Starting a national broadcasting career in 2016 wasn’t easy for Dusty Dvoracek. After his December 2009 retirement, he began working in local radio and regional networks such as Fox Sports Southwest and Oklahoma City’s WWLS. But it was Kirk Herbstreit who helped Dvoracek earn his spot at ESPN, and the CFB analyst is still grateful to the College GameDay host for that.
“This is probably 2014, about 12 years ago. It’s wild. New to social media, new to Twitter. Didn’t know much. And I reached out on Twitter to Kirk Herbstreit,” said Dvoracek during his Thursday appearance on Show Pony Live with Chris Childers. “Did not know him. Reached out to him. Remember me as a player? ‘Yeah,’ DMing me. and was asking for advice.”
“I reached out to Joel Klatt, and Doug Gottlieb was a buddy of mine. Reached out to Gottlieb, I’m like, ‘What should I do? I want to keep growing.’ Gotautle said, ‘Get an agent.’ Klatt didn’t really tell much. And Herbstreit said, ‘I’ll intro you; I’m going to introduce you and set you up with this guy,’ who is Lee Fitting at the time, who was running college football,” added Dvoracek.
“And so I put together a reel, and I went with a producer and took like all this stuff that I had from Sooner Vision and Fox Sports Southwest, and I put it in like a 15-minute clip, and I sent it back, and they’re like, ‘Oh, no, no, you need to make that like two minutes.’ So I condensed that down and got an interview with ESPN.”
While Herbstreit likely knew of Dvoracek as a standout player at Oklahoma, where he was a two-time captain and consensus All-Big 12 selection, their connection didn’t begin until Dvoracek took a “cold” leap of faith. While Dvoracek was transitioning into a national broadcasting career, he took the initiative to send a highlight reel of his work to Herbstreit.
Interestingly, Herbstreit’s endorsement carried significant weight, leading to Dvoracek landing an interview with ESPN in Charlotte and, eventually, his hiring in 2016 as an analyst for ESPNU.
“I knew nothing, nothing. I mean, it was like here: just throw you in the deep end of the pool, swim, and figure it out,” said Dvoracek. “When working with good people, just try to progress and figure it out along the way. But that was kind of how I got started. And it was really, you know, I’ll say it was a lot of hard work, but it was also wanting to continue to grow, reaching out, trying to utilize contacts. And Kirk Herbstreet, he was just him; that introduction was integral to getting my foot in the door. And I’m forever grateful and appreciate his friendship and his mentorship.”
Despite being a high-potential third-round pick for the Chicago Bears in 2006, Dusty Dvoracek’s professional career was effectively “crippled” by injuries. He underwent five surgeries in five years, including tearing his left ACL in 2007 and his right ACL in 2009, and he ultimately took retirement from football, playing in only 13 NFL games.
Shortly after his final season ended on injured reserve, he faced legal issues. In 2010, he was arrested in Norman, Oklahoma, following an altercation at a bar and charged with public intoxication and assault. This echoed a previous dismissal from the Sooners in 2004. Despite these early hardships, Dvoracek has become a successful national broadcaster, calling marquee games on ABC and ESPN, with the help of Herbstreit, who joined ESPN in 1995.
However, Herbstreit described his role as an “encourager,” and he explicitly stated that he views younger analysts like Dvoracek not as competitors but as colleagues he wants to see succeed. Despite Herbstreit’s advocacy, Dvoracek’s ESPN job wasn’t without an audition. He had to prove himself a perfect fit for that position.
ESPN’s Dusty Dvoracek on his selection process
Following Kirk Herbstreit’s recommendation, Dusty Dvoracek secured a series of interviews and an audition in Charlotte. During the interview process, he had a pivotal 20- to 25-minute audition in which he was paired with anchor Matt Schick. Dvoracek noted he was “scared and nervous” but performed well, covering highlights and SportsCenter segments.
“I did my audition in Charlotte with Matt Schick. It wasn’t just like you get the chance; you got to actually do it. I had a bunch of interviews and had an audition. I’ll never forget that Schick was great. It was like 20 to 25 minutes. We did everything. We did like highlights and went through the highlights like you would on SportsCenter, which I thought was so cool because I grew up,” said Dvoracek.
“I was scared; I was nervous but also confident. So we did all these different things, and I’ll never forget, I was like, ‘What do you [Schick] think? How’d it go?’ He’s like, ‘They’re going to make you an offer.’ And I was like, ‘Really?’ He’s like, ‘Yeah, I do this.’ He’s like, ‘I’ve done this quite a bit. You’re good. You’re going to get an offer.’ And I’m like, ‘Shut up. You’re a liar.’ Within like a week, I got an offer from ESPN.”
He began as a studio analyst and booth commentator, primarily for ESPNU and Friday night prime-time games. Since Dvoracek moved from studio work to becoming a lead game analyst, extending his partnership with play-by-play voice Dave Pasch into the 2025 season. He is currently in his 10th year with ESPN.
