Sherrone Moore might be still brooding over the loss in the Miller Moss recruiting race. Well, it’s definitely no less than a heartbreak. But the Michigan Wolverines HC turns out to be extremely lucky. Amidst his low moments, he landed a praise that was going to be enough to fill his heart with love. And it’s none other than the former Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback and College GameDay host, Kirk Herbstreit.

After all, it was Moore who chose Herbstreit’s son, Chase for his team. Sadly, the young chap did not receive any offer from the Ohio State HC Ryan Day even though his father has been a Buckeye forever. 

Yes, the days when Kirk Herbstreit played football are long gone. However, the quarterback-turned-broadcaster’s Buckeyes era is something that the fans are going to remember for the longest time. Back in 1992, he served as team captain and even led the program to a 8-3-1 record. So it was obvious for his son to become a die-hard Buckeye fan growing up. But it did not serve him well. The 3-star prospect and the No. 128 quarterback in the 2025 class had to ultimately commit to Ohio State’s archrival Michigan on December 8.

And it’s quite a big development for his father as well.

On December 13, OutKick’s Don’t @ Me host Dan Dakich in a conversation with the retired Ohio State coach, began, “Congratulations to your son Chase…going to Michigan! Brother here it comes! Here it comes!”

This prompted Herbstreit to talk in detail about how difficult this year has been for the youngster, “This is an interesting year, Dan. Because the football programs, once they have this rev share, and they’re putting a cap on rosters…Chase was at that spot on a lot of teams. Notre Dame was talking to him, Georgia Tech possibly…there were some other schools that were talking to him.”

“And Chase isn’t a five star, just walking into the building [and saying], ‘How much you going to pay me?’ Chase is that guy…he’s fighting for that opportunity and a lot of these teams are waiting to see who’s going to leave in the portal, who’s coming in back into the portal, how many guys are we going to be able to sign, we’re trying to cut some guys to try to get our number down to 105.”

“So this particular recruiting class…if you were that kind of that three-star guy that’s trying to find out where you can fit in, it was tough and it put these coaches in tough spots.” So, it was time for Kirk to give due credit to the Wolverines HC who took Chase under his wing as the 23rd member of his inaugural recruiting class.

“So for Sherrone Moore to just step up and say ‘Hey, we want to give Chase an opportunity. We believe in this kid. He is a guy we can develop. He’s going to be a program guy. He’s gonna be here for five years buy in’. Chase had just had to jump at the opportunity.” Yes, that’s how Moore has an eye for talent.

Now, speaking about talent, the 18-year-old led St. Xavier to a 10-4 record in 2024, reaching the regional finals where the Bombers fell to state runner-up Moeller 28-23. He rushed for 131-for-243 passing as a senior for 1,609 yards, 18 touchdowns and five interceptions.

Notably, in 33 games—since taking over as a starting quarterback in the middle of his sophomore year—the young player has passed for 3,983 yards and 32 touchdowns to 14 interceptions. On the ground, he accumulated 657 yards (-3 yards total in 2022 and 2023) and nine touchdowns. He joins the Michigan recruiting class (alongside five-star recruit and No.1 prospect Bryce Underwood) as the ninth-best in the country as per 247Sports.

Chase is also known for his strong grasp of the offensive scheme, and arm strength and is pro with intermediate passes. However, this was not enough to woo Ohio State HC Day. So, it was obvious that he would come on board as a preferred walk-on. Maybe, the Buckeyes felt that he was not ready to help their team enough to earn a Day 1 scholarship. Nonetheless, his Michigan entry certainly didn’t thrill fans who took to social media to heavily criticize the move. However, if you ask Kirk Herbstreit, there’s nothing that could’ve been done…

“If he were sitting there staring at an Ohio State offer and a Michigan offer…Ohio State can’t take everybody…if they felt that chase could have been able to be a contributor for them then I’m sure that they would have said, ‘Hey, here’s an offer!’ But Ohio State didn’t present that to him at all.” Instead, Ryan Day rallied to sign five-star prospect and currently No. 2 as per 247 Sports, Tavien St. Clair. He’s also a three-time Central Buckeye Conference Offensive Player of the Year, and threw for 2,536 yards and 29 touchdowns in 11 games as a senior at Bellefontaine High School.

“So you can’t be mad at a kid who’s grown up his whole life as an Ohio State fan like a lot of kids in the state of Ohio. But Ohio State can’t recruit everybody. So these kids have to look at other opportunities and for Chase it’s an Ann Arbor, and he couldn’t be more thrilled with this opportunity. And as his family, of course, we’re thrilled…as a dad, it’s an incredible honor for him to get this opportunity and we’re fired up to see how things go for him in the next four or five years.”

Having said that, Herbstreit clearly has no qualms about his younger son joining a rival team…

Kirk Herbstreit’s Ohio State sentiment is going to make a comeback 

Maybe the explanation from Kirk Herbstreit about his son Chase chasing the Wolverines had been the need of the hour. The young chap going for the archrivals even after his father’s strong ties to Ohio State did not sit well with the fans. Hate comments over Chase’s choice started to pour in. For instance, a frustrated fan wrote, “I want to hear @KirkHerbstreit honest thoughts and opinions. not the water downed for media post.” 

Another one wrote, “Kirk throwing up somewhere right now.” What they don’t know is the fact that Kirk is happy wherever his son feels appreciated. And the truth is finally out. They must know that the Colleg GameDay host did not influence his son’s decisions in any way. As he stated, “I’m neutral.” So that’s why the Buckeyes first-round CFP is going to bring the legend back to the Horseshoe.  

Now he and Mike Fowler would be on call as the Buckeyes play their first home playoff game. This got Kirk Herbstreit all elated as he confessed, “That’s where I grew up and played. Ohio State and the whole Big Ten will always have a very, very special place in my heart, so any time I get a chance to go back and call an Ohio State game, it’s always a thrill for me, and now especially.” What’s more? His other son Zak is already a tight end, with Ohio State having joined in June 2021.

So for now, no hard feelings between Herbstreit and Ryan Day!