Just about the entire college football world reacted the same way when it happened.
Chase Herbstreit, son of former Ohio State quarterback Kirk Herbstreit who’s now known as one of the faces of college football broadcasting, committed to the Michigan football program as a quarterback in the Class of 2025. And there was almost an audible gasp.
Message boards and social media went ablaze after the unthinkable had happened. While the family has been quiet about it since that time, Kirk recently broke his silence on the situation on a recent episode of one of Barstool Sports’ main podcasts, “Pardon My Take.”
“Yeah, I’ve kind of stayed out of that world a little bit,” Herbstreit began, telling hosts ‘Big Cat’ and ‘PFT‘. “I haven’t seen a whole lot of reaction intentionally, just because I know 80% of people are thrilled, 20% are going to be jackasses. So I just decided, it’s one thing to take shots at me, but if you take a shot at my kid and you want to get in a fight, it’s not hard for me to want to do that.
“So I just, I just try to ignore that stuff the best that I can, and just kind of stay focused on the positive −What an opportunity for him. You know that this is a kid that grew up a lifelong Ohio State fan, of all my kids, like he’s the guy that cried when they lose games, like he’s the Ohio State junkie. Ohio State did not really pursue him to the point of offering him a scholarship.”
Michigan, however, did offer a scholarship.
It’s not that players haven’t had success as preferred walk-ons in the U-M program: Captain Max Bredeson and starting quarterback Davis Warren both began their careers as walk-ons before they became faces of the team, but most prefer to start from a spot where they’re perceived by everybody as on an equal playing field.
“Guys like my son, Chase, who was kind of like (one of those guys) fighting for those last couple spots − for a scholarship, or potentially a PWO, which would be a preferred walk on, he’s kind of in that area where he’s fighting most of those guys − big schools like Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame, the schools that he was looking at the most, they’re almost like ‘Hey, why don’t you go to the MAC?,” Herbstreit said. “‘We’re going to bring in this portal guy who we know a little bit more about.’ “And they’re really not into developing young players and investing and hoping that they become a great player.
“So he got a huge opportunity to do this. Sherrone Moore and his staff believe, I think they’ve seen his competitive spirit, his fire and what he did on the field this year to give him this opportunity.”
Chase’s older brother, Zak, is a tight end with the Buckeyes while his older brother, Jake, began his career at Clemson and later transferred to OSU.
“It’s very different for our family,” Kirk said. “We’ve been Scarlett and gray our whole lives. … but it is quite a thrill. We’re beyond ecstatic for him.”
Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Kirk Herbstreit talks U-M, son’s commit: ‘He got a huge opportunity’
