Kirk Herbstreit trashes Ohio State fans over Ryan Day criticism

Dec 2, 2017; Charlotte, NC, USA; ESPN personality Kirk Herbstreit walks down the field prior to the game between the Clemson Tigers and the Miami Hurricanes in the ACC championship game at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

ESPN analyst and former Ohio State quarterback Kirk Herbstreit had some scathing words for what he sees as a group of Buckeye fans determined to be critical of anything and everything.

Herbstreit addressed come of the criticism levied at coach Ryan Day that have come about as a result of back-to-back losses against Michigan and some perceived erosion of the school’s recruiting dominance within the Midwest. Herbstreit deemed the criticisms to be “comical” and chalked them up to a group of “15 percenters” that will always find reason to be upset with the team.

“The 15 percenters, they get mad at anything,” Herbstreit said, via David Briggs of the Toledo Blade. “That percent is going to be mad at something always. [Day] could win the Michigan game, go to the playoff and lose, and they’ll be mad about that. That group is just a bunch of jacka–es who kind of embarrass all of us as Ohio State fans. So I don’t really care, honestly, what that group thinks. But the people who matter, the logical people who actually have a brain and understand the sport, they love what Ryan Day has done. The fact that this is even a topic is almost comical.”

It’s a feisty defense from Herbstreit that probably has some element of truth to it. There will always be a group of fans who will accept nothing short of a national title. Of course, Ohio State’s standards are such that they should be contending for championships on a yearly basis. To be fair to Day, that has not changed, as the Buckeyes nearly beat eventual champion Georgia in the playoff last year.

Day’s response to criticisms of recent recruiting losses was not exactly inspiring, but all will be well as long as the team keeps performing. If they keep contending for the playoffs and can beat Michigan regularly, Day will have much to worry about, but the critics could get more vocal otherwise.