a college football sideline analyst.
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Kirk Herbstreit continues to serve in that role alongside host Rece Davis and fellow analysts Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee, Lee Corso, and Nick Saban.
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Kirk Herbstreit serves as the lead game analyst for ESPN and ABC, a responsibility that sees him travel to ESPN's biggest game that week for ABC Saturday Night Football to call the marquee game alongside former GameDay host and longtime colleague Chris Fowler and sideline reporter Holly Rowe.
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In July 2007, Kirk Herbstreit served as a panelist for the series Who's Now alongside Keyshawn Johnson and Michael Wilbon.
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Kirk Herbstreit contributes to the 97.1 The Fan, an ESPN Radio affiliate out of Columbus, Ohio.
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In 2018, Kirk Herbstreit was announced to replace Jon Gruden for night one of ESPN's NFL Draft coverage, as Gruden left to return to the then-Oakland, now Las Vegas Raiders.
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In 2020, Kirk Herbstreit announced the first game of the Monday Night Football Kickoff Week doubleheader alongside Chris Fowler.
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In 2022, Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit again called the first game of an MNF doubleheader, this time during the final week of the 2021 season.
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On March 23,2022, Kirk Herbstreit was announced as the new color commentator for Thursday Night Football on Prime Video, alongside NFL play-by-play announcer Al Michaels.
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That same day, Kirk Herbstreit agreed to an extension of his contract with ESPN to allow him to continue on GameDay, Saturday Night Football, and the NFL Draft, to go along with his new NFL duties for Amazon.
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Kirk Herbstreit met his wife Alison at Ohio State, where she was a cheerleader.
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Kirk Herbstreit has another son, Zak, who joined the Ohio State football team as a preferred walk-on in 2021, as a tight end.
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Kirk Herbstreit's hobbies include playing EA Sports video games, and working out.
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Kirk Herbstreit is a horse racing fan, and follows Ohio sports teams like the Cincinnati Bengals, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Cincinnati Reds.
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Kirk Herbstreit was a vocal advocate of bringing back the NCAA Football series, which had not had a new entry since 2013.
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Kirk Herbstreit has four golden retrievers, one of whom, Ben, traveled with him to games.