Kirk Herbstreit Replaced by Joel Klatt For Iconic College Football Role

ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit will no longer be featured on the iconic college football video game.

Kirk Herbstreit on the ESPN Gameday set at Rose Bowl Stadium. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Kirk Herbstreit is best known for his analyst role on ESPN's "College GameDay," which he has been doing since 1996.

Although he had a strong career as a quarterback at Ohio State back in the day, it is indisputable that his impact on the sport has grown tremendously because of his presence every Saturday morning with the likes of Rece Davis, Desmond Howard, Nick Saban, Pat McAfee and Lee Corso, prior to his retirement.

While many fans know him from his playing days or his various analyst gigs, Herbstreit was also ingrained in the college football space because of his willingness to lend his voice to EA Sports' college football video games throughout the years.

He could often be heard adopting a devil 's-advocate approach to the user's ultra-aggressiveness, and, just as he did in real life, played well off of Corso's unpredictability. Although fans love him being a part of the game, it was confirmed on Wednesday that he will not be featured in this year's EA Sports College Football 27.

His replacement had yet to be announced, but The Athletic's Chris Vannini revealed on Thursday who'd be taking Herbstreit's spot in the upcoming game.

Who will replace Kirk Herbstreit in EA Sports College Football 27

ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit at media day for the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

As confirmed by Vannini, the ESPN personality will actually be replaced by former Colorado quarterback and Fox personality, Joel Klatt.

"Kirk Herbstreit has also been replaced as a game commentator by Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt, who will be paired with ESPN’s Chris Fowler in a unique crossover," wrote Vannini.

In both EA Sports College Football 25 and 26, Herbstreit was paired with Chris Fowler for what were considered to be "big games." Other notable on-air talent who were featured over the past couple of years was Desmond Howard, Jesse Palmer, David Pollack, Rece Davis and Kevin Connors.

It's unclear at this time why Herbstreit wasn't included in this year's game, but it will certainly take some getting used to for those of us who grew up hearing him question our decision-making or celebrating our huge throws.

Some other notable changes reported by Vannini include the re-introduction of mascot mode, the addition of North Dakota State and Sacramento State and changes to Road to Glory mode.

This year's version of the game, which will now feature the "Big Noon" analyst, is set to release on July 9 on PS5, Xbox Series, and PC, with fans able to pre-order their copy of the game now.