Longhorns Country

WATCH: Steve Sarkisian Makes Texas Longhorns 'Recruiting Pitch' to Ben Herbstreit

Steve Sarkisian made his biggest recruiting pitch of the year on Saturday Morning

Matt Galatzan

Sep 21, 2024; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Ben (the dog of ESPN commentator Kirk Herbstreit) lays on the field before the game between the Oklahoma Sooners and Tennessee Volunteers at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
Sep 21, 2024; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Ben (the dog of ESPN commentator Kirk Herbstreit) lays on the field before the game between the Oklahoma Sooners and Tennessee Volunteers at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
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Steve Sarkisian made his biggest recruiting pitch of the year on Saturday Morning

ESPN's College GameDay is in Austin on Saturday morning for the massive and highly-anticipated matchup between the No. 1 Texas Longhorns and No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs.

The show, hosted by Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee, and Nick Saban, is a start-studded production and the most popular college football pregame show in America.

But as popular as the show has become over the last few decades the true star of the show has become none other than Herbstreit's golden retriever, Ben.

On Saturday, Sarkisian did his best to make him an honorary Longhorn, presenting Herbstreit with a personalized Longhorns jersey for Ben on set.

The 10-year-old golden retriever began to make his appearance on the road with Herbstreit last season, eventually making his way all the way to the College Football Playoff and national title matchup between Michigan and Washington.

He became so popular so quickly in fact, that the Rose Bowl even accorded him a special honor.

“He just brings love,” Herbstreit said on Friday during a public appearance with Ben. “He was called the Chief Happiness Officer at the Rose Bowl, and it really is true. It feeds his soul, being out there interacting and meeting people.”

Since then, Ben has become a weekly traveler with Herbstreit, accompanying him to his NFL broadcasts, to College GameDay, and even sitting in the booth with him while he calls college games in primetime.

In Austin on Saturday, Ben is also expected to make his usual on-field appearance at DKR, where he will have a chance to meet the Longhorns' live mascot Bevo.

Of course, the last time a dog met Bevo, it was a near disaster, when the steer nearly trampled Uga the Bulldog when Texas played Georgia in the 2018-19 Sugar Bowl.

With that in mind, Herbstreit intends to be cautious but still wants Ben to be able to meet Bevo if possible.

“Depending on Bevo’s mentality that particular day, he was clearly motivated with Uga,” Herbstreit said. “I don’t know if Ben has that lateral quickness to get out of there, but I want to say hi during pregame. I’ll do Benny a favor, and keep him a safe distance from Bevo.”

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Matt Galatzan
MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns In SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks with the 247Sports network. He also spent two years covering the SMU Mustangs for PonyStampede.com for 247Sports. He then moved over to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. Through the years, Galatzan has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, NBA legend Dirk Nowitzki, ex Longhorns Dan Neil and Phil Dawson, FOX News and former ESPN host Will Cain, as well as countless other recruits and former players for each of the teams he has covered. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.

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