Son of popular ESPN attends Penn State football summer camp

Penn State football is in the middle of a series of summer prospect camps during June. Throughout this month, top recruits from across the country will be in Happy Valley to show off their skills and work with the Penn State coaching staff. Last weekend, the Nittany Lions had an eyebrow-raising prospect on campus, as Chase Herbstreit, son of ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit, was in attendance. 

Son of Kirk Herbstreit attends Penn State football summer camp 

Kirk Herbstreit is one of the most popular names in all of college football. The former Ohio State quarterback turned ESPN analyst has become a mainstay on the kickoff show College Gameday. Herbstreit also calls the most significant games each year for ESPN, including the Rose Bowl and the national championship. 

But Herbstreit is also the father of a football family. His twin sons, Tye and Jake, play football at Clemson, while a third, Zak, is a walk-on at Ohio State. Now, Herbstreit’s youngest son, Chase Herbstreit, is an up-and-coming quarterback in the class of 2025.

Chase Herbstreit is a 6-1, 180-pound quarterback in the 2025 cycle. Currently an unrated prospect, Herbstreit is the starting quarterback for St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. Penn State fans may recall that this is the same high school as former Nittany Lion quarterback Sean Clifford. 

Taking over the starting job at St. Xavier midway through last season, Chase Herbstreit led his team to three straight victories before falling in the state playoffs. Kirk Herbstreit described his son in the following way to On3, “His competitive spirit and the, I think, intangibles are really unique with him.”

A QB prospect (and his dad) at @PennStateFball camp. AKA the Herbstreits. pic.twitter.com/xwDjfCiJA1

— Mark Brennan (@MarkXBrennan) June 11, 2023

As Herbstreit makes his rounds on the summer camp circuit to boost his recruiting profile, the young quarterback made his way to a camp led by the Penn State coaching staff last weekend. Herbstreit turned heads with more than just attendance, as shown in the video below. 

quarterbacks @ChaseHerbstreit & MJ Mitchell (@DelmarioMitche1) with a rep during Penn State’s camp today. both 2025 recruits caught my eye at times today. more on @Lions247 (VIP): https://t.co/P22cVFLVdv pic.twitter.com/RL6bOa68rR

— Daniel Gallen (@danieljtgallen) June 12, 2023

Kirk Herbstreit was also in attendance and made his way around the Lasch Football Building. At one point, the ESPN analyst was seen chatting up Penn State starting quarterback Drew Allar. 

Drew Allar talking football with Kirk Herbstreit at @PennStateFball camp. pic.twitter.com/6CBE2g4Dm0

— Mark Brennan (@MarkXBrennan) June 11, 2023

While Herbstreit still has a long way to go in his recruitment, he does draw parallels to several other Penn State quarterbacks. Beyond walking the same high school halls as Sean Clifford, Herbstreit is also starting out as a lower-rated prospect like Drew Allar and incoming commit Ethan Grunkemeyer. Herbstreit also works with quarterback guru Brad Maendler, who is the personal coach for Allar and Grunkemeyer.

While ultimately, I would expect Herbstreit to end up at his father’s alma mater, it would be an interesting twist to see him in the Blue and White. 

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