QB Kirk Herbstreit (ESPN Analyst)

[BuckBojangles]

Just thought I would open up a thread about Herbie.

He's been a representative Buckeye at all times. Some people get down on him for his columns or his announcing. But he's always been objective in his analysis and remained a big fan of the Buckeyes. Outsiders cannot dismiss him only as a homer. But you can see him cheering for the Bucks and you know where his heart is. He remains one of the few sportscasters who make sense and speak with knowledge and very little hype.

Great job Herbie.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

8/18/06

BUCKEYE FANS

Herbstreit draws admirers to ‘101’

Friday, August 18, 2006

Molly Willow
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Audio slide show

• Kirk Herbstreit and Football 101

KYLE ROBERTSON DISPATCH Kirk Herbstreit leads a for-women-only session called "Football 101."
KYLE ROBERTSON DISPATCH At an Ohio State University event, Cindy Wendling of Worthington has a Kirk Herbstreit jersey signed by Herbstreit himself.


The Ohio State football fans brought hats, footballs and jerseys for Archie Griffin and Kirk Herbstreit to sign.
They also brought purses.
The alumni event — conducted last night in the Ohio Union, on the OSU campus — marked the second in a "Girls Night Out" series.
Four hundred women turned out in their scarlet-and-gray finery (and jerseys) for "Football 101: Inside the Huddle."
"I just love to see women get excited about their team," said Herbstreit, the ESPN football analyst and former OSU quarterback.
Many of the attendees identified themselves as "10s" on the scale of fandom — bigger fans than their husbands, several claimed.
Still, their love clearly isn’t limited to scarlet and gray.
"I came to look at Kirk Herbstreit — very easy on the eyes," said Suzie Dupler-Telle, 41, of Powell, who acknowledged that she didn’t need remedial lessons in football.
Donna Raque, 46, of Galena accompanied some friends — "rabid" fans — "to be this close to Kirk Herbstreit."
"I’ll ask questions of him and pretend I don’t know about football," she joked.
Tickets for the sold-out event —sponsored by the OSU Alumni Association and hosted by Griffin, its president — cost $20.
Such an evening makes sense because women represent slightly more than 53 percent of OSU graduates, said Kathy Bickel, vice president of outreach for the association.
The first "Girls Night Out" took place in April with head football coach Jim Tressel.
His X’s-and-O’s presentation, a sellout, challenged the notion that women trail men in their support of OSU sports.
(Face it: Any woman at the Tressel talk was there for the football. The sweater vest is nice, but the coach is no Herbstreit.)
The gathering last night, though, wasn’t all about the dreamy College GameDay analyst: The participants also wanted his insights regarding the coming season.
"I would love to hear Kirk Herbstreit’s take on how we’re doing with our new kids that are in the defense," said 1955 graduate Suzie Swales of Upper Arlington.
He cautioned that the Sept. 2 season opener against Northern Illinois wouldn’t be an easy game, expressed his hope that the young secondary doesn’t stick too close to the script and get burned on a surprise play versus Texas and predicted that "Iowa is this year’s Penn State."
When the time came for questions, one woman asked about the strength of special teams. (Answer: always good.) Another asked which newcomer on defense stood out in his mind. (Answer: defensive end Robert Rose, a true freshman.)
And a third sounded like a confident Michigan-hating Buckeyes fan: "Will Lloyd Carr get fired after we beat them?" (Answer: No, he’ll quit.)
Other queries, which you might not hear at the Varsity Club, centered on A.J. Hawk, former Buckeye and new Green Bay Packer, and his bride, Laura Quinn.
As if the Herbstreit-induced twittering weren’t indication enough of the femaleonly crowd, the evening concluded with something that typically doesn’t follow football-themed events: a fashion show, sponsored by every woman’s favorite place to shop — the Buckeye Corner.
mwillow@dispatch.com

[MaxBuck]

(Face it: Any woman at the Tressel talk was there for the football. The sweater vest is nice, but the coach is no Herbstreit.)

Molly Willow is clueless. I talked to some women who attended the Tressel talk (granted they were 40-somethings, but most were still pretty attractive), and they were ga ga over meeting the coach. Said he was "pretty hot for an older guy."

They would, however, probably have thrown their panties and phone numbers onto Herbstreit's stage.

[osugrad21]

CPD

Herbstreit proves worth once again


Monday, September 11, 2006Roger Brown
Plain Dealer Columnist
When Ohio State whipped Texas, 24-7, in their much-hyped showdown Saturday night, the evening did more than confirm OSU quarterback Troy Smith is college football's top player - it also revealed that a former Buckeyes QB is among the game's best in a TV booth.
Former OSU quarterback Kirk Herbstreit, best known for his ongoing role on ESPN's popular "College GameDay" studio show, was the star of ABC's OSU-Texas national telecast. Early on, the analyst noted Smith's poise and composure would provide a huge intangible advantage for the No. 1-ranked Buckeyes over Texas (which it did). And, late in the game, Herbstreit predicted Smith's composure would allow the Buckeyes to be creative and daring in attempting to control the ball and put the Longhorns away (which they were).
In short, it was great stuff by Herbstreit. And it proved his ability to provide solid, insightful observations on college football goes well beyond the short bursts of airtime he gets on "College GameDay." Herbstreit handled the OSU-Texas game with Bob Davie (co-analyst) and Brent Musburger (play-by-play). It aired here on WEWS Channel 5.

[osugrad21]

Link

Chat with Kirk Herbstreit
Talk football -- high school and college -- with Kirk Herbstreit in an online chat today on Cincinnati.com.
The ESPN college football analyst will discuss this weekend's big matchups, from the Kirk Herbstreit Challenge, featuring top high school teams from Ohio against national powerhouses, to Saturday's UC at Ohio State game.
The chat runs from noon to 12:30 p.m. We'll post a log-in on Cincinnati.com right before noon.
Herbstreit has been a co-analyst of ESPN's "College GameDay" since 1996. He was a quarterback at Ohio State and Centerville High School. He was the Buckeyes captain during the 1992 season and helped lead Ohio State to an 8-3-1 record.

[Steve19]

Anyone who doubts where Herbies sympathies lie, need only look at the immediate reaction in his face on the GameDay wrap-up after the game. When the team began to discuss who was the best team in football and the comment "well, okay, other than Ohio State, that's a no-brainer" was made, Herbie looked like a five-year-old opening Christmas presents. He regained his composure almost immediately but that initial reaction showed how deeply he feels about Ohio State.

[scooter1369]

I thought I just heard him on the radio.

Someone asked about Weis running a fake punt when up by 24.

Herbie said "He's a genius, haven't you heard?"

[OSU_Buckguy]

was it just me, or did you also hear some anger in his voice when he asked davie what he thought about the helmet-to-helmet call? after musburger said that it was the right call, herbie went directly to davie to get his opinion. after being validated, he said something like, "now we know where you stand," as if he was telling musberger to shut his piehole and let those who truly know the game decipher it. herbie was rather impassioned making his point.

i also loved herbie's response to corso when lee said that a game to watch was, i believe, ucf vs. florida. herbie rocked back in his chair, incredulous and stupefied that corso would choose that game of all the others. herbie then said something like, "okay, we'll just keep our eyes on that."

florida won 42-0. good call, lee.

[Steve19]

Originally Posted by scooter1369

I thought I just heard him on the radio.

Someone asked about Weis running a fake punt when up by 24.

Herbie said "He's a genius, haven't you heard?"

[Buckskin86]

Kirk Herbstreit chat
Kirk Herbstreit (12:03:59 PM)

Glad to be here. Looking forward to this week's events and seeing the fans of Cincinnati and Massillon come out and support their teams.

Kirk Herbstreit (12:05:14 PM)

I expect Ohio State to win this week's game, but because Mark Dantonio is a former Ohio State coordinator, they'll take it easy on them. I don't think Coach Tressel would want to do that to one of his former assistants.

Kirk Herbstreit (12:05:57 PM)

I'm happy to answer any questions any of you may have. Fire away!


Bobby Bobby (12:07:41 PM)

Hi Kirk, Bobby from Springboro here! Great first half by the Bucks.

Kirk Herbstreit (12:07:41 PM)

Absolutely. I think there were probably 30,000-40,000 Ohio State fans there, and I think you can tell the OSU fan base had a lot of excitement for this rematch. The first half, it was a big part of why Ohio State won the game. Texas tied the game, and OSU went right down the field, and that made a big difference.

ucatsjaf (12:08:29 PM)

Will Ohio State have a letdown, should I take UC and 29 1/2 points?

Kirk Herbstreit (12:08:29 PM)

Like I said, I think OSU is going to win the game, but I think it'll be a lot closer than that. It might have the signs of getting ugly, but I think, like I said, Ohio State will take it easy on Dantonio.

gretchen (12:09:07 PM)

Kirk, does ESPN have to 'edit' any of the signs students bring on Gameday?

Kirk Herbstreit (12:09:07 PM)

We have security who every week are on assigned patrol for the creative signs for myself and Lee Corso. I would estimate that weekly there are about 8-10 signs that get taken out.

Bobby Bobby (12:09:51 PM)

What are the keys to a victory over the bearcats? BB

Kirk Herbstreit (12:09:51 PM)

Show up. No, just kidding I would say just for them to not be too full of themselves after the Texas game. I don't think Jim Tressel will allow that.

dbernie41 (12:11:46 PM)

Kirk, do you think the Panthers are gonna pull out the win against De La Salle?

Kirk Herbstreit (12:11:46 PM)

Great question. I'm fired up for that game. I can't wait to see how Elder does in that game; it's one of the programs that has the best traditions...I'm glad to see Elder off to such a great start. You couldn't ask for a better way to finish up the weekend...hopefully the Purple Nation will be out in full force.

Bucky (1212:52 PM)

What's your prediction for the Saint Xavier vs Lakeland game?

Kirk Herbstreit (1212:52 PM)

You're going to see speed against a system that is built around disciplie. It'll be interesting to see which prevails. Lakeland has eight players, I believe, committed to SEC schools...with the game in Cincinnati and with the fact that the coaching staff does such a good job with their system, it'll be interesting to see who comes out on top.

zucher (12:13:41 PM)

Kirk, Clemson lost a heartbreaker on Saturday at BC. What do you think their chances are of rebounding this week at FSU? Do you think that they realistically have a shot at winning the Atlantic Division still?

Kirk Herbstreit (12:13:41 PM)

For whatever reason, Clemson seems to always start out slow under Tommy Bowden. The injury to Anthony Waters really concerns me. I think it's important for Clemson to get out in front of FSU early...I expect a competitive game, but with those injuries to the defense, I have my concerns.

gretchen (12:14:42 PM)

How much research do you do before a game to ensure a good analysis?

Kirk Herbstreit (12:14:42 PM)

Another great question. I spend my entire week preparing for Thursday and Saturday. If I'm not on the air, I'm on the phone with coaches preparing for each broadcasts. Doing a game on Thursday nights, along with GameDay and now the ABC broadcast, I'm probably doing more work than I should be.

ucatsjaf (12:16:01 PM)

Kirk, you do a great job on ESPN, I'm not sold on Big East football. What's your opinion?

Kirk Herbstreit (12:16:01 PM)

I've been very critical of the Big East, but I really think the improvement this year of Pitt and Rutgers, to go along with Louisville and West Virginia, gives this conference much more depth than what they had last year. There's no question, the loss of Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College has had a negative impact on this conference. Look out for Rutgers this year...I think they'll get to eight wins. They're for real.

Kirk Herbstreit (12:16:54 PM)

I was not on the field competing...I was cheering. That was one of the greatest wins in Centerville history...it was when Moeller was Moeller, and nobody beat them. I want to say we beat them, like, 10-7 in the rain. I remember being in shock as I saw Centerville knock off the Crusaders.

dbernie41 (12:18:14 PM)

Kirk, if you had to go through high school years again and you could go anywhere in Ohio, do you think you would pick Centerville again?

Kirk Herbstreit (12:18:15 PM)

Without question. I have four boys of my own now, and this question is brought up to myself from time to time. If my boys end up playing sports, especially football, I'll probably consider moving them back to Centerville to play for the Elks. I just can't seem to find the same passion and enthusiasm in any other community that I find in Centerville, and if my boys, who are all six and under, end up playing sports, there'll be another Herbstreit playing for the Elks.

gretchen (12:20:07 PM)

Other than Ohio State, what's happened to the Big Ten?

Kirk Herbstreit (12:20:07 PM)

It's early, but I think the Big Ten is down. But Ohio State will show again they're one of the elite programs in the country. I think Michigan, before it's all said and done, will show that it's a Top 10-type program. And make sure you don't write off the Hawkeyes, even though they played a close one on the road against Syracuse. I still think the Ohio State-Iowa game will decide the Big Ten championship...so you still have three programs that are Top 15 quality. We'll have to see if Wisconsin, Purdue, Michigan State, etc. are contenders are pretenders. But at this point, the Big Ten is still behind the SEC for national bragging rights.

Moeller Crusader (12:21:39 PM)

With James Byrnes (SC) being number two in the nation and Moeller not have one of their best teams but coming off a huge win vs Massilon, do you think the Moeller Crusaders have a chance?

Kirk Herbstreit (12:21:39 PM)

I think they've got a great chance, and the reason I think that is because they play great defense. Bob Crable as a defensive expert has his team playing really fundamentally sound defense, and it'll take every bit of their ability to slow down Byrnes' high-powered offense. Willy Korn is a dynamic playmaker, and he has a lot of skill around him, and they've got a lot of confidence coming into this game. They've won four straight state championships in South Carolina, and they're ranked second in the nation. So for Moeller to win, their defense will have to keep them in it.

ucatsjaf (12:22:05 PM)

Which two teams play for the national title?

Kirk Herbstreit (12:22:05 PM)

I will say Ohio State plays Notre Dame in a rematch of last year's Fiesta Bowl.

osunati (12:23:03 PM)

With the recent coverage at the Preps Classic of st x and st eds, what do you think will be the outcome of their games?

Kirk Herbstreit (12:23:03 PM)

I think St. X is going to have to play a perfect game to keep up with the speed of Lakeland, and St. Eds will look to bounce back against Springdale. Of the two teams, St. Eds will have the better chance for victory.

Kirk Herbstreit (12:24:27 PM)

Friday night, Colerain would have to be considered a favorite. I would say Texas High will be favored over Findlay. Byrnes will probably be favored over Moeller; and De La Salle will probably be favored over Elder. Which is just the way I like it if I'm an Ohio football fan. Up in Massillon, Hilliard Davidson will be favored over St. Joe's Prep.

ucatsjaf (12:26:15 PM)

Being an OSU grad, is it hard to be unbiased when covering the Buckeyes?

Kirk Herbstreit (12:26:15 PM)

When I first started in my career covering teams nationally, I was probably oversensitive to that concern and probably went the other way and was probably more critical of Ohio State than I needed to be. But in the last five or six years, I've been able to separate that concern from reality. For example, for the OSU-Texas game, I was not concerned or worried about coming across biased towards Ohio State. I was just concerned about analyzing the game, the teams, and the emotions of what I was watching.

Kirk Herbstreit (12:2812 PM)

Absolutely not. I would do high school football before I went to the NFL. I just do not have the same passion and love for the NFL that I do for college and high schools...that being said, I'm a lifelong Bengals fan, and it's nice to see Marvin Lewis resurrect that program. I think it's funny how they're coming out of the woodwork...I remember Harry Reasons tugging on Dave Shula's cap on MNF...I can't even put into words how much I value Marvin Lewis's leadership and what he's done for the Bengals.

Bobby Bobby (12:30:09 PM)

Kirk, What is your first impression of Colt McCoy as a premier QB is college FB?

Kirk Herbstreit (12:30:09 PM)

I thought he played OK. He looks like a young quarterback. What stood out to me more than Colt McCoy's performance is that Texas is lacking an emotional leader with the departure of Vince Young. I didn't see the emotion that you saw from the team a year ago. So many times we get caught up in the Xs and Os and the physical abilities of players -- sometimes we underestimate the importance of the psychological makeup of a team. As good as Vince Young was physically, it's hard to overstate how he affected the locker room emotionally.

snappytomato (12:31:29 PM)

What are the biggest differences of HS teams that are national powers vs. average teams? How much do the coachs play in "bringing in" players to play for them once they get on the map?

Kirk Herbstreit (12:31:29 PM)

The obvious thing is talent. You have to have great players to become a great program. You have to have outstanding coaching and community support. There's nothing worse than sacrificing and working your tail off, then showing up Friday night in front of a half empty stadium. Kids want to feel like what they're doing matters. It helps to have family and community support...I think that's what takes a lot of the programs in this year's Challenge so special.

Kirk Herbstreit (12:32:40 PM)

It's been good to be here and answer your questions. Unfortunately I have to sign off for now. Thanks again for all your great questions, and be sure and come out and support your teams this weekend!

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs...10021/-1/CINCI

[Bleed S & G]

Originally Posted by scooter1369

I thought I just heard him on the radio.

Someone asked about Weis running a fake punt when up by 24.

Herbie said "He's a genius, haven't you heard?"

When he was doing the GT and ND game, you could tell Herbie is tired of hearing that.. him and brent we're throwing jabs, brents all about ND and herbie was keeping him in check it seemed at least

[osugrad21]

DDN

Herbstreit likes Buckeyes' national title chances

Former OSU quarterback says team's lofty status 'all because of Troy Smith.'


By Kyle Nagel
Staff Writer

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

CINCINNATI ? Plenty of college football pundits around the country, after watching No. 1 Ohio State defeat then-No. 2 Texas on Saturday night, have called the Buckeyes a favorite to appear in the national championship game. Count Kirk Herbstreit among them.
"They're the team to beat, without any question," Herbstreit said. "It's all because of Troy Smith."
Herbstreit, the former Centerville High School and Ohio State quarterback and current college football analyst on ESPN, has watched the Buckeyes closely from his home in Columbus and from the set of ESPN's College GameDay.
"Troy Smith is a difference-maker," said Herbstreit, in town to promote his Kirk Herbstreit Ohio vs. USA Challenge prep football event this weekend. "His maturity and his nerves of steel allow them to do things that most other teams can't do."
Smith, a fifth-year senior from Cleveland, has completed 35 of 51 passes (68.6 percent) for 566 yards and five touchdowns. The Buckeyes have started 2-0 with wins against Northern Illinois (35-12 at Ohio Stadium) and Texas (24-7 in Texas Memorial Stadium).
Herbstreit was impressed from the broadcast booth in Austin, Texas, on Saturday. Especially in how much Smith has improved during his time in Columbus.
"Some of us grow up at 16, 17, 18, and some of us grow up at 21, 22," Herbstreit said. "He is maturing right in front of our eyes."

[DaddyBigBucks]

Originally Posted by Steve19

Anyone who doubts where Herbies sympathies lie, need only look at the immediate reaction in his face on the GameDay wrap-up after the game. When the team began to discuss who was the best team in football and the comment "well, okay, other than Ohio State, that's a no-brainer" was made, Herbie looked like a five-year-old opening Christmas presents. He regained his composure almost immediately but that initial reaction showed how deeply he feels about Ohio State.

There was another moment that was very similar.

When they returned to the studio camera immediately after the sideline reporter's post-game interview with Tressel, you could tell that Herbie was so proud of Tress and the class that he exudes that he was about to bust (or cry). Great stuff.

[Oh8ch]

Props for Herbie from the Iowa Board:

http://iowa.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?f...id=940&style=2

[Steve19]

Really pretty sore about the loss over there, eh?