Herrmann attended Purdue University, where he played for coach Jim Young's Purdue Boilermakers football team from 1977 to 1980. Herrmann had an impressive college career; in 1980 he was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American, he was selected as the Big Ten Conference's Most Valuable Player, and he finished fourth in voting for the Heisman Trophy. His 9,946 career passing yards set an NCAA record (which has since been broken). He is one of only three Purdue quarterbacks to start in three consecutive bowl games (Drew Brees did the same, and Kyle Orton started four straight). Herrmann won all three of his bowl games, and was selected Most Valuable Player in each of them: the 1978 Peach Bowl, the 1979 Bluebonnet Bowl, and the 1980 Liberty Bowl. He also holds the Liberty Bowl record for passing touchdowns.
Herrmann was drafted by the Denver Broncos in 1981, but did not play in his first year out of college. In 1982, he appeared in two games, but at the end of the season he was traded to the Baltimore Colts as part of the deal that brought John Elway to Denver. In 1983–84 Herrmann saw limited action with the Colts, first at Baltimore and then at Indianapolis. In 1985, he was traded to the San Diego Chargers, where he played for three seasons and performed well as the backup to Dan Fouts. Herrmann then played for the Los Angeles Rams in 1988–89, and returned to the Colts for three seasons before retiring in 1992.
He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in May 2010.
