Kirk Herbstreit’s son has chosen to follow in his dad’s footsteps… but with a twist. Instead of Ohio State, where his legendary dad starred, the young gunslinger is headed to the scarlet and gray’s biggest rivals. Can you imagine the family dinners now? This decision is sure to ignite some serious debate around the Herbstreit household, especially with Kirk’s legendary Ohio State career. While his dad became a renowned ESPN analyst and a Buckeye icon, his son is now embracing the Maize and Blue.

On Sunday, Hayes Fawcett of On3 Sports reported that Chase Herbstreit, a quarterback in the 2025 recruiting class, announced his commitment to the University of Michigan on his Instagram account with a resounding ‘Go Blue!’ message. Now, Pat McAfee is responding to the family turmoil surrounding the ESPN analyst’s child choosing Michigan over Ohio State!

Pat McAfee replied on the post on December 9 when On3 broke the news about Chase Herbstreit, saying, “🗣🗣 CONGRATS @chase_herbstreit.” Despite the potential for some serious family ribbing, his son choosing Michigan shows he’s his own man, not just following in his dad’s footsteps at Ohio State. Let’s just say the Herbstreit household is probably a bit divided right now with his son suiting up for the Wolverines.

You know, the young Herbstreit expressed his desire to play at Ohio State only a few years ago. “It’s the only option. That’s all I care about. Just going here, and if I could win a national championship here, that would just mean the world … I’m open to anything, but I really want to go here,” responded Herbstreit. After a solid 10-2 season, the Buckeyes got blown out by Michigan for the fourth straight year. Now, with Chase heading to Ann Arbor, it’ll be interesting to see how his career unfolds with the Wolverines.

Alongside Bryce Underwood, he is coach Sherrone Moore and Co’s 2nd QB pick in the 2025 class. However, Chase hasn’t been a particularly exciting prospect, and his recruiting pages don’t disclose any other offers. In spite of this, Michigan clearly finds something appealing in him. May he perform well.

The star athlete just finished his senior year at Cincinnati’s St. Xavier High School, where he ran for 649 yards and 8 TDs. All of that said, the Herbstreit household is now split. After all, his father played for the Buckeyes, and his older brother, Zak, is now a walk-on for Ohio State. But the issue still stands: did Ohio State extend an offer to him? Is joining Michigan motivated by this?

Did Ohio State try to chase Chase Herbstreit?

It’s time to deal with the next big issue: if the legendary quarterback was offered by Ryan Day’s Ohio State. The recruiting period for Chase Herbstreit was comparatively calm. No other universities that are offered are listed in his 247Sports profile. The outlet did not even rank him.

In contrast, he was rated as a 3-star prospect by On3.com. As of now, pointing the finger at the elite athlete seems incredibly unfair in such a situation. It’s a shame he didn’t get an offer from Ohio State, but he’s still a really good player.

According to MaxPreps, he finished his final 2 seasons with 3,120 passing yards, 28 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. However, he had better stats his senior year, throwing 18 touchdown passes as opposed to 5 picks. Now, all that remains is to see if Chase Herbstreit can establish himself as a successful collegiate player and, eventually, make his professional debut.