Kirk Herbstreit Says He's 'Just a Dad' When Cheering for Son at Michigan University Despite Ohio State Rivalry (Exclusive)

NEED TO KNOW

• Kirk Herbstreit caught up with PEOPLE’s Janine Rubenstein in San Francisco at the SiriusXM set at Media Row on Thursday, Feb. 5 ahead of Super Bowl weekend
• The ESPN commentator talked about being a supportive dad to all four of his sons— including the one who plays football for rival Michigan University
• "It's his story. It's his journey," Herbstreit tells PEOPLE
  

Kirk Herbstreit is a proud dad — no matter where his college football loyalties lie.

The ESPN commentator caught up with PEOPLE’s Janine Rubenstein in San Francisco at the SiriusXM set at Media Row on Thursday, Feb. 5, where he spoke about supporting his four sons in their individual athletic careers and beyond.

"I went to Ohio State. My kids, two of them— identical twins — went to Clemson to play football. We're lucky enough to have that opportunity. My next son did go to Ohio State. He had a heart condition, so he had to medically retire, which was a scary situation. He had cardiomyopathy, but he stayed on the team and was able to kind of be a coach," says Herbstreit. "And my last son, even though I'm an Ohio State guy, went to the University of Michigan. He's there now, and so I'm just a dad."

Michigan University and Ohio State have arguably one of the biggest and most famous rivalries in sports — but Herbstreit, 56, says his son Chase has his full support anyway.

"My dad was an Ohio State player. I was an Ohio State player. My wife [Alison] is an Ohio State cheerleader, but my son's at Michigan, and we just love him. We support him," says Herbstreit, who was at Media Row on behalf of Spruce. "It's his story. It's his journey. And I encourage him to take his own path. I'm just here to kind of be there as his corner man, [and] help him however I can."

As for the state of college football, Herbstreit admits things are a little "messy right now."

"USC is now in the Big 10, which is strange. We're paying players now tons of money with NIL. Players can bounce wherever they want to go. I'm cool with some of it," he shares. "Some of it isn't good for the players long term, their growth and their health, but I think it's okay — the players deserve obviously to get compensated, but without any contracts, without any guidelines, it's a bit messy right now."

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He adds: "We'll see where it goes. We need some leadership to make some really tough decisions. But doing the NFL now, the last four years and college, it gives me a really kind of an interesting lens to see the sport, not just at the collegiate level, but the professional level and kind of the direction that we're going. But college needs help right now, definitely."

Read the original article on People