Kirk Herbstreit Awards Utah’s Devin Lloyd The ‘Ultimate’ Honor
Dec 27, 2021, 12:46 PM
SAN JOSE, CA - JANUARY 05: Kirk Herbstreit of ESPN attends the Party At The Playoff at The GlassHouse on January 5, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Steve Jennings/Getty Images for ESPN)
(Photo by Steve Jennings/Getty Images for ESPN)
SALT LAKE CITY – ESPN’s lead college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit awarded Utah star linebacker Devin Lloyd an award for traits on and off the field.
Kirk Herbstreit met with the media on a Zoom call on Monday morning and was asked about Devin Lloyd.
“I do a show called ‘The Herbies’ at the end of the year,” Herbstreit stated. “I give an award called the “Ultimate Herbie,’ a player that kind of represents everything is right about the game, being a great player, but also being a great teammate, and just doing everything that I love to see a player do. He was a finalist and actually won that award, is my ultimate Herbie because I just think he’s the total package. He’s everything you want to see.”
Herbstreit called Utah’s Pac-12 Championship game against Oregon on December 3 and was impressed with him. He was able to meet with Lloyd leading up to the game.
Kirk Herbstreit is on a Zoom call with the media right now to preview the Michigan/Georgia game and Utah/Ohio State. I was able to get a question in about Devin Lloyd.
Herbstreit said that Lloyd won the "Ultimate Herbie" award. More on that coming up.#GoUtes @kslsports
— Trevor Allen (@TrevorASports) December 27, 2021
“I’ve followed his career and always been impressed with him,” Herbstreit said. “When you sit down for 30 minutes with him, you just start to hear his story. I was blown away. I mean, here’s a guy that was kind of long and lanky out of high school, one offer basically, it was UNLV. He ends up going to Utah as just a projection of who he can maybe be. He obviously becomes an All-American and eventually a first round pick. His dad was in the military. He’s a very serious dude. I love that he helps the young freshmen linebackers during the week. Imagine this, here’s a guy that takes the young guys on defense into the film room and teaches them how to study film. He’s like a coach.”
Herbstreit sees Lloyd as a guy that will play in a great defensive system in the NFL like the Steelers or the Patriots.
“I can just already picture him playing for the Steelers or the Patriots,” mentioned Herbstreit. “He’s playing for 9-10 years as a starting linebacker for Bill Belichick. He’s that kind of guy. Tremendous leader, incredibly motivated, came back this year to win the Pac-12 and get to the Rose Bowl. If you can’t pull for Devin Lloyd, you don’t care. He’s been great. The kind of representative of who this Utah team is this year, and I’m excited to to get to Pasadena and have a chance to see them and the Buckeyes go toe-to-toe.”
Utah and Ohio State will square off in the Rose Bowl on Saturday, January 1 at 3 p.m. MT on ESPN.
Trevor Allen is a Utah Utes Insider for sports.ksl.com, Co-Host of Faith, Family and Football podcast with Clark Phillips III and host of the Crimson Corner podcast. Follow him on Twitter: @TrevorASports.
