Kirk Herbstreit gives Lee Corso health update ahead of 2023 college football season

Where things stand with Lee Corso, considered by many to be the voice and face of college football as we approach the 2023 season

Lee Corso will return to the set for another year of ESPN's College GameDay for the 2023 college football season, but the long-time analyst and game picker missed several shows in recent years because of health issues. Kirk Herbstreit, his GameDay partner, knows what Corso has been through in that time.

"He had a stroke about 12 or 13 years ago and really couldn't speak," Herbstreit said. 

"We all wondered, 'Is he gonna be okay?' and he was determined with his speech therapist. If you ever know of anybody who's had a stroke, that's sometimes very hard to overcome and he still is working on that to this day. So it's not just that he's 88. It's that he had a stroke."

Herbstreit added: "He's worked very hard to get his word out and God bless him for having that wherewithal and that passion to love this game so much to keep trying to go."

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Corso, 88, missed five editions of College GameDay last season, first on Oct. 1 in Clemson when he woke up feeling unwell, and then again for the Kansas trip the following weekend.

Corso also missed the show's visit to Jackson State and the clash between Georgia and Tennessee, when GameDay was in Athens, Ga.

A featured analyst on the GameDay program since its inception in 1987, Corso suffered a stroke in 2009, suffering partial paralysis, and requiring three days of intensive care followed by a week's stay in the hospital.

The stroke impacted Corso's speech, as he was unable to talk for a month after the incident. Since returning to the air, he has been scripting his appearances on the program.

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