Kirk Herbstreit discusses why his sons have decided to walk on at Clemson
ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit’s twin sons — Tye and Jake — are seniors in high school and already have their minds made up about where they want to play in college.
The Herbstreit boys are planning to join the Clemson Tigers as preferred walk-ons next season, and their dad couldn’t be happier.
During College GameDay on ESPN on Saturday morning, Herbstreit spoke about his sons’ decision, saying he’s really excited for them to head into a program like the one Dabo Swinney has built at Clemson (via 247Sports):
“They’re going there as preferred walk-ons and a big part of that has to do with the culture,” Herbstreit said. “As a dad and as a broadcaster, I’ve been lucky enough to get behind the scenes at Clemson the last few years. I’ve been blown away by the culture that Dabo has created. It’s not just Dabo. It’s the entire staff — the secretaries, the trainers, the team doctors, the SID. It’s different when you go to Clemson and you need to go there to really see it and understand it.
“And that’s a credit to him and his leadership. Another mark of a great coach to me, whether you’re the start quarterback or just a guy trying to make the team, you’re treated the same. I think it goes back to his own experience at Alabama as a player. He runs his program through the eyes of that player who was at Alabama.”
The Tigers have positioned themselves as the biggest threat to Alabama’s national dominance, so it’ll be interesting to see what roles the Herbstreits have in that moving forward.