Kirk Herbstreit landed at the Orlando airport before the start of the season, and there was Lee Corso, waiting for him. The two embraced. Corso, 91, got emotional, and that set Herbstreit off too.
"We hugged, embraced. He was emotional because we haven't seen each other in a while. When he cried, it made me cry. Because he's my guy," Herbstreit told US Weekly. "We were able to hang out for probably 20 or 30 minutes and just kind of get caught up."
It was the first time the two had connected in person since Corso stepped away from ESPN's College GameDay one year ago. Corso had been the face of the pregame show for decades, known for his headgear picks and his run as a college coach, but his health had made the weekly grind impossible to maintain.
Herbstreit, who continues to anchor the show, offered a clear update on his old friend's condition. Corso is dealing with a lot, he said. Physical ailments have made things difficult for him. But the mind, the part that made him such a fixture on Saturday mornings, is still sharp.
"We'd all be lucky to have such cognitive thinking at 91," Herbstreit said. "His eyes are sharp. He's dialed in. He's just going through some stuff that makes it tough on him."
Corso played quarterback at Florida State in the 1950s before moving into coaching, where he led Indiana and Louisville, among others. He joined College GameDay in 1987 and became the show's most recognizable personality, famously donning the mascot head of whichever team he picked to win each week. His run lasted nearly four decades before he retired ahead of the 2024 season.
Herbstreit said that during their airport meeting, Corso showed he had not lost any of his feel for the sport. They talked teams and players, and Corso offered opinions on both. Herbstreit mostly listened.
"He knows about teams. He knows about players. He's got opinions. I just sat there and listened and loved hearing him talk about that," Herbstreit said. "He's great. I told him that everybody loves him, everybody misses him. He feels that love, so it's always good to see him."
Corso was photographed at a Florida State pregame tailgate show on Oct. 4, 2025, per USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect, one of his few public appearances since stepping away. The image showed him speaking with Tom Block on the FSU pregame tailgate show, a rare sighting for a man who had spent years in front of a national audience every Saturday.
Herbstreit's account of the reunion offers the most detailed picture yet of how Corso is doing. The physical struggles are real, and they are limiting. But the connection to the game, and to the people who watched him for so long, remains intact.
Corso turned 91 in August. He has not appeared on College GameDay since his retirement, and ESPN has moved forward with a rotating cast of analysts alongside Herbstreit and Desmond Howard. But his absence has not gone unnoticed, and Herbstreit made clear that Corso is aware of the affection still directed his way.
"He feels that love," Herbstreit said.
According to Yahoo Sports.