ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit knows OSU football inside and out. Raised in Centerville, Ohio—just an hour from Columbus—his Buckeye roots run deep and personal. Well, his son Zak is a walk-on TE at OSU. However, Clemson was where twins Jake and Tye played before Jake’s transfer to the Buckeyes. And in a shocking twist, his youngest son, Chase, chose Michigan in the 2025 class. But Herbstreit’s biggest win? Fatherhood. Yes, he stepped back, letting his kids find their own passion. And now his message to dads—support, don’t push.

Kirk Herbstreit shared wisdom beyond football on the March 14 episode of the Built 4 More podcast. While reflecting on lessons from College GameDay, he made a powerful statement on family and children’s well-being. Well, the ESPN commentator spoke on the pressures parents put on their kids, stripping away childhood in the name of success.

He highlighted how parents often push their own dreams onto their children, saying, “I think my generation or our generation of parents saw that and said, ‘That’s what you got to do,’ and they started to take [from] their kid. They took away the childhood of the kid and filled it with hitting lessons, speed lessons—like all this stuff. And I think what happens in that case is we start to want to put our own expectations that we have for them, and we start pushing and pushing.” As of now, while Herbstreit’s words hit home, his message is very simple—let kids be kids, support their dreams, but don’t force yours on them.

And then came the moment of truth. Yes, Herbstreit realized he had fallen into the same trap and he had been pushing too hard, caught up in coaching his kids instead of simply being their dad. And reflecting on that eye-opening moment, he said, “Thank goodness I had this moment – where my twins or my oldest were about eight or nine, and I was like—it was baseball, and I was coaching them, coaching them, coaching them. And I looked in their faces and I said, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m that guy. I’m that guy.‘”

However, that realization changed everything, and instead of chasing his own dreams through his kids, Herbstreit made a bold choice—he stepped back. And his sacrifice wasn’t about wins or trophies, it was about something bigger—his children’s happiness. Because, looking ahead, he knew what truly mattered and following that, he said, “And I stopped coaching. I went up into the stands and I said, ‘It’s too important for me. I want to have a relationship with these guys when they’re 25, 30, 35, and 40. I want us to be boys. And I want to go on fishing trips.” Honestly, in that moment, he wasn’t just a coach, he was a father putting love before legacy.

But Herbstreit didn’t stop there, and he went deeper, revealing how he transformed his mindset as a father. Well, it wasn’t just about stepping back—it was about truly understanding his kids’ passions, not forcing his own. Recalling that moment, he said, “I want to hang out, and I do not want them to resent me and me pushing my own agenda and forcing them to do something they don’t want to do because they don’t maybe have the passion for it the way I did. And I’m going to make them have the passion for it.” To be honest, that was the moment he let go.

As of now, there’s no more pressure, no more expectations, just a father standing by his kids, wherever their dreams take them. And for that, Herbstreit gives credit to a higher power. And he said, “Man, I’m so grateful that God gave me that lens to see that because my competitive spirit would have probably ruined the relationships with my kids.”

That makes sense because the perspective changed everything. He learned to let go and embrace their journeys, not his own. Right now, laughing at how much he’s stepped back, Kirk added, “So, by the time I learned, I think, with my twins, and by the time I came with my next son, Zak and Chase—like, if they throw, you would think I never played football.” Safe to say, a father first, a coach second—and that’s his greatest win.

But besides being a good father, Herbstreit is a good human too. And his current prayers for his former College GameDay colleague are living proof of that.

Kirk Herbstreit prays for wellness

Since 1995, Kirk Herbstreit has been a familiar face on ESPN. Throughout his tenure, he’s shared the stage with many co-hosts, including David Pollack. Pollack’s tenure on the show spanned from 2011 to 2023, during which he played a crucial role. But today, the focus isn’t on football—it’s on family. And Pollack announced on X that his wife, Lindsey, will undergo brain cancer surgery later this week. Honestly, it is a moment that reminds us all that some battles are far bigger than the game.

Pollack’s message was raw, heartfelt, and powerful. And he wrote, “I do not share much of my personal life on social media but today is gonna be different. If you are the praying type please lift up my wife Lindsey. She has brain cancer and surgery is Wednesday at Duke. So thankful to serve a loving God that meets us in our struggles!” Here, Herbstreit wasted no time in showing his support, and he joined the wave of prayers for his former colleague, sending a heartfelt message. “Prayers for Lindsey and the entire Pollack family,” he wrote.

Unfortunately, he understands this battle all too well, because he knows the fear, the uncertainty, and the strength it takes to fight. A day after predicting OSU’s national championship victory on The Pat McAfee Show, Herbstreit shared his family’s difficult experience with his wife Alison’s breast cancer battle. So, it is a tough reminder that even the strongest need support.