ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky received pushback for recent comments on Justin Fields, and his colleague Kirk Herbstreit is the latest to pile on.
When Ohio State beat Clemson on New Year’s Day, the football world had Fields inching closer to Trevor Lawrence at the top of their draft boards. Fast forward three months and there are now as many as four quarterbacks who are debatably ahead of Fields.
Joining Pat McAfee’s SiriusXM radio show earlier this week, Orlovsky was asked why Fields was sliding and the ESPN analyst pointed to doubts about his work ethic.
“I have heard that he is a last-guy-in, first-guy-out type of quarterback. Like, not the maniacal work ethic,” Orlovsky answered, prefacing it by noting the claim was not his opinion. “I’ve even heard it compared to Justin Herbert, where it was like, dude, when Justin Herbert showed up, he was like a psychopath when it came to working and get ready for the draft. Or even at school, like, ‘Give me more, I want to work non-stop.’ And I’ve heard that there are issues with Justin Fields’ work ethic.”
After receiving criticism for reporting on Fields’ work ethic, Orlovsky posted a Twitter video Thursday to say he did “more digging” and found contrary information. “It sounds like Justin Fields’ work ethic is fantastic,” Orlovsky said. But the damage was already done.
Herbstreit wasn’t satisfied with Orlovsky’s clarification. As a former Ohio State quarterback himself, the College Gameday analyst has plenty of knowledge on Fields’ work ethic, but also has the Buckeyes best interest in mind.
“Absolutely ridiculous,” Herbstreit wrote in response to Orlovsky’s video. “Even if YOU aren’t saying it… to pass that along from ‘people in the know’ is reckless and absurd!! Embarrassing!!”
Orlovsky’s appearance with McAfee was his first after ESPN denied banning its talent from the SiriusXM radio show. We’ll see if the controversial outcome furthers the rift between ESPN and McAfee.