Kirk Herbstreit Makes Unexpected Pat McAfee Revelation Ahead of College Football Season

Kirk Herbstreit is taking some credit for the rise of Pat McAfee at ESPN.

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Those who like watching Pat McAfee every week on College GameDay could have Kirk Herbstreit to thank for it. Those who don’t may have him to blame.

Whatever you think of it, McAfee’s presence on ESPN’s flagship college football program sounds like the brainchild of the veteran network voice, who said he “begged” McAfee to come on the show in new comments as the 2026 season prepares to kick off.

Herbie wanted Pat on GameDay

Herbstreit credits McAfee with giving College GameDay a new energy, and played a big role in ensuring he became a full-time personality on set.

“You can find people to talk football. But it’s hard to find people who can give you some juice. And I just recognized, before Pat became Pat, I just recognized his talent,” Herbstreit said on Bussin’ With The Boys. 

Kirk Herbstreit says he begged Pat McAfee to join ESPN College GameDay:

“I was basically begging him to be on the show. Whether it’s Barkley or Lee Corso or now Pat, you have to have a guy that is incredibly entertaining and natural and authentically funny."

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“I used to go on his podcast when it was on YouTube, and I just really appreciated his timing and his humor. I just thought, that guy on GameDay. So I basically begged him to come on the show.”

How it happened

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McAfee sounded reluctant at first to appear on College GameDay, but Herbstreit said he and an ESPN exec traveled to meet him personally with the idea of pitching him on the idea of being part of the show’s next chapter after Lee Corso eventually retired.

That plan has definitely come to fruition, with McAfee taking arguably the central role on the program since Corso’s emotional sendoff early last season, dividing fans with his bombastic and theatrical appearances every Saturday.

It’s a notable contrast between McAfee’s attention-grabbing, and frequently shirtless, presence and Herbstreit’s conventional football analysis, one that, by ESPN’s ongoing investment in both, the network clearly hopes continues into the future.

“He finally just kept coming around more and more, then he came on the show, and then Saban came on the show, then you had [Nick] Saban and Pat together, and it’s like, ‘Man, think about what we were for 20 years,’ and now we’ve almost reinvented the brand with some big personalities,” Herbstreit said.

McAfee has emerged as ESPN’s rising star

ESPN is glad someone brought McAfee to their attention, given how many more duties the network is happy giving him across their football properties.

With him appearing on alternative college football broadcasts, showing up on Monday Night Football’s pregame show, talk around his creating an MNF cast of his own, hosting his own program, and reports of an expected $65 million contract, it’s clear that Pat McAfee will be a face on our TVs for years to come.

For that, we can apparently thank Kirk Herbstreit.