Kirk Herbstreit urges college football programs to ‘build a team’ over ‘chasing five-stars’

ESPN announcers Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit appeared on SportsCenter with SVP after being on the broadcast call for Miami’s thrilling 31-27 win over Ole Miss in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl.

As the interview with Scott Van Pelt appeared to be wrapping up, Herbstreit wanted to take the opportunity to make an impassioned plea to college football programs about prioritizing the idea of building “a team” rather than getting too focused on five-star recruits, big dollars, and all the chaos that comes with the transfer portal landscape that is even overshadowing the CFP.

“And Scott, I know you got to head out,” Herbstreit, ESPN’s top college football color commentator, began. “I just want to say one thing, in covering these games this year, in the midst of the portal, and the calendar, and all the kind of swirling noise that’s around this sport. One thing that I think we’ve been able to witness firsthand- if you’re a coach watching this, or a GM watching this, while you’re chasing five-stars and agents, free agents, and everything you’re dealing with, you’d better build a team.”

Kirk Herbstreit urges college football programs to ‘build a team’ over ‘chasing five-stars’https://t.co/l6IjujVfqz pic.twitter.com/kk3NbV9v28

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“Indiana, they don’t have a lot of five-stars,” Herbstreit explained. “You know what they got? They got a team. This is still a team sport. And it’s about winning games. Did you hear Miami when they got up on (the stage)?  Jakobe Thomas; I mean, he almost had tears in his eyes talking about, ‘I’m going to play for my guys.'”

“Like, if you don’t build that, and you just chase five-stars, you’re never going to be here on that stage,” Herbstreit continued. “You’d better stop chasing just this craziness, and you’d better step back and say, ‘If those are your demands, get out of here. We’re going to go find guys that want to be a part of this and want to play, because that’s what getting here. That’s what Miami is. That’s what Indiana is. That’s what Ole Miss is. You can do the portal, but you’d better find the right guys that want to play together. You got to do the portal, but you got to find guys that want to play for each other.”

“If you’re going to drop bags on guys, make sure you pick the right kind of human being to come and fit in,” Fowler added. “Miami is filled with guys who are playing at their second, third school, as Thomas is, a guy from Tennessee. But the right chemistry, and the right resolve and resilience.”

“Hundred percent,” Herbstreit responded. “I’m not saying you don’t play that game. You have to. But when you start getting demands- some of these stories I hear from these coaches, it’s incredible what they say, that these agents are sitting over on a Zoom, sitting over their shoulder.”

“So, anyway, build a team,” Herbstreit said in his closing thoughts. “Build a team if you want to get here.”