Kirk Herbstreit is covering NFL games for the first time in his life. He is the color commentator on Prime Video’s coverage of Thursday Night Football alongside Al Michaels. On Thursday, he told Pat McAfee that he is trying to stick to the prep process that has worked for him for years at ESPN.
“I gotta grind and study and be prepared, be the most prepared guy,” he said. “That’s kinda the brand I created in college and so when I go into the NFL. It’s kinda the same approach.”
He noted that some of his colleagues in similar positions have more impressive resumes from their playing careers. Kirk Herbstreit was a starting quarterback for a single season in college. He never played in the NFL.
Most fans know him as a broadcaster and as a broadcaster, fans expect him to have a lot of answers. He said that isn’t hard to do when you put as much time into studying game film as he does.
“Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and even right now on Thursday afternoon it is just everything I got into my preparation. So when I do that, I’ve found that the game is the game. You’re just kinda breaking the game down, but without the prep, I don’t know what I would do.”
With an unwavering belief in the knowledge he brings to the booth, Kirk Herbstreit said that his main focus this season has been creating a great television product. No matter the sport, format or show, all great television starts with the same thing.
“Developing chemistry is just such a big part of what you do on any show and so that is the part I really have been focused on, just giving Al [Michaels] his room and being respectful of that and then talking football and enjoying the hell out of it.”
