Kirk Herbstreit Explains Why His Son, an Ohio State Diehard, Committed to Michigan

Chase Herbstreit is a class of 2025 quarterback at St. Xavier in Cincinnati.

Kirk Herbstreit broadcasts from the ESPN College GameDay set prior to the NCAA football game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Indiana Hoosiers at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Before becoming one of the faces of college football through ESPN and ABC's broadcasts of the sport and College GameDay, Kirk Herbstreit was a quarterback at Ohio State from 1989 to '93, starting for the Buckeyes as a senior. As of next year, all four of his sons will have followed in his footsteps as college football players. Twins Jake and Tye played at Clemson, Zak is a tight end at Ohio State and his youngest son, the biggest Buckeye fan of them all, Chase recently announced his commitment... to Michigan.

How does the son of one of the most recognizable former Buckeyes in the country wind up committing to the Wolverines to play quarterback? Herbstreit told the Pardon My Take podcast that part of it came down to a numbers game in Columbus.

“What an opportunity for him,” Kirk Herbstreit said. “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."

Herbstreit explained that the upcoming change in college football scholarship and roster limits, which will cap the full roster at 105 scholarship players (up from 85, but drastically reducing the total number of players on the team taking into account walk-ons), impacted players like Chase who were on the cusp of receiving scholarships from top programs. Instead, those players are being steered more towards leagues like the MAC, Herbstreit says, while big programs like Ohio State are less interested in developmental prospects when top talents are available via the transfer portal.

"A lot of these guys are in a wait-and-see approach, so guys like my son Chase, who was 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," Herbstreit said.

"Sherrone Moore and his staff believe, and I think they saw his competitive spirit and his fire and what he did on the field this year to give him this opportunity," Kirk Herbstreit said. "It's very different for our family because behind the scenes is scarlet and gray our entire lives. ... It is quite a thrill, obviously, we're beyond ecstatic for him."

Herbstreit admitted he was nervous about how Ryan Day and the Ohio State coaching staff would react when he attended a senior season family event for his other son, Zak, but he said they were in full "business mode." Outside of that interaction, Herbstreit has avoided the discourse about his son's commitment online, and for good reason.

“Yeah, I’ve kind of stayed out of that world a little bit,” Kirk Herbstreit said on the show. “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 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 try to ignore that stuff the best that I can, and just kind of stay focused on the positive.”

Chase Herbstreit, who is coming off of his senior year at Cincinnati's St. Xavier High School, is the No. 148-ranked quarterback in the class and a three-star recruit at 247Sports."

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