ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit didn’t hold back when assessing the state of the Ohio State Buckeyes heading into 2025. After a triumphant 2024 season, the Buckeyes are hungry to run it back — but there’s a catch. With key defensive stars departing for the 2025 NFL Draft, Ohio State faces the tough task of filling those gaps to maintain their dominance.
Before Ohio State’s national championship showdown against Notre Dame, KirkHerbstreit confidently backed the Buckeyes to emerge victorious — and they didn’t disappoint. But even in the midst of their triumph, the ESPN analyst saw cracks in the foundation. Now, the Buckeyes will need to fill these gaps on the roster.
Kirk Herbstreit Expresses His Thoughts About Ohio State’s Roster
Herbstreit talked with Athlon Sports during the national championship media day. He gave the Buckeyes crucial advice on improving their defensive tools.
“Ohio State is going to completely rebuild on defense,” Herbstreit told Athlon Sports on Jan. 18. “That’ll be exciting to see how they are able to rebuild because if anybody can, it would be Ohio State. They have some young players that are anxious [to play].
“… I think it’s your normal teams probably reloading [in 2025]. Hopefully some more teams keep coming off the radar. It’s fun to see that.”
Herbstreit holds a soft corner for the Buckeyes, mainly because he played for them from 1989 to 1993.
At first, he played as a backup for three seasons. However, he also had the opportunity to be the starter during his senior year. Now, his son Zak is a walk-on tight end on the Buckeyes, while his other son, Jake, has also been transferred to the college program.
Herbstreit has a special in his heart for the team, so much so that he even got tears in his eyes when Ohio State won the national championship.
Herbstreit Got Emotional After the Buckeyes’ Victory Against Fighting Irish
Herbstreit couldn’t hold back his tears in the broadcast booth while he was covering the Buckeyes 34-23 victory against Notre Dame on Jan. 20. The renowned ESPN college football announcer hails from Ohio, so it was his team that won the championship game.
“Oh, don’t start with me man. I’m a little emotional,” he told Scott Van Pelt, his voice breaking up. “I’m just fired up for these guys.”
“You know, when I call these games I’m incredibly objective. I love all these Ohio State teams, but this team because of what they went through to get to this point, you’re just happy, you know? You’re just happy for them.”
After this, he grabbed a tissue to wipe his tears while his co-hosts, Van Pelt and Chris Fowler, kept the show going. Later the next day, Herbstreit appeared on “The Pat McAfee Show,” where he revealed that his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer last year.
“It’s been a tough year for me behind the scenes,” Herbstreit said. “My wife got diagnosed with breast cancer. You know, [my dog] Ben dies. It was just a lot of emotion. And when you do what we do, you endure. You do your job.”
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He added, “And I think what happened, I couldn’t predict it, but when [the Buckeyes] won, I was so happy … because of what they faced and all the stuff behind the scenes. It was like almost, I don’t know, maybe a release of all that pent-up stuff, and it just got the best of me.”
Moreover, Herbstreit told McAfee that he’s quite an emotional person and isn’t able to talk when he’s overwhelmed by his feelings.
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