ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Fowler majorly disrespected Tennessee Vols RB Star Thomas and they owe him an apology

At the end of Thomas' impressive run, the ball was knocked loose. A quick replay, however, showed that Thomas was clearly down at the one-yard line.

That didn't stop Fowler, however, from immediately questioning whether Thomas fumbled the ball through the end zone.

As Fowler was seemingly begging for the turnover, Herbstreit turned his attention to Florida defensive back Devin Moore, who hustled down the field to tackle Thomas and prevent the touchdown.

"Let's give Devin Moore some credit, watch No. 28 right here," said Herbstreit. "I mean, he's five yards behind him. They're down 21-0, you're 3-7, why are you going to hustle? You just love to see that. Good job, dude. Way to compete."

Moore certainly hustled on the play, and he saved a touchdown. Herbstreit is right, he competed. But isn't that the expectation? This is SEC football. You don't get to this level unless you compete hard every rep. And anyway, film is film. Moore is hoping to be selected in the NFL draft next spring.

The most disrespectful part of the whole sequence was that there was barely any mention of Thomas' effort. In fact, Herbstreit was almost dismissive of the play, suggesting that several Florida players gave up on the play because they thought Thomas was down.

"They had him bottled up," said Herbstreit. "Nobody wrapped him up. Good job by the back, Star Thomas, continuing to run. They had him stopped near the line of scrimmage. Nobody tackled him....I think a lot of the Gators that were running to the football stopped because they thought he was down. Jayden Woods was one of them....I think he stopped making an effort because it looked like Thomas was down."

I don't think Herbstreit could've been anymore dismissive of the effort from Thomas. It was an incredible run in a situation where it looked like Tennessee was prepared to punt. Instead, Thomas put the Vols in position to go up 28-o. And yet all Herbstreit and Fowler wanted to talk about was a fumble that didn't happen and a Florida defensive player doing what defensive players are paid to do.

By the way, one minute and three seconds passed after the end of the play before Fowler finally briefly mentioned Thomas' run.

It was two minutes and one second before Herbstreit briefly mentioned the run from Thomas.

Just absurd.

Tennessee entered a stadium on Saturday night that's been a house of horrors for them for the last 30 years. And they played inspired. They played confident. And they played like a playoff-caliber team.

Yet all ESPN wanted to talk about all night was Florida's lack of motivation (which wasn't accurate).

This was supposed to be ESPN's marquee college football booth, but instead it felt like an amateur production (outside of sideline reporter Holly Rowe, who always provides excellent insight...though Herbstreit, at one point, rudely walked all over her in-game spot about former Gators defensive end Jarvis Moss).

College football fans deserve better. And Star Thomas certainly deserved better. But he probably shouldn't hold his breath for an apology from that duo.

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This story was originally reported by A to Z Sports on Nov 23, 2025, where it first appeared in the Nashville section. Add A to Z Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.