After a short playing career, Kirk Herbstreit became a household name in the United States thanks to his role as a featured player on ESPN's College GameDay.
As one of the main faces of the traveling preview show, Herbstreit became one of the most prominent voices in the sport.
But he was ready to leave all that behind when an opportunity presented itself in 2022.
In March of that year, Herbstreit was announced as a color commentator for Amazon Prime's NFL coverage on Thursday Night Football alongside play-by-play man Al Michaels.
Faced with the task of carrying out both programs, Herbstreit supported on On3 that the schedule forced him to consider resigning from GameDay, or his role as ESPN's leading voice of color in college football on Saturday Night Football. But all that is now a thing of the past.
“It's very difficult to do all three,” Herbstreit revealed. But now, man, you couldn't kick me off the set. I absolutely love it. We're having a great time.'
Kirk Herbstreit says he considered giving up one of his college football roles at ESPN when he accepted the job as a color commentator on Thursday Night Football with Amazon Prime.
Herbstreit (far right) has been on ESPN's College GameDay desk since 1996.
Part of that could be due to the recent additions to the set. Herbstreit has been with the program since 1996, the second-most tenured member of the team, behind only Lee Corso, who has been with GameDay since its inception. Desmond Howard has sat at the desk since 2005 and Rece Davis has been host since 2015.
But the recent full-time additions of Pat McAfee in 2022 and Nick Saban in 2024 have breathed new life into the program. It means GameDay remains college football's staple advancement program, despite other networks' attempts to challenge them.
'I've known coach (Saban) for a long, long, long time. There is great comfort between him, myself, Pat, Des and Rece. “I think it carries over into the air,” Herbstreit said.
But it's not just the people at the desk: there are many other people who appear on the show, or who work behind the scenes, who make GameDay worthwhile for Herbstreit.
'Even (sports betting analyst) Stanford Steve (Coughlin), man, it's been a great pleasure, honestly, like he's a man. That role, you know, is betting. But behind the scenes…those people behind the scenes, when it comes down to just the meetings and the routine that you get into and the lack of sleep, those people with positive energy that just bring goodness to the show, I'm indebted to those people like Stanford Steve and so many others.
“I hope it lasts a long time to have that close-knit group that we have,” Herbstreit said. '…We're in a great place. “I love having everyone in the program and I hope we can keep it going all year long and for years to come.”
There is still plenty of time left in this college football season as the College Football Playoffs move toward the semifinals.
Herbstreit says the additions of Pat McAfee (L) and Nick Saban (R) have given it new life.
First, the Capitol One Orange Bowl will take place in Miami on Thursday night and will feature No. 6 seed Penn State and No. 7 seed Notre Dame.
Notre Dame is coming off a Sugar Bowl victory that was overshadowed by the terrorist attack that took place in New Orleans and forced the game to be postponed one day.
Following the Orange Bowl, the Cotton Bowl Classic begins Friday night in Arlington, Texas. That game features the No. 5 seed Texas Longhorns and the No. 8 seed Ohio State Buckeyes.
The winners of both games will meet in the College Football Playoff National Championship game in Atlanta on January 20.
The remaining four teams are past national champions, but only Ohio State has won a title in the CFP era. The Buckeyes won the inaugural CFP National Championship game in 2015.
Texas hasn't won a title since 2005, while Notre Dame and Penn State have waited more than 30 years since their last championships in 1988 and 1994, respectively.