Herbstreit pays tribute to late Centerville coach Gregg on GameDay

“You’re 15 years old,” Herbstreit said. “You’re going through life. He got me to believe in myself. He taught me about things that you use for your entire life: your guiding principles; work ethic; determination; getting knocked down; getting back up. He impacted so many lives, not just obviously mine but thousands of kids who had a chance to play for him in Centerville.”

In 28 seasons at Centerville, Gregg had a record of 219-62. His teams won 16 WOL championships.

“I would just say,” Herbstreit said, “that for all the coaches out there, I know sometimes you get caught up at the high school and college level thinking about winning games. Think about the people that you’re impacting. Lee Corso always says, ‘When you die, you leave pieces of yourself all around the country. And Bob Gregg has pieces all around the country in the way he impacted us.”

Gregg’s funeral was held at Church of the Incarnation in Centerville on Saturday. Gregg was also honored at Springboro High School on Friday night before the Elks played the Panthers. A number of former players, including Herbstreit, spoke in a video honoring Gregg. The video played on the scoreboard before the game.

Another of the players who spoke was A.J. Hawk, who like Herbstreit starred at Ohio State after his career at Centerville.

“I think coach Gregg is the one that that set the tone, that that built the culture in Centerville so many years ago,” Hawk said, “and he let everybody know when he got there that they weren’t messing around. You’re going to work. You’re going to have fun. You’re going to win a ton of games. You’re going to get tougher and grow not only as a player but also as a man. I just couldn’t say enough great things about coach Gregg and all the amazing things that he’s done for me in my life. I still, to this day, do a lot of the things that he taught me. I think about him all the time.”

Ron Ullery, Gregg’s longtime assistant and his successor as head coach, also spoke.

“I was fortunate to be able to spend 37 years of my professional career beside coach Gregg,” Ullery said. “I’ve said many times that other than my own father, Bob had more influence in my life, both personally and professionally, than anyone else ever has. Those who were around him were fortunate enough to get to understand him and know what he stood for, and it was all good. He was a great mentor, a fantastic boss to work for, and a great human being. So many young men are better men today because of the influence Bob Gregg had on them.”