Out of the Pocket: Football, Fatherhood, and College GameDay Saturdays

Awesome stories about his life and family.Great read for all football fans. Even those who can’t stand Ohio State like myself.Go Tigers!

book came in timely manner and was just as the seller advertised.

Great book about college football and broadcasting careers, families, resilience, and so much more. Love watching GameDay and his game broadcasts too.

I can’t believe that there are not more reviews of this book! It is one of the best ‘sports’ books I’ve read, although I’m not that much into sports books myself. The story Herbstreit relates, starting with his dysfunctional family life after his idyllic childhood was shattered by his parent’s divorce, is told with great personal insight and humility. That he was adamant about maintaining a close personal relationship with both his parents is evident despite how deeply their breakup affected his and his two siblings lives. Going through the angst of his up and down college career was honestly portrayed and when the breakthrough finally arrives his senior yard, I found myself cheering. This is not, however, only a ‘sports’ book as readers will journey through his decision to become a Game Day announcer, as well as the struggles of his premature twin baby boys to live. He credits the importance the hiring by Ohio State of a team psychologist had on his life, not only on his football career. Telling of the impact this had, he writes, “As a player late in my career at Ohio State, I handled that (the ‘storms’ of life) with Dr. Ferrante. He became part of my coaching staff. He was my life coach. He helped me navigate those storms. He had no agenda, no skin in the game. His only mission was to build a relationship and level of trust where he could try to help me. Looking back at it, I can see what an incredible opportunity that was for me. There’s no need to feel ashamed or embarrassed about seeking that help.” Truly a heartwarming story that held my interest from cover to cover.

I'll admit straight away, that my husband & I are Herbie fans. We were at OSU together & he's college football to us. We've lived out of the US for a long time & we don't get to watch a lot of CFB but we watch whatever game Herbie is calling. He's like home for us. When I first saw an excerpt from the book, I thought if it was half as good as the excerpt, it would be good. There's so many things he shares he didn't have to. He's even more relatable than we knew. When reading, I could hear his voice in my head. I love all the anecdotes. I don't know how he remembers the details that he did but it's wonderful. We never knew how much in common we had with him. Respect him even more. And his wife, love that he gives her lots of props & she sounds like an amazing person. We've always felt Herbie was a fabulous analyst because he doesn't let his bias' get in the way. I think that comes through in the book. He talks about the good, the bad and he just seems honest. At first I was surprised how long it was, then I was disappointed when it ended. Maybe being an analyst for so long, he's learned how to be a compelling story teller. It was hard to put the book down. I'm not a big fan of biographies but this was well done! Thanks for sharing your life with us, past & present. You're more inspiring than you know. Thanks to your wife for sharing you with us. She herself is an inspiration.

Hubby loves the book!

If you have watched College gameday on ESPN in the last thirty years or a big time Ohio State football fan you probably know who is Kirk Herbstriet is. Sports show host, Ohio State quarterback puts down n writing what life was like growing up second generation Ohio State football player and at on e time a Parade high school all American who learned what the true meaning of perseverance and the rewards that come with it. This not only covers his family life both growing up but also his becoming a father and the struggles his wife and and him faced with having children. This also follows his sportscasting career from getting started in radio and eventually being a part of College Game Day. I really like the chapter about his working and personal relationship with Lee Corso who it seems was like a second father to him.Overall this is a good read more so if you our a sports fan.

Good read if you like college football and sports in general, however, I discovered some inconsistencies in the writing.For example: on page 83 of the hardcover edition, Kirk writes about being hit by Junior Seau in a 1989 game at USC. This game is available on YouTube and if you watch the particular play that Kirk talks about, it’s obvious that the writer exaggerates quite a bit about what actually occurred.Second, on page 100, Kirk is discussing about competing for the starting quarterback competition heading into the 1991 season. Kirk makes a futuristic reference when he is told that the starting QB job is an open contest between he and two others. Kirk writes, “I looked at it as a ‘Dumb and Dumber’ moment. “So you’re telling me there’s a chance?” The problem here is the fact that the movie Dumb and Dumber wasn’t released until 1994 and so Kirk couldn’t have been thinking about it in 1991.Lastly, on page 231, while talking about his College Gameday gig in 1998, Kirk writes the following.. “It wasn’t an accident that Gameday took a pass on visiting Knoxville during the 1998 season. We were in Athens when the Vols lost to Georgia.” Umm.. news flash.. Tennessee went 13-0 in 1998 and the Vols did not lose to Georgia, they beat them 22-3. Obviously Kirk has his years confused here.There are a couple of more oddities throughout the book, but I did enjoy it and would recommend it to any college football fan.